Review: Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Tackles Mahler 5

“For the better part of a year—and certainly all season long—Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra Music Director Christopher Zimmerman has been talking up Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5,” writes John Lamb in Sunday’s (3/19) Inforum (Fargo, ND). “He promised a complex work that was technically and physically difficult for the musicians and emotionally draining for the audience. The conductor delivered on all of the hype Saturday night at North Dakota State University’s Festival Concert Hall, leading the FMSO through a thrilling take on Mahler’s masterpiece…. Clocking in at over 70 minutes, the composition is the only work performed at this weekend’s concerts. It’s a daring, all-in gamble and one that paid off…. The performance ended with a sustained and well-deserved standing ovation…. The concert comes to a thrilling climax with the fifth and final movement, racing toward the ending at a dizzying pace. After the final note, Zimmerman and the other musicians looked up with smiles on their faces, pleased with their achievement…. FMSO audiences will see more of another new face next season. Interim Executive Director Linda Boyd announced that her replacement, Alan Lambert from Texas, will take over for her starting in June.”