Composer

"Playing with building blocks"—that's how Mahler once described his creative process. Therefore, in this concert, under the direction of Philippe Jordan, we will joyfully assemble one note after another with over 100 instruments. With our combined orchestral forces, we are always mindful, in Mahler's spirit, of "building a world by all means." The sound world we are to create is his popular Fifth Symphony from 1902, in whose interpretation we can indulge our musical passion, for the composer said that "the boldest passages and movements escaped him" here. It is a multifaceted work with a wealth of playful building blocks, and as a dreamy point of repose, there is the Adagietto, a truly otherworldly movement—made particularly famous by Visconti's film classic "Death in Venice."

Philippe Jordan, Maria Dueñas

Bamberger Symphoniker

In this colourful programme, we encounter the pairing of the conductor Simon Rattle and mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená. In Debussy’s Nocturnes we find traces of his inspiration from nocturnal paintings of rivers. Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi plays with surrealistic, spiritual, and romantic colours. Gustav Mahler does not hold anything back, either—his Fourth Symphony includes a vocal part.

EPSG:4326

Czech Philharmonic • Magdalena Kožená

Rudolfinum

"You will rise, yes, you will rise, my heart, in a flash!" So it goes in Mahler's Symphony No. 2, and so it will be for the people of Bonn and the entire Beethoven Orchestra when the mighty first chord of Beethoven's last piano concerto resounds on Tuesday, December 16, 2025: After nine and a half years of renovation, the Beethoven Hall—our Beethoven Hall and yours—will reopen! We have fanned out into the city, we have tried to win your hearts, and you have remained loyal to us throughout the pandemic. We have played in factory halls, on construction sites, in hotels, gymnasiums, and schools; we have presented ourselves as a large orchestra and in small ensembles.

Long Beethoven Night

Beethoven Hall

One of the leading composers of our time, Unsuk Chin now graces the Staatskapelle stage as Capell-Compositrice. »Subito con forza« from 2020 is her homage to Beethoven. A former student of György Ligeti, Chin’s music combines analytical acuity with evocative imagery. This work provides a stimulating contrast to Mahler’s Sixth while also provoking a conversation on structural clarity and existential expressiveness. The symphony conjures up a world of tragedy. Offering no comfort and no conciliatory finale, the »Tragic« is uncompromising in its severity. Part of the ongoing Mahler cycle, Daniele Gatti will conduct this jewel of the composer’s middle creative phase, celebrated not least for its powerful hammer blows.

Symphony Concert N° 4

Semperoper Dresden

The glass harmonica was developed by Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century and was a popular and legendary instrument in its time. Its floating tones are produced by moving moistened fingers over glass bells of various sizes. In 2006, Jörg Widmann dedicated a composition to the instrument under its original Italian name, "Armonica," in which the ethereal sounds of the vibrating glass expand to encompass the entire orchestra, creating a cosmos of sound of enchanting beauty.

4th  Symphony Concert

Music and Congress Hall Lübeck

Gustav Mahler’s symphonies have changed the way we think about music and his Fourth Symphony is a masterpiece of joy and childlike wonder that evokes the gates of heaven. Conductor Manfred Honeck makes his triumphant return in a program of orchestral gems from his homeland, Austria. 

Honeck: Mahler 4

New World Center

Led by chief conductor Jun Märkl, the Residentie Orkest pays tribute to Gustav Mahler. His impressive Symphony No. 1 is full of surprises: from the awakening of nature and a folk dance to a darkly ironic variation on Brother John and influences from Jewish klezmer music - a reflection of Mahler's cultural roots. This rich and multi-layered masterpiece forms an intriguing dialogue with the music of the brilliant yet forgotten composer Erwin Schulhoff.

