Boston Philharmonic’s Sunday concert at Symphony Hall opened with Strauss’s Four Last Songs, with Claire Booth as the soprano soloist. Calm and resignation pervade throughout the valedictory set. In Frühling’s powerful longing, Booth’s soaring soprano line evoked the trees and sky described in the text. Chord progressions that slow through repeated half steps convey the lingering end of summer in September. The lower part of her mezzo-soprano range showed Booth at her best with a warm and mellow sound. The closing horn solo was unforgettable, as was the orchestra’s subtle lingering over the closing notes. In Beim Schlafengehen, Booth’s high notes sounded a bit too operatic but she nonetheless evoked the tranquility that darkness brings. An arc of sound evokes the sunset of Im Abendrot, the final song of the set. Rising trills, played with an exquisitely light touch by the piccolos take us into eternity, while Booth’s reverent handling of her line brought out the humility and quietude of Strauss’s old age.

Mahler’s 4^th symphony opens with the quiet, unassuming sound of sleigh bells accompanying little chirps in the flutes. The violins break into a Viennese lilt. Violas, celli, and contrabasses answer with a rising scale in dotted rhythm followed by a horn motif consisting of a melodic turn and three repeated notes. Thus, in the space of 12 measures, Mahler has introduced us to everything we will encounter in this movement. BPO maintained excellent control of the expressive elements throughout. Zander introduced the Viennese waltz graciously, with a restrained tempo while the dotted rhythm of the rising scale came across crisp and self-assured. The orchestra’s holding the dynamics at piano and mezzo piano let the audience know that excitement lay ahead. The celli introduce the second theme, and here again we heard BPO’s subtle holding back of tempo and a lush, rich sound. In a development section, motives pile on top of each other and bounce from section to section. The sleigh bell motif returns, while the trumpet twice blares a six-note solo. All of a sudden, the music stops dead and after a long fermata, the violins resume the rising dotted theme heard at the outset. Although performing it accurately, the orchestra did not fully communicate the zaniness of this episode. Dynamic contrasts could have been starker and tempi increases more confidently asserted. When the second subject returned, however, the orchestra seemed to regain its footing. Mahler takes us through a delightful exchange of motivic material. A beautiful violin solo and the woodwinds’ light-hearted handling of their jaunty themes stood out. The movement ends in high spirits on two crashing chords.

The second movement opens with a three-measure stepwise horn call, followed by a recall of the sleighbells from the first movement. Then enters a whiny, off kilter violin, played in a  scordatura tuning one full step higher than usual. Mahler’s directive “Wie eine Fidel” (like a fiddle) makes clear we are in a country landscape, but not a happy, bountiful one. Without warning, comes a silky stream of notes in the violin. At the peak of each episode, the harp emits a shrill sound that coincides with the violin’s high note, the message being that even placid moments contain little shocks and surprises at every turn. The orchestra conveyed the fraught atmosphere by not overinterpreting, and sticking to a leisurely pace. The scordatura violin stood out by means of articulation and dynamic control. This listener might have asked for more of a kick in the rising two-note phrases interspersed throughout but overall we enjoyed the varieties  of rhythm, texture and color. Aftert the second trio, a normally tuned violin relieves the harshness, while an extended chord in the harp and sweeping intervals in the violins signal further serenity and peace. The orchestra’s discipline and faithful reading prevented this luminous episode from veering into sentimentality.

The third movement contains the moments of greatest bliss and calm heard in this symphony. Two themes, major and minor alternate over a five-note plucked ground bass in the double basses and celli. Peggy Pearson rendered the oboe lament (the second theme) flawlessly and with understated tragedy. A series of phrases in the violins which rise and fall back emerged with great precision and a beautifully unified sound. Arriving at the coda, the orchestra explodes in an E major chord, all parts (except timpani and triangle) marked fff with all woodwind and brass bells held high (“Schalltrichter in die hohe”). For Mahler, this is a small orchestra and one without trombones. Thus, the demand for an explosive volume poses a substantial technical challenge. The orchestra got there with power and conviction. After familiar themes are heard one last time, the movement most with most parts marked  pppp, so that the harp, cellos and basses, can float in the the last, resolving note.

The fourth movement describes a child’s experience of heaven. Most important is Mahler’s directive “The voice with a sincere, childlike expression, always without parody!”. In the first three stanzas the child sings of delight in the bountiful harvest found in heaven (“the angels bake bread”). The light, tender quality of Booth’s voice conveyed the necessary naivety. The fourth stanza is devoted to the joys of music. Now the childish naivety has vanished, and Booth brought forth a lush and mature sound. The tolling of the harp signals the symphony’s close. The last low note of the double basses sounded with great mystery. A silent afterglow endured for quite a long span, until Benjamin Zander lowered his baton and we could signal our appreciation for a thrilling and life-encompassing concert.

Retired medical biology researcher Dinah Bodkin is a serious amateur pianist and mother of Groupmuse founder Sam Bodkin.

A Collage of Hilary Scott photos: