Submitted by Ben Meltzer, May 10, 2007 05:36

I was at the performance of Mahler's second, and I thought Eschenbach's reading of it was atrocious. Mr. Nordlinger mentions briefly how there were strange pauses and rests in the music, somewhat breaking the Mahlerian flow, but I think that its more accurate that Eschenbach's bizarre phrasing decisions stripped, as much as was possible, the emotional power of the Symphony. Mr. Eschenbach completely destroyed the incredible, two minute climax about a third of the way into the first movement with his strange tempo changes, and extreme rubato at the end of the climax. Occasionally, Mahler managed to shine through, despite the conducting, but at other times, I was genuinely bored, which is not supposed to happen during any concert, and certainly not when the composer is Mahler. The Philadelphia Orchestra is, of course, a wonderful orchestra, and it is a pity they are led by someone who takes away so much from the original music.

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