Mahler's Symphony No. 1

Amare

USO 2025-26 Season Concert 2

Mendocino College

Imagine the sound of silence: 90 musicians creating a sound so still, and so quiet, that the air itself seems to be alive. That’s how Mahler begins his First Symphony: an incredible opening for an incredible adventure as a young genius explores life and death before rallying all his strength to shout for joy. Giedrė Šlekytė is our guide tonight and the wonderful Nemanja Radulović is the star in the heart-rending love song that is Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular Violin Concerto.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto

Usher Hall

Imagine the sound of silence: 90 musicians creating a sound so still, and so quiet, that the air itself seems to be alive. That’s how Mahler begins his First Symphony: an incredible opening for an incredible adventure as a young genius explores life and death before rallying all his strength to shout for joy. Giedrė Šlekytė is our guide tonight and the wonderful Nemanja Radulović is the star in the heart-rending love song that is Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular Violin Concerto. 

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Caird Hall

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Experience the heartbreaking Adagio from Mahler’s unfinished Symphony No. 10 conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, whose Mahler interpretations Bachtrack calls “devilishly good.” Soprano Camilla Nylund and bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny take the stage in Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, a monumental exploration of love and longing.

Mahler’s Tenth, Adagio Lyric Symphony

Kennedy Center

Welcome to Masterpieces #3 and to an evening where we delve into the symphony orchestra's fascinating universe of timbres, roles and dynamic characters. Here we will experience well-known and popular classical highlights, ranging from the most delicate notes to the most dramatic climaxes, from the effervescent to the heartbreaking – making the symphony orchestra pulsate as if it were a living organism. The program includes captivating ear-hangers by Mozart and Rossini, gripping descriptions of love by Mahler and Wagner, and folk musical intricacies by Grieg, Bartok and Tchaikovsky.

Masterpieces #3

The Conservatory Concert Hall

Haslev-Halls

Stenhus Gymnasium

Ringsted Kongrescenter

For almost 50 years, the "El Sistema" initiative, Venezuela's large-scale music development program, has been a fixture in national and international musical life. The youth orchestras, in particular, have made a name for themselves under the direction of renowned conductors – the most famous example is the orchestra named after freedom fighter Simón Bolívar, with its chief conductor Gustavo Dudamel, which, strictly speaking, is no longer a youth orchestra. The successor orchestra, featuring highly talented and motivated young musicians, star conductor Sir Simon Rattle, and Gustav Mahler's beloved First Symphony, is now coming to Hamburg.

National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela / Sir Simon Rattle

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

The Columbia University Orchestra with music director and conductor Jeffrey Milarsky returns to Symphony Space for their Fall concert: The Exploration of Sound and Space. The program opens with Lumière et pesanteur composed by Kaija Saariaho who tactfully explores simple melodies and turns them into exotic and malleable textures. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony #10 is a statement of past and future—desperately clinging to traditional romanticism while pressing toward the future. The concert concludes with Edward Elgar’s deeply personal work Enigma Variations which expresses his elegantly poetic and powerful personality through a series of dedicated variations.

The Columbia University Orchestra

Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Symphony Space

‘He who calls us gives us eternal life.’ With these words, Mahler’s Second Symphony – the Resurrection – culminates in a breathtaking choral finale. In this monumental masterpiece, Mahler captures the human soul’s struggle with impermanence before opening the gates to light and eternity. Mahler’s expansive orchestration, distant voices, and transcendent conclusion create an unforgettable experience. Guided by Mahler expert Osmo Vänskä, and featuring top soloists like Carolyn Sampson, this performance in the Elisabeth Hall promises to touch the heart and soul.

Mahlers Resurrection

Queen Elisabeth Hall

The Hamburg State Orchestra's Philharmonic Concerts become contemporary plays, transcending the boundaries of the ordinary. This concert features Ella Milch-Sheriff's musical interpretation of the texts from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" – some of Mahler's songs are replaced by new compositions by her, inspired by the original. Mahler confronts us today as a mirror of the past and, through Milch-Sheriff, as a part of the here and now. This unabashedly engaging musical play opens new perspectives on our musical culture, our thinking and being, and our way of receiving music.

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Annika Schlicht / Benjamin Appl / Adam Fischer

The philharmonic concerts of the Hamburg State Orchestra become ZeitSpiele and transcend the boundaries of the ordinary: In this concert, Ella Milch-Sheriff's musical interpretation of the texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn will be heard - as some of Mahler's songs are replaced by new compositions from her hand, inspired by the original. Mahler meets us today as a mirror of the past and at the same time, through Milch-Sheriff, as part of the here and now! This musical game without fear of contact opens up new perspectives on our musical culture, our way of thinking and being, on our way of receiving music.

