Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, the “Resurrection Symphony”, is certainly one of his most beloved works, whose themes of life, dying, and redemption are impressed by the composer’s personal life experiences. Lately, it was made well-known by Maestro, the Hollywood blockbuster which noticed Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein conducting this monumental work.
It is going to be again on the Toronto stage this June with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra after a seven yr absence, however by an uncommon association. The live performance just isn’t a part of the TSO’s common season, neither is it helmed by a visitor conductor. TSO is the visitor orchestra on this case, and will probably be carried out by a person whose sturdy imaginative and prescient of innovation and unparalleled musical ardour greater than make up for his lack of formal music coaching.
Mandle Cheung is a profitable tech entrepreneur and self-taught conductor who based the Mandle Philharmonic when he was in his 70s. Since its inception in 2018, the orchestra has carried out 18 live shows of assorted classical masterworks.
However Mandle units his sights on one thing larger — a lifelong dream to conduct Toronto’s largest orchestra. This self-funded enterprise is especially formidable, being introduced at Roy Thomson Corridor, with 2,500 seats to fill.
The efficiency additionally options the Amadeus Choir, certainly one of Toronto’s best, and two famend Canadian soloists: Soprano Kirsten LeBlanc (who lately sang the title position of the Canadian Opera Firm’s La Reine-garçon), and Mezzo Krisztina Szabo, who’s well-known to Canadian audiences in her many COC appearances.
Mandle Cheung: The Interview
Mandle says that music is in his genes, and he feels it’s his future to conduct. “Each time I step on a podium, the sensation is profound.” He loves all classical music, however has a particular ardour for Mahler’s works, which he calls “the penultimate of classical music.”
Mandle Philharmonic’s inaugural live performance featured Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, and the orchestra additionally carried out Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 simply earlier than the pandemic. Mandle concedes that each one classical items are tough and takes him years to study, however he describes Mahler as probably the most difficult, his Mount Everest. He began studying this piece about two years in the past, and with solely three weeks to go till the live performance, he says “I’m nonetheless learning it.”
Future At Work
After deciding to work with the TSO, Mandle coincidentally got here throughout the story of Gilbert E. Kaplan. Kaplan was a multi-millionaire Wall Road writer who grew to become an newbie conductor in his 40s, and was solely devoted to performing Mahler’s Second Symphony. In his lifetime, he carried out over 60 high orchestras, together with the London Symphony and the Philharmonics of New York, Vienna and Los Angeles.
Despite the fact that it’s purely coincidental that Mandle’s journey bears placing parallels to Kaplan’s story, Mandle can’t assist however really feel that future is at work once more.
“What do you reside for? What do you endure for? Is all of it simply an enormous, horrible joke? We should reply this query if we’re to stay on.” Mahler requested these questions in his Resurrection Symphony in quest of life’s which means. Maybe, it’s via this symphony that Mandle finds his personal life’s objective, and which fuels him to observe his dream by intense exhausting work and studying, even at age 78.
For this upcoming live performance, Mandle needs audiences to really feel wowed and gratified. “You’ll really feel all of the struggling and glory within the music. It’s transcendent. With nearly 200 musicians on stage, it’s not one thing that’s placed on too typically.”
“This isn’t only a live performance. It’s the fruits of a lifetime of listening, studying, and believing that it’s by no means too late to observe your ardour.”
- Discover efficiency particulars and tickets for Mandle Philharmonics Presents Toronto Symphony Orchestra: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 on June 25 at Roy Thomson Corridor [HERE] or [HERE].
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Denise Lai is a Physiotherapist and School Professor. She is an alumnus of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and a rusty piano participant.