Abilene Philharmonic promises audience unique journey

Abilene classical music lovers should prepare for a rare opportunity.

The Abilene Philharmonic presents Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for its “Masterworks III” concert Jan. 28 at the Abilene Convention Center.

“It’s a very unique journey,” Maestro David Itkin said. “It visits a huge array of emotional places.”

The piece starts off in a dark mood, he said, but them moves through a variety of intermediary phases on its way to a brighter place.It doesn't simply progress from worst to best.

Unlike most of the Philharmonic performances, there won’t be multiple pieces from different composers. The symphony, with its five movements, is the entirety of the concert.

This marks the first time the Abilene Philharmonic has performed the Mahler symphony since Itkin arrived in 2005.

“We haven’t played one of these big monolithic pieces in quite a while,” Itkin said.

He said the Mahler Fifth is an audience favorite, as well as one of his and the Mahler piece he’s done the most in his career. When the 2016-2017 season was announced last spring, he received quite a lot of positive feedback from the public about this concert.

“We feel this is a gift to the community – because people really want to hear it,” Itkin said. “It’s quite a bit of extra expense for the Philharmonic.”

The symphony was written for a large group of musicians, which means bringing in extra musicians for the concert, bringing the orchestra to around 75 total.

“It’s a big piece for a small community,” Catherine Lansdowne, executive director of the Philharmonic, said.

She said that around the turn of the 20th century, composers such as Mahler and his contemporaries started writing pieces for larger orchestras.

The Abilene Philharmonic can range in size from 50 musicians for a Bach concert to nearly 80 for those such as the Mahler.

Itkin called this symphony “immediate and captivating.”

“The trumpet solo that opens the piece gets right into his world,” he said. “It starts with a jolt.”

IF YOU GO 

What: Abilene Philharmonic presents “Masterworks III: Mahler’s Fifth”

When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28

Where: Abilene Convention Center, 1100 N. Sixth St.

Admission: Tickets cost $18, $21, $29 and $42, depending on seat location. Purchase tickets at www.abilenephilharmonic.org; at 325-677-6710; or at the Philharmonic office, 401 Cypress St., Suite 520, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.