What does a conductor actually do?
This is the question, perhaps, most commonly asked by anyone attending a live orchestral concert – and one that Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor Jaime Martín set out to answer in a thoroughly charming open rehearsal at Hamer Hall.
The work-in-progress of which we had the opportunity to see the inner workings was Mahler’s Symphony #2 – “Resurrection”, to be performed by the MSO under Martín’s baton for the Ryman Healthcare Gala this week.
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Every concert in which Martín graces the stage is one guaranteed to see a combination of exquisite musical performances and charming addresses to the audience, the conductor at every instance engaging the audience and rewarding that engagement.
Here we got to enjoy the charm offensive in full force.
Beginning with an introduction of the grand work’s lofty themes – death, exhumation and the meaning of it all – Martín was quick to win the audience over with a charming gag made of a malfunctioning microphone.
As Martín achieves with all of his audience-facing address, be they here in rehearsal or in concert intervals, he provided helpful context as to why Mahler chose to set his ambitious second symphony to orchestra as well as chorus.
Paraphrasing Mahler, he told us that the composer declared, “When I think of a large structure, I arrive at the word – instruments are not enough.”
The passion for, and investment in, what Martín gives to his role as Chief Conductor is evident not only in the exuberance of his motions but in the linguistic formation of his interpretation.
The shape and range of his hand motions in one passage, crafting the lines for strings and solo clarinet, are matched in sheer panache by the metaphors he uses to direct his players toward the quality of sound he wants.
And, of course, the most impact can often be achieved with the very least output. At one point, he simply turned around with his fists pressed against his hips and exclaimed, “Amazing. Isn’t this amazing music?”
It surely is, and we will expect nothing less come this Thursday for the MSO’s first performance of Mahler #2 at Hamer Hall.
For tickets to the MSO Ryman Healthcare Season Opening Gala: Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony, head here.
