A superb Mozart and Mahler concert conducted by Maazel

This evening we saw the New York Philharmonic conducted by Lorin Maazel playing Mozart Symphony #29 and the Mahler 5th Symphony. Superb.

Our seats for this series are in Row G on the far right. We get a great view of the conductor from the side, so we can see facial expressions clearly. I was struck by the difference in conducting style between Birnbaum and Maazel.

Birnbaum uses a podium with a railing at the back - and he uses every square inch of it. He leans back over the rail. He moves to the side and leans so far over into the violin section that he almost hits heads with his baton. He moves forward and lunges towards the brass to encourage more effort.

Maazel uses no rail - he does not need one. His body movements are expressive, and sometimes explosive, but his feet barely move more than a few inches in each direction. He did, however, launch himself almost six inches into the air with both feet off the ground several times during the Mahler.

The encore was the prelude to Act III of Wagner's Lohengrin.

Overall, a very satisfying evening.