This afternoon we were treated to a live performance of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra featuring one work on the program: the Mahler 9th Symphony. It was conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, once a very favourite conductor of ours whom we had not seen in decades. He is now in his 99th year (!!!) and still at it, appearing in Detroit to conduct this magnificent work. Needless to say it is a sprawling work, with more to say about life and human existence in its 90 minutes than one could ever imagine. While our search for Truth has taken many forms over our own longish life spans, music has been in the forefront and for very good reasons.
Is Truth an abstract idea or a concrete one? Being the ultimate in ideas, the one we all are striving towards in some way or other, it is likely both and more. The close study of Bach will bring one face to face with its abstract appearance, though his large religious works (such as the B Minor Mass) also reflect on human suffering and joy. Listening to Mozart symphonies 35-41 will bring out the abstract even more clearly than Bach, with the joy of life also represented in his operas. The struggles that Beethoven endured represent exactly what it means to be human: suffering, more suffering, some joy, perhaps, and then it is all over. Mahler expands on Bach and Beethoven, encompassing the richness of the final years of the 19th C. and the sense of ongoing struggles with the search for Truth into the 20th C.
Mahler's 9 completed symphonies, along with his Song of the Earth, bring us the most complete look at what it means to be human. There is great beauty contrasted with supreme ugliness; ultimate serenity with brashness and chaos; human pain and misery with the very lightness of being alive and happily aware of the fact. Each symphony is like an epic book that needs to be read and reread, not only to explore things missed the first, second, or third time, but to reinforce the ideas presented and keep them uppermost in our minds as we grind away at our daily lives. Walking around with high-level ideas in our head can help keep us focused on why we are even here in the first place, and should be of some aid in assisting us in what we should be doing and how we should be going about it.
After hearing today's performance I am more determined that ever to become reacquainted with all the symphonies of Mahler. I already have healthy doses of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart passing within me, and I believe I have some room left over. The symphonies should never be listened to all in one go, as in a solid weekend. That would be like overdosing on a drug that may assist you if used reasonably, but kill you if overdosed. Beginners should, in fact, take him one movement at a time, listening to the first symphony over the period of a week or so, and hearing some movements more than once before proceeding to the much denser 2nd symphony. I'll keep readers posted on this topic.
We just returned from a two week visit to London U.K. The trip was a major test for us (especially Deb) to see if world travel is still feasible for us. Our favourite trips are road trips within the USA, usually using New Mexico as our destination. Since we have opted to avoid the US for some time due to political circumstances, we turned to our favourite international destination instead. I will have much more to say about this trip in my Travels Abroad blog, but will confine myself to a few words here. It had been 8 years since we last visited London. It has changed in many ways and seems busier and more chaotic than ever. We did our best to avoid central London, as we have been doing for the past several visits, choosing instead more rural areas and park lands. We also escaped the city completely on two fun day trips.
The main difference between a road trip to NM and a flight to London is that the road trip is fun from day 1 onwards, whereas the London trip means total and complete misery on the first and last days. If the journey itself is to be part of the experience, than we much prefer road trips. Flying in 2026 should be a hassle free and pleasurable experience: it is not. Even though we experienced no problems with our four flights (Windsor to Toronto; Toronto to Heathrow and return), flight days are severely taxing and best forgotten.
On our return home we discovered our backyard purple lilac bush in full bloom, singing away to itself and the bees in a degree of splendor we have never seen before.
Mapman Mike
