That's the bass solo which introduces the third movement

of Mahler's Symphony No. 1.

Such an ingenious idea of Mahler's

to use a solo bass, and a muted one at that,

to introduce this strange, haunting melody,

which is then passed off to bassoon, and tuba,

and so on through much of the orchestra,

until you have this vast canon, a truly beautiful mosaic of sound.

It's a huge honor to perform this solo, and I always look forward to it.

The first time I played it in the Philharmonic was back in 2012

with a guest conductor whose name was

Jaap van Zweden.

I hope it won't be too long before we're all back,

performing for you in David Geffen Hall again.

Thank you very much for watching and stay safe.