Under the direction of Risto Joost, Mahler's Third Symphony was exquisitely crafted; everything was in place: tempos, phrasing, musical characters. The conductor's positivity and precision were reflected in the orchestra's high-level performance
Both the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra and the ERSO opened their seasons with a symphony by Gustav Mahler, the third and fourth respectively. While it might be pointless to compare the two performances—each musical experience stands on its own, and they involved different works—a point of comparison nonetheless emerged. The result—a photo finish gave the victory to Vanemuine. Under the direction of Risto Joost, Mahler's Third Symphony was exquisitely crafted; everything was in place: tempos, phrasing, musical characters. The conductor's positivity and precision were reflected in the orchestra's high-level performance, with only a momentary lapse of focus noticeable in the third movement. Otherwise, it was simply an outstanding performance from the orchestra, in which I even noticed high school students as part of the ensemble. Kai Rüütel-Pajula soloed in the fourth and fifth movements of the symphony, and her performance was, as expected, beautifully profound. The pleasant surprise, however, was the choir, which was composed of female singers from the Vanemuine Opera Choir, the University of Tartu Academic Women's Choir, Tartu Boys' Choir, and Tartu Karlova School Children's Choir. From such diverse vocal materials, a cohesive and beautifully resonant ensemble was created, and the initial fear that the professional singers from the opera choir would overwhelm the other choirs with their powerful voices disappeared with the first bars.