Awaking the Titan

I walked across the fields this morning; dew still hung on every blade of grass. The merry finch spoke to me: “Hey! Isn’t it? Good morning! Isn’t it? You! Isn’t it becoming a fine world? Chirp! Chirp! Fair and sharp! How the world delights me!” Gustav Mahler (trans. Emily Ezust) As a twenty-something conductor-composer, Gustav Mahler’s mind was brimming with musical ideas that sought to capture the earthly, the divine, and everything in between — an artistic vision he would eventually translate into monumentally grand symphonies. The YST Orchestral Institute in collaboration with YST Visiting Professor, Karst de Jong, presents Awaking the Titan, a reimagined presentation of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, initially subtitled “Titan” by the composer himself, and the first large-scale embodiment of the composer’s artistic vision. In addition to restoring Mahler’s original five-part conception, which includes the lyrically sublime “Blumine (Blooming)” movement, the students of the Orchestral Institute will premiere a collaboratively composed Prelude as a responsive frame for Mahler’s iconic work. Come help us awaken the dawning of a post-pandemic Spring with YST’s Orchestral Institute and Gustav Mahler’s Titan!