A Special New York Centennial Today

On 21 February 1911 Gustav Mahler made his final appearance as a conductor.  His New York Philharmonic program largely consisted of what were then contemporary Italian composers' works:

Sinigaglia  Overture to Le baruffe chiozzotte

Mendelssohn  Symphony No. 4 (Italian)

Martucci  Piano Concerto No. 2

Busoni  Berceuse élégiaque*

Bossi  Intermezzi from Goldoniani

The stars of Mahler and Busoni especially have not only refused to dim;  they have if anything intensified in recent decades.  May we take inspiration from (or at least be dazzled by)  these composers' spurning of complacency and ceaseless striving for new milestones in their works and lives?

Interested parties will be able to experience this program in Chicago later this year:

http://cso.org/TicketsAndEvents/EventDetails.aspx?eid=4138  

* Busoni's work available in full here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etyXF_gaNaI

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