The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) ended its 2023-2024 season in grand style with a glorious performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3. Mahler was not known for brevity – the Third Symphony comes close to wearing out its welcome, especially in the first movement – but a near-capacity audience seemed to think the piece merited its 1.5 hour duration. Mahler’s Third Symphony is one of the composer’s finest musical visions, culminating in some of the most satisfying D major chords ever composed. The TSO was in stellar form and music director Gustavo Gimeno gave us some of his best work since he arrived in Toronto in 2020.​​

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​Mahler’s Third Symphony includes a solo for an alto voice and it was beautifully sung by German mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger in her TSO debut. In the fifth movement the orchestra and alto soloist are joined by a chorus of treble voices and a children’s choir. We also had bells on the highest balcony behind the choruses. It all worked perfectly with children, sopranos and altos, and a solo TSO percussionist doing exemplary work.

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