USC Thornton Symphony thrills with Mahler’s No. 9

The USC Thornton Symphony premiered their first concert of the semester Friday in Bovard Auditorium to a packed house, with a performance featuring Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Conducted by artistic director and principal conductor Carl St. Clair, the orchestra shined and proved yet again what it means to be student musicians at the top of their craft.

Performing all four movements of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, St. Clair was able to take full command of the orchestra, bringing them to the edge of their limits and bringing out the slightest details with his stoic and refined stance on conducting. The score proved to be exuberant and intricate, allowing St. Clair the ability to push the limits of controlled chaos while knowing the exact moments to step back.

The passion expressed by St. Clair on stage proved his passion not only for the world of classical music but also for music education. One could arguably say that St. Clair pushes his musicians further than conductors  elsewhere. The expectation and the caliber expected from the start make for nothing less than a superb performance.

An interlocking system of repetitive themes, Symphony No. 9 brings about both the cosmic and the minute details of the inner workings of the orchestra. The piece challenges the musicians to think both on the large scale, producing large lyrical phrases, and on the microscopic medium, pushing for an accuracy far exceeding audience expectations. Like an intricate puzzle, the sections and members orchestra knows just how to fit in with the orchestra at large. A mosaic of passages is easily executed with St. Clair’s expert musical leadership.

Much can be said for the soloists in the performance, especially concertmaster Ga Hyun Cho. The technical ability of Cho brought the performance to a high caliber and set the standard for what can be expected of student musicians in an extended symphony.

The fourth, and arguably most expressive movement of the symphonic work proved to be a high point of the evening. The orchestra took the audience on an exploration of themes presented in the first three movements, from musical fireworks to detailed themes. St. Clair was able to draw the deepest expressions out of the orchestra, leading to climactic passages highlighted with walls of sound, culminating in a descent into silence. Standing there with his baton, still in control of the intensity of the previous passages, St. Clair drew out the last moment of the movement in complete silence before lowering his baton, letting the audience absorb the impact of the multiple layers and intricate details expressed in Mahler’s symphonic world.

The concert proved to be a productive and worthwhile opening for the Thornton Symphony’s spring semester calendar and deserved nothing less than the standing ovation the orchestra received.