How many Hammer blows does it take to fell a Mahlerian tree? (ans: five??)

[Guest]

So now we're up to FIVE hammer strokes in Mahler's Sixth?? This is quite the arms race -- I'm holding out until we find a dozen or more.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/music/pounding-out-the-right-beat-for-mahler-643771/

[Nick Armstrong]

This post got no response back in 2012....

Worth resurrecting (I know, wrong Mahler symphony) as a suitable place to point out that the LSO have acquired a new Hammer Box for their Mahler 6 this Thursday (19/5/16) in the Barbican under Antonio Pappano.



.

Quite apart from that, Pappano in Mahler 6 is an intriguing prospect. Plus Ms Mullova in Shostakovich VC#1. Pretty good concert...!

[Petrushka]

A long evening! Punters are certainly getting there monies worth! I hadn't got Pappano down as a Mahler conductor so this will indeed be an intriguing listen.

I already have my ticket for the Rattle/LSO Mahler 6 on SSR's 62nd birthday next year (Jan 19) when, presumably, the new hammer box will get another airing if it's not shattered after Thursday's concert.

[jean]

...a suitable place to point out that the LSO have acquired a new Hammer Box for their Mahler 6 this Thursday (19/5/16) in the Barbican under Antonio Pappano...

We had it last year!

...The long finale began mysteriously but built and built until those much anticipated hammer blows. Here was something of a first. Principal percussionist Graham Johns constructed his own "Hammerschlag" to a design produced by Roger Cline (a double bass player at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a mean amateur carpenter in his spare time. This was apparently the first time the ‘Hammerschlag’ has been heard in Europe)...

[Nick Armstrong]

We had it last year!

...The long finale began mysteriously but built and built until those much anticipated hammer blows. Here was something of a first. Principal percussionist Graham Johns constructed his own "Hammerschlag" to a design produced by Roger Cline (a double bass player at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a mean amateur carpenter in his spare time. This was apparently the first time the ‘Hammerschlag’ has been heard in Europe)...

Were you there to have your timbers shivered, jean?

[jean]

I was - and I did find it slightly disappointing, after all the hype.

[gradus]

Not as good as the tea chest that I saw used once, 'played' by a percussionist wielding a very long handled wooden mallet and offering the delightful prospect of a miss.

[Flosshilde]

So now we're up to FIVE hammer strokes in Mahler's Sixth?? This is quite the arms race -- I'm holding out until we find a dozen or more.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...mahler-643771/

Interesting - not so much for the five hammerblows, as for the fact that there was enough demand in Pittsburgh for concerts to be repeated twice (three performances in all). Does that ever happen in London?

The performances were recorded for release on CD. At the time the article was written the Music Director wasn't sure if they would use the five blows version - does anyone know which version they eventually issued?

[Barbirollians]

This post got no response back in 2012....

Worth resurrecting (I know, wrong Mahler symphony) as a suitable place to point out that the LSO have acquired a new Hammer Box for their Mahler 6 this Thursday (19/5/16) in the Barbican under Antonio Pappano.




.

Quite apart from that, Pappano in Mahler 6 is an intriguing prospect. Plus Ms Mullova in Shostakovich VC#1. Pretty good concert...!

There is a live Mahler 6 with Pappano from a few years back on EMI - it is very exciting .

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jan/05/mahler-symphony-no-6-review

[Nick Armstrong]

A long evening! Punters are certainly getting there monies worth!

22.05 finish - there'll have been some rushing off for last trains...

(Thanks for reminding us of that earlier Pappano Mahler 6 recording from Rome, Barbirollians)

[mercia]

Mr Cline makes other instruments too

http://www.chicagosymphonymusicians.com/features/beyond-orchestra-hall-a-continuing-look-at-the-cso-musicians-away-from-the-stage

[Alain Maréchal]

Unimpressed by the sound it made on Radio 3. More of a slap than a thud; I would suggest it should be rather felt than heard. I maintain my preferred option: two large wooden boxes, wrapped in thick cloth, one on top of the other, and struck with a sledgehammer. A terrifying sound.

[greenilex]

I'd hammer in the morning...

[Flosshilde]

Unimpressed by the sound it made on Radio 3. More of a slap than a thud; I would suggest it should be rather felt than heard.

Difficult, in a radio broadcast. Unless you have incredibly amazing audio equipment.

I maintain my preferred option: two large wooden boxes, wrapped in thick cloth, one on top of the other, and struck with a sledgehammer.

But is that what Mahler specified? He wanted hammerblows of fate that felled his hero, not "a terrifying sound".

[Alain Maréchal]

Difficult, in a radio broadcast. Unless you have incredibly amazing audio equipment.



But is that what Mahler specified? He wanted hammerblows of fate that felled his hero, not "a terrifying sound".

The bass drums and timpani came over very effectively online and played through my audio equipment, and the hammer sounded lighter (ie at a higher frequency) than them, so a slap. What does a hammerblow of fate sound like?