The programme is a love letter to 20th-century song in all its forms. 

From the soaring romanticism of Alma Mahler and Richard Strauss to the bittersweet elegance of Cole Porter and Stephen Sondheim, this concert brings together worlds that rarely meet. 

You’ll hear music from beloved films and musicals alongside lush orchestral arrangements of song cycles and solo pieces all carefully curated to tell a story that is moving, varied and richly expressive.

Fantasia Orchestra with Niamh O’Sullivan

Smith Square Hall

Welcome to an evening in the spirit of love, where the singers of the DR Vocal Ensemble explore virtuoso and expressive choral music.

Songs of Love with the DR Vocal Ensemble

Trinity Church Copenhagen

Molly Snodgrass, soprano

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Only sixteen Lieder (songs for voice and piano) survive from Alma Mahler’s vast output, as her husband Gustav curtailed her publication efforts. Five poem-based works evoke love—intoxicating, intimate, infinite, and reflective of loves’ past. Gustav’s initially panned Symphony No. 1 employs musical imagery akin to a song cycle, interpreting nature’s joys and sorrows.

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Mahler & Mahler

Kleinhans Music Hall

Life and its intoxication, the afterlife and its promises. Where Richard Strauss dispenses with words, better throwing them into two flamboyant symphonic poems, Gustav Mahler uses five poems by Friedrich Rückert to depict joy, love, heartbreak, and farewell to the world—these five lieder were one of the great successes of his career. The melodies of Alma, his beloved wife, are a curiosity, and it's a priceless gift to hear mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, a voice charged with all the nuances of the times.

Mahler, Rückert-Lieder / Joyce DiDonato

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées

The Grand Tour, Joyce DiDonato: Dijon

Dijon Opera

Experience a musical journey through emotional landscapes with the Malmo Symphony Orchestra and mezzo-soprano Emma Sventelius, dedicated to Alma Mahler.

To Alma Mahler

Malmö Concert Hall

We open our 80th season with Mahler’s titanic First Symphony; a vivid journey from mysterious dawn through fanfares, folk dances, and intense struggles, culminating in a blisteringly triumphant finale. Gustav Mahler forbade his new wife Alma from composing, claiming, “There is room for only one composer in the family.” We present some of Alma’s early songs, revealing a talented composer lost to the world.

Masterworks 1: The Mahlers

Martin Woldson Theater

Decoda—comprising alums of the adventurous Ensemble Connect and featuring “some of the brightest young classical musicians in the world” (Time Out New York)—is Carnegie Hall’s first-ever affiliate ensemble. With every concert, the spectacularly versatile ensemble showcases its commitment to virtuosic performance, audience and community engagement, and seemingly boundless repertoire. For its 2024–2025 Carnegie Hall concert, Decoda performs works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Gustav and Alma Mahler, Schoenberg, and a one-of-a-kind collaborative suite by four of today’s leading composers, featuring live narration and singers.

Decoda

Carnegie Hall

Rafael Payare pursues his Mahler cycle with the composer’s Symphony no. 6, while the rich and soulful voice of Beth Taylor illuminates Alma Mahler’s Leider.

Mahler’s Sixth Symphony With Payare

Place des Arts

Esther Dierkes and Björn Bürger present a program of songs in the foyer of the opera house, accompanied by Götz Payer on the piano.

2nd Song Recital

The Staatstheater Stuttgart

Join us for an unforgettable evening as Marin Alsop conducts Mahler’s Fifth Symphony at the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday, 24th October 2024, at 7:30 pm. This concert promises to be a profound exploration of love and beauty, featuring the talents of Marin Alsop, our Principal Guest Conductor, and the Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke.

The evening will commence with Gustav Mahler's "Blumine," a tender piece originally part of his first symphony, showcasing our Principal Trumpet's softer side. Following this, Sasha Cooke will bring to life a selection of Alma Mahler's songs, orchestrated by David & Colin Matthews. These include "Die stille Stadt," "Waldseligkeit," and "Bei dir ist es traut," offering a rare opportunity to experience the expressive depth of Alma Mahler's compositions.

The highlight of the night, Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, will take you on an emotional journey from its dramatic opening trumpet fanfare to the triumphant joy of its finale. The symphony is renowned for its Adagietto, a declaration of Mahler's love for his future wife, Alma, and a piece of pure, heart-wrenching beauty.

Tickets are priced between £15 and £75, with priority booking available for Friends of the Philharmonia. General booking opens at 10am on Tuesday, 23rd April. This performance is expected to run for approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including an interval, and is recommended for audiences from the age of 7.

Free printed programmes will be available at the venue, and digital programme notes will be accessible a week before the event. For more information or to book your tickets, please contact the Philharmonia Box Office at 0800 652 6717, Monday to Friday, 10am – 5pm.

Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the emotional depth and beauty of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony under the baton of Marin Alsop, accompanied by the exceptional Sasha Cooke.