3rd Philharmonic Concert MAHLER / MILCH-­SHERIFF

Elbphilharmonie

A Journey of Love and Longing: Kahane & Mahler. Step into an evening of deep emotion and breathtaking beauty as two powerful musical voices—past and present—collide.

The night opens with Gabriel Kahane’s If love will not swing wide the gates, a hauntingly poetic meditation on isolation, resilience, and the quiet ache of longing. Intimate, poignant, and profoundly human, Kahane’s work sets the tone for an unforgettable experience.

Then, brace yourself for the sweeping emotional arc of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5—from the darkness of its funeral march to the radiant light of the iconic Adagietto and the triumphant finale. It’s a symphony of love, loss, and redemption on a truly epic scale.

From Darkness into Light: Mahler 5

FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre

A Voyage of Discovery and Fate

Albert Hall Conference Centre

Start your weekend with our must-see Friday night concert series and social experience, Symphonic Piazza. Prepare to escape, mingle, and be entertained as you enjoy the perfect combination of a shorter format concert with enjoyable and engaging lobby activities to share with family, friends, and our musicians. It’s your new go-to date night! The fun continues in the lobby after the concert, as we’ll have even more memorable things for you to experience.

Matthias Conducts Mahler: Symphony No. 7

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

‘The symphony must be like the world’, said Mahler. ‘It must embrace everything’. This is true of his Third Symphony most of all.

Music depicting nature’s awakening after a long winter rubs shoulders with the most carefree music Mahler ever wrote; the rapt stillness of high summer, the quiet contemplation of night; a joyous vision of heaven and an overpowering hymn to love.

Mahler 3

Auckland Town Hall

In March 1913, Arnold Schönberg conducted a musical program at the Vienna Musikverein, which was later called the “scandal concert.” The program included his Chamber Symphony No. 1, Op. 9, a wall-breaker in the prevailing musical order. In addition, Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlied and Alban Berg’s songs to poems written on landscape postcards by the Bohemian poet Peter Altenberg were heard. A general uproar broke out during the Altenberg songs, and supporters and opponents of the modernists clashed.

Scandal concert

Espoo Cultural Centre

Chamber music has a deep-rooted tradition in the Czech Republic, one that is actively nurtured through education. A key player in this is the Academy of Chamber Music, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. The occasion will be marked with a concert featuring current members, alumni, and faculty members, including a world premiere by composer Jan Ryant Dřizal.

Czech Chamber Music Society • Chamber Music Academy

The Velvet Revolution Concert resounds with spiritual strength and hope. In his Resurrection Symphony, Gustav Mahler traces a journey from the darkness of death towards faith in light and renewal. This monumental work, uniting emotion with philosophical depth, reflects the soul’s struggle for meaning and hope. The Czech Philharmonic and the Prague Philharmonic Choir will be conducted by the Finnish maestro Sakari Oramo, stepping in for Zubin Mehta.

Czech Philharmonic • Velvet Revolution Concert

An absolute highlight of our anniversary season – this concert with music whose orchestral power and splendor of sound, along with its breathtakingly virtuosic violin performance, will give the audience a rollercoaster of emotions and make the Meistersingerhalle vibrate. The Violin Concerto by Benjamin Britten, the greatest British composer of the 20th century, is a great neo-Romantic work. Written in the summer of 1939, on the eve of World War II, it is permeated by dark forebodings and visions of horror, but also filled with those positive creative forces that transform great works of art into a metaphor for overcoming. Gustav Mahler, too, was a visionary and, in the all-encompassing stylistic diversity of his music at the time, a prophet of postmodernism. As in all his symphonies, in his "First" of 1888, he looks in two directions: back, full of nostalgic longing for the lost paradises of a good old time, and visionary ahead into a vague future—sometimes filled with fear by apocalyptic horrors, sometimes intoxicated by a boundlessly optimistic faith in the future.

