"Ten years ago, when I said I would organize a private orchestra and perform Mahler's symphonies, people around me tried to stop me. The pieces are highly difficult and costly to stage. The recklessness of my 20s is what allowed me to start performing Mahler, and it has helped me grow this much."
Jin Sol, artistic director and conductor of the private orchestra "Mahlerian," shared her reflections on the past decade in a recent interview with Seoul Economic Daily. Since its founding in 2016, Mahlerian has staged a Mahler symphony every year, and on the 30th the ensemble will present its ninth performance, Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand," at the Seoul Arts Center.
This year, orchestras across the country are competitively taking on Mahler, creating what has been called a "Mahler Grand War." Among them, Jin's trajectory stands out. It is extremely rare for a private ensemble led by a female conductor in her 30s to be on the verge of completing Mahler's entire symphonic cycle. Once she finishes the final performance, Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection," in October, Jin Sol will be recorded as the youngest conductor in Asia and the youngest female conductor in the world to have completed Mahler's complete symphonies.
"Because the classical music world is conservative, there was an atmosphere of dismissal when a young conductor gathered players and said she would perform Mahler," Jin said. "Even so, by steadily staging performances every year, my studies deepened, and it became an opportunity to grow stronger."
No performance has ever been easy, but this year's challenge carries special meaning. The "Symphony of a Thousand," the largest in scale among Mahler's 10 symphonies, is overwhelming in its instrumentation and famously demanding musically. At its 1910 premiere, more than 1,000 performers appeared on stage, giving rise to the nickname "Symphony of a Thousand." This time, an orchestra of about 100 musicians will be joined by four choral groups — the National Chorus of Korea, the Bucheon City Choir, the Winner Opera Chorus, and the Gimpo City Children's Chorus — along with eight vocalists: sopranos Lee Yun-jung, Kim Soo-jung, and Jang Hye-ji; altos Kim Se-rin and Jung Soo-yeon; tenor Park Seung-joo; baritone Lee Seung-wang; and bass Jeon Tae-hyun. The total cast reaches 400 performers, requiring a large church to be rented for rehearsals.
The "Symphony of a Thousand" is regarded as a work that condenses Mahler's philosophy and artistry. Part I features the 9th-century Latin hymn "Veni, Creator Spiritus," while Part II unfolds as a vocal work based on the final scene of Goethe's "Faust." Jin says that through the "Symphony of a Thousand," she encountered a Mahler who was more human than anyone. "In the opening part, humans call out to God as if performing a ritual, but afterward the gaze turns to humans themselves. It clearly reveals Mahler's philosophy of imperfect humans who refuse to give up and carry on to the end. It is a piece filled with anxiety, anguish, and consolation. Mahler himself was so satisfied with it that he considered it a gift for future generations."
Jin confessed that she too received deep comfort through the piece. "Planning and running performances has been so difficult that I sometimes wondered, 'Can I really do it again next year?'" she said. "But the very process of creating a performance together with musicians who love Mahler was itself a way of practicing Mahler's message," she added with a bright smile. As if to reward her passion and perseverance, the performance has completely sold out.
What is Jin Sol's wish as she wraps up the decade-long journey with Mahler's Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" in October? "I hope it becomes a time when modern people living through chaotic times can connect with Mahler, who created music while carrying the same struggles a century ago."
