Mahler 9

Last night I went to Carnegie Hall with Y. to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra play Mahler's 9th Symphony with Eschenbach conducting. This is one of my favorite orchestras, and I was giddy with excitement, eager to hear them play this harrowing and redemptive piece. The subway ride on the R train, normally so long, took only an instant. The walk from the lobby to the balcony, so many flights of stairs, was effortless. The narrow seats felt so comfortable. Even the loud Germans who sat behind us, who kept hitting my head with their coats and briefcases, scarcely annoyed me. Then Eschenbach came to the podium. Such a noble man, with his shaved head and intense eyes. He raised his baton. The first notes, those repeated A's, gave way to that beautiful warm chord and falling figure, and tears swam in my eyes and rolled down my face as I sat, in awe, listening.