Mahler Players: Mendelssohn and Brahms

Inverness Cathedral, 19/9/2026

The Mahler Players, Tomas Leakey, conductor

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream • Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D major

The Mahler Players continued their exploration of nineteenth-century orchestral masterpieces with a programme pairing Mendelssohn’s enchanting incidental music with Brahms’s expansive Second Symphony.

The first half combined the overture with an extensive, well-chosen selection from the full incidental score, including two vocal numbers. After some initial insecurity in the high strings, the performance settled into the exemplary standard expected of the ensemble.

The orchestral balance was finely judged throughout. In the fortissimo passages, the expanded brass section sang through exultantly without overwhelming the rest of the ensemble.

The sprightly, scampering music in the scherzo delighted, with perfectly executed dynamic contrasts and especially vivid interplay between strings and woodwinds, all played with élan.

Holly Teague (soprano) and Chloe Harris (mezzo) sang beautifully alongside a small but perfectly formed chorus. The orchestra remained sensitively balanced, allowing the singers’ crystal-clear enunciation to carry.

The Allegro Appassionato movement showcased the brass section’s power without excess; hearing a full trumpet section was a particular delight.

Brahms’s Second Symphony filled the entire second half. Perhaps performed less often than the First and Fourth, it furthered The Mahler Players’ commitment to bringing a more varied orchestral repertoire to the Highlands. With concertante writing distributed across the score, the work gives soloists, sections, and the full ensemble opportunities to shine.

The audience was captivated from the outset. The chiaroscuro mood of the opening, with its airy horn and woodwind theme disturbed by brooding timpani and trombone, and the wistful second subject, closely recalling the composer’s famous lullaby, showed off the orchestra’s range and versatility.  The closing horn solo sang out sweetly, evoking alpine pastures and offering a glimpse of the imagery - perhaps not entirely accurately - that underpins the symphony’s pastoral associations.

The sombre interplay between cellos and bassoon which opens the second movement provided a compelling contrast with the opening movement. Its daunting 12/8 section, with multiple layers of rhythmic complexity, was handled with confidence and assurance - a passage capable of troubling even top-flight orchestras.

The superbly balanced, expertly executed cello pizzicatos in the allegretto were a particular highlight. The delicate woodwind playing here was equally sublime, especially the folk-like oboe melody.

The final movement started like a coiled spring of unison strings about to unleash its full force.  None of the initial hesitancy here. We are propelled towards a rousing conclusion, brass and timpani ringing out exuberantly from the back of the orchestra, filling the cathedral with a sense of rapture and revealing the exultant side of a composer too often regarded as dour and introspective.

The finale crowned a joyous evening with a resounding triumph, the ensemble radiating exuberance and vitality. The sustained applause confirmed a strong appetite in the Highlands for programming more adventurous than that generally offered by established national touring orchestras. Congratulations to Tomas Leakey and the Mahler Players for yet another triumphant performance. Let us hope the trend continues, and that others draw inspiration from this low-key but immensely talented ensemble.