The San Diego Union-Tribune (Mark Overtone) “From the moment he raised his baton, Ling was in complete command of the business at hand. Attacks and releases were clean, balances were never left to chance, and tempo changes did not derail the piece’s interior engine. Details were attended to without impeding the forward flow of the music, whether it was a quick highlighting of some of the amazing counterpoint in the first movement or the inner string voices in the third-movement Andante.  Most important of all, Ling threw out to the orchestra a musical line, which the players caught, held and pulled taut for the next hour and a half. The players’ intense commitment to the work made it seem as if the music itself were the salvation we all seek against the darkness that can sometimes overwhelm us… Responding to these challenges, the orchestra set a standard that will be hard to surpass in future Mahler performances.”