Music : Mester Leads Pasadena Symphony in Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’

Jorge Mester, who conducted the Pasadena Symphony Saturday at Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, has his own ideas on how Mahler should go. Apparently, he thinks this Second Symphony, potentially Mahler’s longest depending on who conducts it, shouldn’t be all that long.

He kept tempos moving smartly ahead. He took the allegro marking of the opening movement at face value. He omitted, except for the first, pauses between movements. He attempted to minimize the sprawl of the finale. What takes most conductors an hour and a half-plus to traverse, Mester completed in a mere hour and 20 minutes.

The conductor sought crisp accenting and firmly outlined, foursquare rhythm. He didn’t languish over Mahler’s lyricism, he didn’t dawdle over minor details. Textures were generally lean. There were no pregnant pauses.

Such an approach has considerable merits, and a few drawbacks. Many times one didn’t feel the weight, the depth, of a passing phrase. Many times one wanted to relish a quirky detail or the lavishness of orchestral colors. Execution, though generally of a high order, could get sloppy as Mester pressed ever forward. Balances went askew as woodwinds and strings proved no match for the bright, powerful, climactic interjections of brass and percussion.

Mezzo-soprano Jacalyn Bower sang the “Urlicht” movement with poised fluidity and full-bodied tone. Margaret Cusack’s well-focused soprano floated efficiently in the finale. The Pacific Chorale sang cleanly, with well balanced hush and heft.

In short, this was lean, logical Mahler. Mester’s no-fuss, concisely argued “Resurrection” never allowed attention to flag, and if it did, the brash, cataclysmic climaxes grabbed it back.