Britten's Violin Concerto & Mahler's Titan

Meistersinger Hall

The Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra is the oldest continuously operating orchestra in the state of Oregon. From its inception in 1906 as a collegiate orchestra composed of nine members, the symphony has grown into a full symphonic orchestra performing 3 major classical concerts, a holiday concert, and a children’s concert each season. Professional musicians from throughout the Willamette Valley are joined by talented community members, OSU faculty, and OSU students representing a wide span of majors across campus. Repertoire from recent seasons includes Strauss’ Alpine Symphony, Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe,” and Brahms’ Fourth Symphony.

Corvallis-OSU Symphony Presents: Fall Concert

Oregon State University

Platoon, Death in Venice, 2001: A Space Odyssey… picture those classic movies and you can already hear the music of Samuel Barber, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. But there’s no cinema on earth that can beat the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing these masterpieces live. That’s what we’re doing tonight, and there’s a bonus feature too, as violinist James Ehnes premieres a brand-new showpiece by Hollywood legend James Newton Howard (The Sixth Sense, The Hunger Games).

Also sprach Zarathustra

Perth Concert Hall

Platoon, Death in Venice, 2001: A Space Odyssey… picture those classic movies and you can already hear the music of Samuel Barber, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. But there’s no cinema on earth that can beat the sound of a full symphony orchestra playing these masterpieces live. That’s what we’re doing tonight, and there’s a bonus feature too as violinist James Ehnes premieres a brand-new showpiece by Hollywood legend James Newton Howard (The Sixth Sense, The Hunger Games). The young musicians of Big Noise Raploch get the evening off to a rousing start with a special side-by-side with the musicians of the RSNO.

Perth Concert Series: Royal Scottish National Orchestra - Also Sprach Zarathustra

The Philharmonia’s 80th anniversary season would not be complete without Mahler’s epic, all-encompassing symphonies.  

Acclaimed as ‘London’s Mahlerian orchestra par excellence’ (Bachtrack), the Philharmonia has given many memorable performances of Mahler’s symphonies over its eight decades. The most recent was hailed as ‘the collective performance of a lifetime’ (The Guardian).  

Now the orchestra turns to Mahler’s Seventh, nicknamed ‘Song of the Night’.  Characteristically, Mahler’s sonic references stretch far beyond the concert hall – mysterious horn calls, the sound of a marching band, birdsong, folk dances, cowbells, parodies of a Viennese waltz and a Wagnerian opera, and even a serenading mandolin all rub shoulders in this exuberant fantasy of a symphony.  

Jakub Hrůša conducts Mahler 7

Southbank Centre

Characteristically, Mahler’s sonic references stretch far beyond the concert hall – mysterious horn calls, the sound of a marching band, birdsong, folk dances, cowbells, parodies of a Viennese waltz and a Wagnerian opera, and even a serenading mandolin all rub shoulders in this exuberant fantasy of a symphony.

Jakub Hrůša Conducts Mahler 7

The Apollo Orchestra with principal Conductor David Chan welcomes Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano and Nicholas Huff, tenor, as we present Mahler’s great vocal work Das Lied von der Erde.

Song of the Earth

Montgomery College Catherine F. Scott Commons

You’d be hard-pressed to find a programme that is a greater expression of the titanic power of the symphony orchestra. Tonight, more is most certainly more.

Mahler’s ‘Titan’

The Bridgewater Hall

From the crashing waves and rushing winds of Debussy’s ode to the might and the magic of the sea, to one of Mahler’s most perfect symphonies, this pair of works both explore hope and the healing power of nature. Between them, Belfast-born, Manchester raised Peter Moore performs the RPS Award-winning trombone concerto by Dani Howard.

BBC Philharmonic - Mahler’s ‘Titan’

Few literary works had as significant an influence throughout the 19th century as The Boy's Magical Horn (Des Knaben Wunderhorn); its mix of everyday experience and the supernatural and bizarre were a perfect match for the Romantic movement. Mahler, one of the greatest songwriters of all time, used these texts as the basis for his own creation, evoking the lives and feelings of ordinary people in extraordinary times.

