This week's performance of Mahler's Symphony no. 6 underscored why the Boston Symphony Orchestra hired Andris Nelsons as their music director. The man knows how to conduct a large dramatic work.
I listened to several recordings of Mahler's "tragic" symphony in preparation for the concert. My favorite was an unflinching and harrowing performance by Gary Bertini and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. Nelsons took a different approach: driven and relentless right from the downbeat. It was an equally valid reading that left me drained and exhilarated.
The BSO will perform Mahler 6 again during their April concerts at Carnegie Hall. From what I saw, New Yorkers will get their money's worth.
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