Exploring Mahler’s Ninth: Conductor David Bernard on Artistic Challenges and Audience Connection
- WOMCO
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
David Bernard was awarded the Master Prize in the Conducting Category, at the 2025 Season 2 UK International Music Competition.
Could you share the background of your performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9?
I programmed Mahler’s Ninth as part of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s 25th Anniversary Season. Following an intense preparation process, we recorded the symphony in studio sessions followed by a series of InsideOut Concerts, where the audience is embedded within the orchestra for the performance. I developed InsideOut Concerts (US Patent 11,673,070) to transform symphonic concerts to immersive experiences to build authentic audiences for classical music.
The Album will be available on June 13th in streaming, download and CD formats. You can use this link to stream, download or purchase the CD: https://orcd.co/mahler9
How did you approach Mahler's Symphony No. 9?
I see the Ninth as Mahler’s artistic dénouement—presenting a procession of three movements that look backwards through the composer’s artistic life, followed by a finale that serves as a reflective epilogue. Through the unfolding of the first three movements--from Mahler’s most introspective and mature musical depiction of his youth, to his most expressive portrayal of cultural heritage through Ländlers and Waltzes, through his most spectacular and moving tour-de-force showcase of contrapuntal prowess--the Ninth embodies the most elevated treatment of the musical and philosophical tensions Mahler had explored repeatedly throughout his career. And through the final Adagio, Mahler ponders the impact of his creative life on the world with music that is at once emotionally deep, otherworldly and passionately expressive.
Mahler’s Ninth presents a unique challenge to conductors. In his other works, especially his symphonies, Mahler supplies a clear lens into his thinking and intention through letters, lyrics/song texts and subsequent revisions to the score. Yet the Ninth contains no texts, and was completed a few short years before his death, eliminating the possibility of revisions or writing. The work speaks for itself quite clearly, though…you just have to listen to it carefully...
What was the most memorable moment in your work on Mahler’s Ninth with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony?
The most memorable moment from this exploration of Mahler’s Ninth was certainly the final silence at the end of the symphony when we performed it as part of our InsideOut Concert with the audience seated embedded with members of the orchestra. By the time we reached the end of this 80 minute symphony, both the audience and the orchestra have been through a fantastic journey whose final chapter was 25 minutes of a profound, evocative and in many ways disorienting meditation that slowed down time itself to magnify every nuanced gesture. As a result, how the silence is used to return audience members to real-time after this profound and disorienting experience was crucial. The length of the silence must be long enough to allow each audience member to gently reset. When performing this InsideOut version, it was important to not only hold the orchestra in the silence, but to directly hold the audience in their silence as well—in essence giving them space to reset. The most incredible part of this InsideOut Mahler’s Ninth was how the musicians and audience emerged from this experience, exhaling as one as the silence ended and the applauds began. It was a magical moment I will never forget.
Would you like to share your experience participating in our competition and thank anyone (such as collaborators, supporters, or other team members)?
I am grateful for the brilliance and intense commitment of each member of the orchestra for this achievement. I would also like to thank the judges for their rigor and dedication in carefully evaluating each finalist. It is a tough job to do well, requiring the best combination of commitment and vision.
Biography
David Bernard serves as Music Director of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Massapequa Philharmonic and the Eglevsky Ballet. He is winner of the Master Prize of the UK International Conducting Competition, the Platinum Prize of the European Classical Music Awards, and a multiple First Prize winner of the Orchestral Conducting Competition of The American Prize. An active guest conductor, Maestro Bernard appears with the Brooklyn Symphony, the Dubuque (IA) Symphony, the Greenwich (CT) Symphony, Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Island Symphony, the Litha Symphony, the South Shore Symphony and ensembles from the Manhattan School of Music. Called “the Johnny Appleseed of Classical Music” by Long Island Weekly, Maestro Bernard has helped the Arts thrive in the New York Metropolitan Area through his innovative approaches to audience and orchestra building as music director and guest conductor.
David Bernard’s performances and recordings are critically acclaimed worldwide, including Mahler’s Ninth Symphony (“Bernard’s leadership from the podium was characterized by meticulous attention to detail. His ability to interpret Mahler’s complex score with precision and emotional clarity exemplified a rare blend of technical mastery and artistic insight. With his fluid yet purposeful gestures, he guided the orchestra through the symphony’s emotional peaks and valleys, ensuring that each transition was seamless and every climax resonated with full impact.”—Edward Kliszus, The Front Row Center), Tchaikovsky’s Late Symphonies (“As a distinguishing feature of this recording, I noticed David Bernard’s obvious effort to bring out all that’s written down in the score thus exposing internal voices I’ve not heard before.”—The WholeNote/Canada), HEROIC: Beethoven’s Eroica and Mahler’s Fifth ("Quite impressive by our European standards. This interpretation is flawless both musically and artistically. The success of this album must be acknowledged, showcasing the high quality of the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony under David Bernard’s precise and inspired direction."—Crescendo Magazine/Brussels), Stravinsky’s "The Rite of Spring" at Lincoln Center (“transcendent...vivid...expertly choreographed” -LucidCulture), Beethoven’s Complete Symphonies praised for its “intensity, spontaneity, propulsive rhythm, textural clarity, dynamic control, and well-judged phrasing” by Fanfare magazine, Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony (“parts emerge like newly scrubbed details in a restored painting. Bernard and his musicians frequently shed new and valuable light on a thrice-familiar standard” -Gramophone) and an album of Dvořák’s Late Symphonies (“David Bernard treats each of the symphonies with alert and respectful acuity. He trusts Dvořák’s metronome markings, often to surprising and exciting effect, and makes sure the narratives unfold with seamless assurance. Bernard shapes the score with fine control, savouring its tender and invigorating material minus mannerism or bluster.” -Gramophone).
For more information and to watch the InsideOut Concert, please visit: https://youtu.be/NZAbbkZmyPA