BPYO Resurrects Mahler

A Mahler enthusiast, Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Benjamin Zander has not conducted one of his favorite works—Mahler’s Symphony No. 2— in 40 years. On Sunday at Symphony Hall,  he will rediscover the piece with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. The Harvard University Choirs, featuring solo vocalists Barbara Quintiliani and Robynne Redmon and conducted by University choirmaster Edward E. Jones, will accompany the BPYO to perform the masterpiece.

The orchestra will also perform Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor with 17-year-old teenage piano phenomenon George Li, whose talent Zander compares to that of internationally renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang. Sunday afternoon’s concert will boast 140 singers and 128 musicians in total, all of whom have worked hard on the Mahler since November. “This will inevitably be one of the greatest sounds known to man,” Zander says.

Also known as the Resurrection Symphony, Mahler’s 2nd is composed of five movements. The first consists of a “heaven-storming” funeral march, which, according to the BPYO website, is full of grief, protest, and wild emotion. The fourth, titled “Urlicht” (German for “Primeval Light”), will be sung by mezzo-soprano Redmon. It marks the turning point from death to resurrection in the symphony, as its hero prays that God will guide him to the Eternal Light. The final movement is Mahler’s interpretation of the “Day of Judgment.” “The piece makes [the audience] inspired and crazy,” Zander says. “No one can resist it.”

According to the conductor, Mahler himself was taken aback by his own work, even though he created the piece. “This is the most powerful expression of optimism of any piece of music, and its only competitor is Beethoven’s 9th,” Zander says.The orchestra, made up of students aged 12 to 21, began preparing the Mahler back in November.

“I can’t imagine when I was that age. I am lucky to have an orchestra that can play with this kind of conviction,” Zander says. The BPYO has plans to embark on a six-city summer tour in the Netherlands to present the entirety of its first season on a world stage.  “This will be a real high point for this next generation, and for me as well,” Zander says. “This is one performance that is not to be missed.”

—Staff writer Connie Yan can be reached at connieyan@college.harvard.edu.