"Such ihn überm Sternenzelt, Über Sternen muss er wohnen."
Another concert at the Kennedy Center tonight. Can you name the piece? The orchestration was revised by Gustav Mahler. First we had commentary by Mr. Slatkin and excerpts of how Mahler changed the orchestration to accomodate the larger halls and orchestras of his and our time. After intermission, 67 minutes of a very familiar classical piece. A bit too much brass and the third movement was too slow, but many of his other modifications were effective. The fourth movement, overused as it is, sounded fresh. When the violins first took the main theme, it was heavenly. The basses and cellos were excellent too. And the chorus of about 200 voices managed to come through even at the end:
"Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt! Freude, schöner Götterfunken!"