Concert - Mahler's Journey

Simon will sing four performances of Mahler's 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn' with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in February 2025. 

The three evening performances on 20, 21 and 22 February start at 8pm. The performance on Sunday 23 February starts at 2 pm.

Programme

Mahler         Blumine

Mahler         Symphony No. 10: Adagio

Interval

Mahler         Selctions from  Lieder und Gesänge and Des Knaben Wunderhorn

SOUNDBITES

"..Thanks to commanding contributions from the excellent soloists, Ekaterina Gubanova and Simon Keenlyside, Mahler’s unparalleled synthesis of musical colors, motifs and emotions came to life. Keenlyside, a seasoned operatic professional, was very much at home in this music. Despite appearing to be suffering a minor cold, his voice was powerful and his musical insight masterful. He was comfortable using his whole physicality, moving and gesturing thoughtfully in support of his honeyed voice which was able to capture a range of moods and emotions. His Revelge was one of the highlights of the evening with Mahler’s sardonic musical phrases snarled and sung with gusto. Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald, the epitome of Mahler's songs, was mesmerizing..."

"Keenlyside and Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova took turns in the songs, with Keenlyside handling all of the Lieder und Gesänge material and Gubanova five of the seven Wunderhorn songs. Gubanova’s voice, with its rapid vibrato and trace of a cutting Slavic tone quality, bloomed most fully in “Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen” (Where the beautiful trumpets blow) as Dudamel’s attention to nuance and detail in the orchestrations paid off handsomely. Keenlyside’s best moments came in the vintage Mahler funeral march “Revelge,” a performance full of bravado, lyrical feeling, and tough rhythms from the band."

"Simon Keenlyside proved, as always, to be a master storyteller, molding his superb and powerful voice through a vast range of colors and dynamics that brought to the forefront the various imagery and emotions of the Lieder he sang. Scheiden und Meiden flowed in smooth, lively waves with especially moving color variations on “Ade” and “tut weh”. Keenlyside’s impeccable diction and ability to construct compelling narrative arcs within each song excelled throughout, in lovely narration in Ablösung im Sommer, tender expressivity coupled with honeyed yodeling in Hans und Grethe, two distinctive voices in the Verlor’ne Müh’ dialogue effectively portraying both characters—the woman’s voice infused with sweet cajoling and the man’s with grainy harshness—and effortless, hypnotic floating on the phrases of Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald. His rendition of Revelge was breathtakingly thrilling and formidable."