About the Concert

Mahler writes his first symphony in just six weeks in 1888, yet he is still a blank slate as a composer. But he is freshly in love and, as if in a frenzy, composes a monumental work that already exhibits all his typical stylistic features: the abrupt changes of mood, the allusions to other composers and styles, and the elegiac keynote.
"Tapkaara" means "to dance standing up" and is used by a certain ethnic group in Japan to refer to a ritual: When they are feeling particularly well or poorly, they come together, sing improvised songs, and dance while doing so. Akira Ifukube often witnessed this and made it the occasion for his Sinfonia of the same name. For our Focus Artist Kahchun Wong, it is one of the most important recent works by Japanese composers and is particularly close to his heart.