Escape to Mahler

Our first recommended Great Escape for moms is a musical escape.

Escape to Mahler.

On Sunday at 3 p.m., music Director Robert Lehmann and the North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at Swampscott High School in the auditorium.

 The concert features internationally-acclaimed soprano Ashley Emerson in Gustav Mahler’s dramatic Fourth Symphony.  

NSPO President Robert Marra says the  Mahler Fourth Symphony is a masterpiece that captures the imagination of listeners.

“It is very much ‘escapist’ because it conjures up ideas and dreams of childhood and youthful fantasy,” Marra said. “The work incorporates voice in its final movement and represents a child's view of Heaven.”

Lehmann said the Fourth Symphony is probably the greatest example of Mahler as a composer.   It embodies his love of nature, his extraordinary orchestration, his use of instrumentation—even his sense of humor.  

“But it carries his introspection, his search for meaning in life, and it is filled with hope,”  Lehmann said.

Listening to classical music is a great way to relax and the music can be, equally, inspiring and invigorating, Marra said. 

Tickets are available online at www.nspo.org and will be sold at the door, $20, $15 seniors and students, and free for children 12 and under.  

 Program:

Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Chanson de Matin et de Nuit, Op. 15 

Ralph Vaughan-Williams (1872-1958)  Tuba Concerto

Dan Hunter, tuba

 Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)  Symphony No. 4, in G Major

Ashley Emerson, Soprano