resoundingly beautiful

Let's place the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto next to the Mahler Titan Symphony, and see what we might find.. A penultimate comparison of Russian and German style. These thoughts are mine, with little influence from the published descriptions; I like to add my own thoughts and impressions of the music with undue external prejudices. These impressions heard tonight on the radio broadcast of the PSO at Heinz Hall.

Is the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto monumental? They say that Beethoven and Brahms' concertos are monumental, but I'm here to interpret my own impressions. I care less if it is monumental, because I know it is beautiful, as a flower is pretty and aromatic. I leave the logic, issues and reason at work. It is night now, I'm trying to escape from the doldrums of the mundane and into the magical mystical world of classical music.

I'm finding such wonderful emotion and feelings in the music that make my heart and fingers race. The music is like a cacophony of insects buzzing all around the assortment of blossoms in my garden. Often so abundant, quick and racing, then occasionally only a single voice is heard, like a butterfly darting and bounding up, down and around in impossible patterns and eloquence, defying gravity, inertia and logic. But the harmony is there, and the relationship to the rest of the nature is abundant and smoothly combined with divine melody and dramatic flair. The culmination of this amalgamation is joy.

Mahler's Titan Symphony no. 1. überwältigend. Es hallt wider. It reverberates with natural splendor. A compelling, sweeping robust composition. The beginning, a fresh morning dew filled experience with nature's sounds awakening. The second movement, my mind envisions a resounding scherzo full of melodic character. The third movement, a stunningly subtle cross over, Bruder Martin - Frère Jacques - ding dong ding. The fourth movement, complex, seemingly overwhelming. Overall, a vast, mind-blowing experience, yet never overly vexing nor audibly saturated. Altogether a truly a titanic composition, in range, breadth, depth and pastoral style.