A chat with Violinist Megan Prokes on preparing for Mahler's 9th Symphony
- cbeeson69
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
Interview with violinist megan Prokes!
I chatted with Megan about preparing to rehearse and perform, and particularly how that might be different when preparing Mahler's symphonic literature.
About megan
Megan Prokes (she/her) is originally from Buffalo, New York. She began studying the violin at the age of 4 under the Suzuki method. Her first teachers were Alice Keith Knowles and Mary Cay Neal. Megan earned her Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts in Violin Performance at Carnegie Mellon University, where she studied with Cyrus Forough. She has been a member of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Megan has been a member of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra since 2017.
In addition to playing the violin, Megan enjoys playing the viola, particularly in chamber music settings. BECAUSE SHE IS AWESOME LIKE THAT** Outside of work she loves rock climbing throughout the Front Range, swimming, running, and spending time with her family.
**edit made by Beeson totally without Megan's permission, but duh it's obvious 😎
About Gustav Mahler, and
Symphony No. 9
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) is primarily known for his epic length symphonic works which follow spiritual and philosophical narrative arcs and utilize large numbers of instruments including vocal soloists and choruses. These works largely received tepid responses or outright criticism at their premieres but caught on later. Now Mahler’s music enjoys a bit of cult status with frequent recordings and performances, including entire festivals dedicated to his works.
Symphony No. 9 was actually Mahler's 10th symphony. He was deeply superstitious about the fact that Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Anton Bruckner had all died before composing a 10th symphony, and in fact Mahler felt there was a "curse of the 9th". Technically his ninth symphony was the work he titled Das Lied von der Erde "Song of the Earth" in order to avoid the curse.
He began working on a "Symphony No. 9" in 1908 and completed it in 1909, about a year before his 8th symphony was premiered. He had sketched much of his Symphony No. 10 by the time he died. Symphony No. 9 was the last symphony he completed before his death. It was premiered in Vienna in 1912 after his death, and wasn't premiered in the United States until 1931. So... A for effort on that curse avoidance technique I guess??
Explore more about Mahler and his music using the tags below! 🎉🎶🤓
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