@uc_ccm’s Philharmonia continued its 2026-27 orchestral season with a program headlined by an exciting performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 under the direction of guest alumni conductor Annunziata Tomaro, current head of the Orchestral Conducting program at the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina and a professor at the Manuel de Falla Conservatory in Buenos Aires.
The two works which preceded the Mahler gave excellent opportunities to showcase the outstanding brass and string players of the orchestra in their own spotlights, beginning with a vibrant performance of the opening fanfare from Paul Dukas’ ballet La Péri. Unusually, the trumpets and lower brass players were placed in the upper loges of Corbett Auditorium, which created an excellent antiphonal effect with onstage horns. Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte for string orchestra proved an excellent contrast, with a more meditative atmosphere calling to mind Caleb Burhans and flashes of aleotoric harmonies reminiscent of early Penderecki, ending either haunting solo cello chords played by principal Krish Subramanian).
It is always to hear a Mahler symphony be performed in Cincinnati, but it is relatively rare to hear a student orchestra perform a symphony such as his Fourth as flawlessly as the Philharmonia did tonight. Most of the work’s more relaxed moments, especially in the first and third movements, felt very relaxed but not overly so, with vibrant moments for clarinets, horns, strings and percussion. The quirky second-movement scherzo was wonderfully resilient, with outstanding sciordatura violin solos from concertmaster Kerrigan Mandrell.
Chinese soprano Yujin Zeng, a student of Dr. Eliot Madore, joined in the fourth movement for an equally passionate and playful performance of the solo song Das irdische Leben. Her voice was warm and resonant without being overpowering. This occasionally caused slight balance problems with the orchestra, but that was largely the product of Corbett Auditorium’s relatively dry acoustics. A very enjoyable performance by all nonetheless.
Looking forward immensely to the start of CCM’s opera season in two weeks with Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece La bohème.
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