It is now Monday, February 9, 2026, and I am just now writing this review. What did I hear, what did I see, and what do I think about it?
In music, we are immediately separated from the past. The ringing of a bell happens in an instant, the bell resonates for a while, and then the sound disappears almost as quickly as it was made. Music is like a ghost that is there one second and gone the next, but somewhere in our subconscious, it always exists.
Program
Tabita Berglund conductor
Camilla Tilling soprano
Anna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977)
ARCHORA
Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911)
Rückert-Lieder
Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder!
Ich atmet’ einen Linden Duft!
Um Mitternacht
Liebst du um Schönheit?
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
INTERMISSION
Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911)
Symphony No. 4 in G Major in 4 Movements
Bedächtig; nicht eilen
In gemächlicher Bewegung; ohne Hast
Ruhevoll (Poco adagio)
Sehr behaglich
I attended this Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert on Friday morning, February 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m.—an unusual hour, made more challenging by steady snowfall. For the intended daytime audience, the weather likely made attendance difficult, but those who made the effort were rewarded with a thoughtfully constructed and musically rich program.
The morning began with a pre-concert lecture, Fresh Ears, presented by CSO Associate Principal Timpanist Joe Bricker. His discussion of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s ARCHORA was insightful and illuminating, offering a valuable framework for what we were about to hear. His close study of the work deepened my appreciation for its construction and intent.
Also featured pre-concert in the foyer were musicians from New Downbeat, a Cincinnati-based new music collective. I only caught fragments of their performance while attending the lecture, but what I heard was compelling, and the group appeared to be warmly received by those gathered in the foyer.
ARCHORA is described as a soundscape inspired by impressions of Iceland, and that description feels entirely apt. The piece unfolds through slow-moving layers of sound—fundamental tones enriched by harmonics and evolving textures. There are no traditional themes to follow; instead, the work asks the listener to inhabit a sonic environment. The pacing is deliberate, requiring extraordinary control and sensitivity from the orchestra. Conductor Tabita Berglund was precise and attentive in her gestures, and the orchestra responded with remarkable focus and restraint.
Hearing ARCHORA live is an experience that no recording can truly capture. The sound is massive yet delicate, subtle yet visceral. It resists easy description because it is felt more than remembered. The piece opens new sensory pathways and taps into something ancient and elemental—an inherited sonic memory, perhaps. It is the kind of work you want to encounter again, not tomorrow, but years from now, to see how it resonates differently over time.
The program continued with Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, a set of five songs for soprano and orchestra, sung by Camilla Tilling. Her soprano is warm, rich, and beautifully centered, particularly radiant in the upper register. The dialogue between voice and orchestra was refined and musically sensitive, as one would expect in this repertoire. Surtitles were provided, which proved helpful; despite speaking German fluently, I found the text difficult to discern acoustically in the hall.
Singing Mahler in a large space with a full orchestra is a formidable challenge. The balance between artistic subtlety and textual clarity is delicate. While Tilling’s interpretive restraint was admirable, some of the declamatory force needed for clear communication was lost, particularly in softer dynamics and lower ranges. Her sound was consistently beautiful, but the effective projection of text in such a space requires exaggeration rather than subtlety. Having said that, I’m not even sure it can be sung where people could actually understand it. It rarely happens in classical music, something I am a bit of a pill about, admittedly. Still, the luminous quality of her higher passages was undeniable and deeply affecting.
Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 in G major was the primary reason I made the trip to Cincinnati. It is a work I have long admired, having first encountered it analytically in college and later hearing it live years ago in Stuttgart. Its apparent simplicity masks an extraordinary level of compositional sophistication, and hearing it again reinforced my admiration for its craftsmanship and expressive range.
Tabita Berglund, a Norwegian conductor clearly on a strong upward trajectory, led the performance with clarity, expressiveness, and confidence. Her gestures are communicative and grounded, and she draws focused, musical responses from the orchestra. The increasing presence of women on the podium is something to celebrate—not as a novelty, but as a normalization—and Berglund exemplifies why. She has nothing to prove; her authority comes naturally through her musicianship, and it was a pleasure to experience this performance under her direction.
This was my first visit to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. The Hall itself is striking in its appearance. The outside is a red brick building, dating from 1787. The interior is generous with soaring spaces that allow for easy conversation and a place to stretch and breathe. They actually have escalators in this hall, as well as elevators, and they are a good idea because you have to cover quite a large space to get to your seat. Once inside the hall, the seats in the galleries are in steep rows, making for superb sight lines, but can be difficult if you are unfamiliar.
The seat I had was on the top gallery balcony, first row. Even though we were a bit far away from the orchestra, it felt really close. The sound of the orchestra in the hall is very close. You can really hear the violins so prominently, better than any hall that I have been to. For instance, Nashville’s Schermerhorn seems to blend the sounds better, but the immediacy of this sound hall is very compelling because of the feeling of intimacy. It is so clear, clean, and transparent. A great place to hear music.
This is a glorious hall, a well-established institution, and a highly skilled orchestra. This is a first rate venue and you should go! You will not be disappointed.
