When Gustav Mahler began his Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” in 1888 he was a 28 year old itinerant conductor and virtually unknown as a composer. But by the time of its first complete performance in December 1895, Mahler was an increasingly celebrated maestro, having advanced his career with a combination of talent, cunning and sheer will. His own compositions however were still largely ignored. Reviewing an early reading of the first three movements of the Second Symphony, critics had dismissed Mahler’s work as “noisy and bombastic pathos” and “atrocious, tormenting dissonance.” Continue Reading »

In the thirty years since the last helicopter lifted off the U.S. embassy roof in what is now Ho Chi Min City, the relationship between Vietnam and the United States of America has undergone a remarkable transformation. After a period of recrimination, followed by an excruciatingly slow thaw, the two countries are now poised for an entirely new relationship that promises the benefits of collaboration and mutual respect. Continue Reading »