Marin Alsop conducts Mahler's Fifth Symphony

Royal Festival Hall

As the San Francisco Chronicle suggested of a recent Das Lied von der Erde, ‘anytime you add Cooke into the mix, there’s a whole new level of magic involved. She brings an extraordinary wealth of tonal colour to a performance, as well as a degree of emotional intensity that can be almost unnerving in its focus’. Her programme culminates in a cycle setting texts written by Cooke and her husband and which the singer premièred in the US in February.

Sasha Cooke mezzo-soprano; Malcolm Martineau piano

Wigmore Hall

Gustav Mahler said that his music was “about life” and in it you hear all that the heart can feel: sorrow, joy, triumph, tragedy, hope, despair. His Seventh Symphony’s unusual orchestral effects, from the opening tenor horn solo to the inclusion of such instruments as guitar, mandolin, cowbell, and tam-tam (gong), create a dramatic soundscape that transports the listener. It’s paired here with beautiful songs by his wife, Alma, whose own composing career was hindered by their tumultuous marriage.

Yannick Conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 7

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Join us for an unforgettable evening of music and artistry at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater, on Tuesday, February 6, 2024, at 7:30 PM. This special performance features the remarkable talents of bass-baritone Joseph Parrish and pianist Damien Sneed, presented by Washington Performing Arts and Young Concert Artists, in cooperation with the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts.

Joseph Parrish, a bass-baritone known for his rich, warm voice and impeccable technique, will captivate the audience with a program that spans German and Russian lieder, a world premiere by Alistair Coleman, and American spirituals. The evening will be further enriched by the presence of the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir, under the artistic direction of Michele Fowlin, adding a layer of soul-stirring harmonies to the performance.

The program includes works by Adam Guettel, Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Henry T. Burleigh, Harrison Leslie Adams, Charles Brown, Thomas Chisholm, Bobby McFerrin, and Richard Smallwood, alongside traditional arrangements by Michele Fowlin. This diverse repertoire promises an evening of emotional depth and breathtaking performances.

Joseph Parrish, a winner of the 2022 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and a student at The Juilliard School, has already made a significant mark on the world of opera and concert performance. Damien Sneed, a multi-genre recording artist, brings his vast experience and talent to the stage, having worked with legends across jazz, classical, pop, and R&B genres.

This performance is not only a showcase of exceptional musical talent but also a testament to Washington Performing Arts' commitment to accessibility, ensuring that visitors of all abilities can experience the magic of live performance.

Don't miss this extraordinary evening of music that promises to be both inspiring and uplifting.

Joseph Parrish, bass-baritone Damien Sneed, piano

Kennedy Center

Lucy Martindale (B.M. '24) presents a voice recital.

Student Recital: The Lavender Menace, Featuring Lucy Martindale, Voice

Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Study concert with AM-students under Kirsten Juul

Study concert with AM-students

New Hall

John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic return to the Proms for Rachmaninov’s First Symphony. Dame Sarah Connolly joins them for songs by Alma Mahler-Werfel and Dora Pejačević.

Prom 33: Rachmaninov, Mahler-Werfel and Pejačević

Royal Albert Hall

Alexander Zemlinsky fell in love with his composition student Alma Schindler, but she rejected him and married Gustav Mahler. Lustspiel Overture’s lush melodies echo those of Brahms, who was a supporter of the young Zemlinsky.
Alma Schindler was an accomplished composer before she gave it up to marry Gustav Mahler. Within a few years, unfulfilled and depressed, she had an affair, which prompted Gustav to take Alma’s musical ambitions more seriously. These five songs were the only works by Alma Mahler to be published in her husband’s lifetime.
Hans Rott and Gustav Mahler were classmates and roommates in late 1870s Vienna but their fortunes diverged soon after, and Rott died in an asylum at age 25. Rott’s one and only completed symphony—receiving its California premiere here—bears many similarities to Mahler’s works, and scholars are only now uncovering Rott’s enormous influence on his celebrated friend.

Mahler's Inner Circle

Lesher Center for the Arts

The Baltic Sea Festival 2026 opens with an evening pulsing with premieres and rhythm! Andres Orozco-Estrada takes the podium at Berwaldhallen for the very first time as Chief Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra – a long-awaited debut that sets the tone for the festival. Anders Hillborg’s powerful Mahler tribute Hell Mountain receives its Swedish premiere, and Molly Kien’s brand-new work – composed exclusively for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir – will have its world premiere.

Alma Mahler

Events

Upcoming events

Aug 21, 2026

Rythm and ritual · Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Feb 4, 2027

Kateřina Kněžíková & Kateřina Englichová · Prague Symphony Orchestra

Past events

Jul 3, 2026

Fantasia Orchestra with Niamh O’Sullivan · Sinfonia Smith Square

May 7, 2026

Songs of Love with the DR Vocal Ensemble · DR Vocal Ensemble

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