SF Symphony Mahler 2
Holy cow I just went to see SFSO do Mahler 2. Amazing! The best concert I have ever been to. MTT does takes some liberties with tempo and dramatic pauses, but in a very tasteful way that outlines or further emphasizes the musical moment. The First movement tempo seemed to begin very slow, but then you could quickly see where MTT was taking the movement and the overall pace of the piece.
Each phrase, each lick was important. It almost seemed that attention was given to each person’s part with a fine comb to make it just so. This worked extremely well with such a detail oriented piece.
And thank you for programming it as so:
Concert Program
Mahler Symphony No ___
(No intermission)
End.
No light fluff Mozart opener, don’t try to do some kind of piano concerto from Haydn to mix with your Mahler 5. Don’t try to make it a 5 hour marathon. And no intermission – w00t! 
Thank you SF Symphony.
Brass were incredible. The strings played true ppp. Woodwinds had an incredibly uniform woodwind ‘wall’ of sound. The symphony chorus + organ at Davies Hall was a monumental experience. Great concert, musicians.