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On Oct. 4 in Sanders Theatre, the Music 110 Orchestra gave the opening concert of its 2025-2026 season, titled “A Night of Mahler.” Under the direction of conductor Federico Cortese, the program consisted of two major works by Romantic composer Gustav Mahler: all five songs from his “Rückert-Lieder” collection, followed by his complete “Symphony No. 4 in G Major.” The concert, Cortese explained in his opening remarks, would end softly on both pieces. Yet the evening’s restraint carried an undeniable intensity that made it an impressive and memorable start to the season.
The concert — which was originally planned under the name of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra — took place under the shadow of controversy. Following a much-debated suspension by Harvard College for the rest of the fall semester as the result of an investigation into alleged hazing, the orchestra is allowed to hold concerts but not permitted to use the “HRO” name. “Music 110R” is the name of the class through which students could participate in HRO for course credit, though HRO members are not required to enroll.
The “Rückert-Lieder” featured mezzo-soprano Maire Therese Carmack, whose warm tone and steady control suited Mahler’s introspective songs, as soloist. Cortese explained that when Mahler wrote the “Rückert-Lieder,” he never established a definitive sequence for the five songs, giving conductors the freedom to determine the order.
The sequence that Cortese chose formed a clear emotional arc, beginning with the contemplative “Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft!” The piece opened gently with the violins, soon joined by clarinet and oboe lines that drifted beneath Carmack’s voice. Strong coordination between the singer and orchestra propelled this song, with the flutes and violins shaping phrases that breathed with the same rhythm as her delivery.
The second and third songs shifted the focus toward love. The standout was “Liebst du um Schönheit,” which Mahler wrote as a love letter to his wife Alma. The orchestra’s principal harpist, Olivia S. Lee ’29, played a delicate but crucial role here, her arpeggios rippling beneath Carmack’s expressive singing. The strings played with smooth legato phrasing, and the woodwinds — especially principal flute Amy J. Hwang ’26 — echoed the singer’s lines with care.
Yet despite the overall balance, Carmack’s voice was occasionally hard to hear, especially when the violins swelled in dynamic passages and momentarily covered her lower range. Still, the performance captured the song’s sincerity and warmth, particularly in the final lines, which she sang with gentle conviction.
The set concluded with “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,” a slow, meditative piece that was described by Cortese as a reflection on solitude. The muted strings, sustained by a deep undercurrent from the cellos and basses, gave the song a floating quality. Meanwhile, the English horn and bassoon added soft, somber colors that framed Carmack’s voice as she sang in German, “I live alone in my heaven, in my love, in my song!” The two woodwinds created an especially poignant color during the song’s final verse while the violas maintained a steady melody throughout. The final note lingered into silence, making for a subdued but powerful ending to the first half.
After intermission, the orchestra returned for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, featuring soprano Sarah Joyce Cooper in the final movement.
The opening immediately shifted the atmosphere as the triangle set a bright, playful tone, answered by crisp violin figures that entered into a beautiful legato movement. Featured sparingly but confidently, the brass blended with the strings instead of overpowering them. The movement’s humor came through clearly, the orchestra managing Mahler’s contrasts between elegance and irony with tight control.
The third movement, “Ruhevoll,” stood out as the most emotionally charged section of the symphony. The first violins carried a calm, singing melody that built gradually into one of Mahler’s most breathtaking climaxes. The percussion section — especially the timpani and cymbals — added weight without dominating the sound, while the trombones and trumpets filled the hall with rich, full chords. When the intensity subsided, the clarinets and horn traded quiet phrases that led seamlessly back into the movement’s peaceful theme. Cortese’s pacing here was excellent: The climaxes arrived naturally, and the transitions between loud and soft sections felt smooth and deliberate.
In the final movement, “Sehr behaglich,” Cooper entered with a bright, clear soprano that carried easily over the orchestra. Her voice brought childlike sincerity to the text, which describes the joys of heaven. The flutes and violins doubled her melody in unison, and the harp once again added an ethereal shimmer beneath the vocal line. Cooper’s diction was clear as she blended smoothly with the orchestra, creating the impression of a conversation rather than a solo feature. The ending — a slow descent into quiet — left the theater suspended in silence.
Just as Cortese had predicted, no one moved after the last note faded. For several seconds, Sanders Theatre was completely still. Then, as if released from the spell of the music, the audience rose to their feet in a long — and deserved — standing ovation. Cortese bowed three times as the applause continued for more than five minutes.
“A Night of Mahler” may have been a softer concert in design, but it revealed the orchestra’s depth, balance, and control. In both the intimacy of the “Rückert-Lieder” and the sweeping lyricism of the Fourth Symphony, Music 110 showed that quiet power can be just as commanding as thunderous sound.
