Favorites: Alan Gilbert

Preparing Liszt’s Faust Symphony for a concert with my beloved Royal Swedish Orchestra was incredibly joyous and inspiring, and I think the orchestra was as blown away as I am by the music. No hyperbole: Liszt fully and rightfully stands among the very greatest masters in the pantheon of composers. 

Over and over we have had a similar experience: ‘There’s Tristan!’ ‘It’s Götterdämmerung!’ ‘He stole from Wagner!’ ‘Leitmotif!’ ‘It’s a 12-tone row!’ Of course, the thing is that Liszt wrote the work before all the other music you might think he copied if you didn’t realize that he premiered it in 1857. 

I adore the piece. It really has it all and is a worthy telling of Goethe’s legend. The range of characterization is awesome, as the piece goes from the most thrilling, swaggering, energetic music that demands all our commitment and flair to the most meltingly heart-breaking moments of intimacy that are as vulnerable and tender as any I know. 

I am not sure what the entry of the chorus and tenor means – the text is the epitome of romantic mumbo-jumbo – but I do know that the return to C major in its purest form at the end is cathartic and feels like a true apotheosis, coming after all the chromatic psychodrama that precedes it. Presenting this piece with the Royal Swedish Orchestra has only made me look forward to more performances of it elsewhere around the world.