Where the Shining Trumpets Blow: Payare Leads Bruckner No. 4

Jacobs Music Center

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.

Mahler & Mahler

Kleinhans Music Hall

How often do you hear a trombone concerto in an orchestral programme? It’s a rarity at best, but the most versatile instrument in the brass section can tingle spines and melt hearts in the hands of a great soloist, and with Peter Moore, former BBC Young Musician winner at the age of just 12, we’re in the presence of trombone superstardom. For his Nottingham concerto debut he’ll be playing the piece specially written for him by the brilliant young British composer Dani Howard, whose sparkling sound world has been winning legions of fans. Written during the pandemic her concerto is a celebration of hope and humanity during the most difficult times and draws on every element of the trombone’s enormous expressive range, from warm, soaring lyricism to spring-heeled, sonic gymnastics.

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Concert Hall Nottingham

It's virtuosic, swinging, and shimmering in every tonal palette – there's just one catch: Ravel's Piano Concerto in D major can only be played with one hand! Anna Vinnitskaya is one of the few pianists to have this exceptional work in her repertoire. A stroke of luck for the Hamburg audience! And a homecoming for the Hamburg piano professor, who has found her home in the Hanseatic city since studying at the local music academy – and from there has conquered the piano stages of the world. 

Vienna Symphony Orchestra / Anna Vinnitskaya / Petr Popelka

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the English Schools’ Orchestra with an extraordinary concert featuring some of the UK’s finest young musicians.

This year’s programme includes the enchanting overture to Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Vasks’ powerful Credo, and Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 1.

Under the baton of Musical Director Lewis Gaston, the Orchestra brings these iconic works to life, showcasing the energy, talent, and dedication of its exceptional players. From the magical charm of Humperdinck to the emotional depth of Vasks and the epic grandeur of Mahler, this concert promises a captivating musical journey.

English Schools’ Orchestra

Cadogan Hall 

Fanny Mendelssohn and Gustav Mahler brush shoulders with composers of our time, past and present connecting through musical memories.

Midnight Memories:  Mendelssohn, Mahler, Moderns

Noe Valley Ministry

Get up close with the principal trombonist Robert Parker with an evening of music at the Figge!

Up Close with Robert Parker

Figge Art Museum

Brace yourself for Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony—a whirlwind of nature’s awakening, a wedding procession, a funeral march, and a finale that could move mountains. With its vivid orchestration and emotional punches, this symphony stands as a testament to Mahler’s genius, blending folk influences with grandeur that will leave you breathless.

Markus Poschner conducts Mahler's "Titan" Symphony

Salt Palace Convention Center

“Imagine the whole universe bursting into song!” said Gustav Mahler about his great Symphony No. 8, which the DR Symphony Orchestra is performing on the occasion of its 100th anniversary together with three choirs: the DR Concert Choir, the BBC Singers and the Copenhagen Boys’ Choir.

Luisi & Mahler's 8th.

DR Koncerthuset

Honorary conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts Gustav Mahler's contrast-filled Symphony no. 5 , which begins with a mourning march and ends in a jubilant ending. Tabea Zimmermann is a soloist in Béla Bartók's Brass Concerto , which the composer wrote entirely on the stamp of life.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste Tabea Zimmermann

Oslo Concert Hall

If silence had a sound, what would you hear? Maybe something like the massive stillness that opens Mahler’s First Symphony. A magical spring dawn, or the creation of life itself? It’s the starting point for a young artist’s journey through tragedy and triumph – a voyage through life and death, birdsong and fanfares, funeral marches and Viennese waltzes.

Mahler x Bernstein

Royal Albert Hall

Marshall Gilkes performs his Trombone Concerto with the BH Symphony. Also on the program, the La Peri Fanfare from Dukas and the Mahler Symphony #1, “Titan”.

Garden of the Gods

Performing Arts Center of Rapid City

This concert opens with a fresh take on the story of resurrection with lush layers of colorful sound evoking a cinematic feel. Resurrexit by Mason Bates will take you on a mystical pilgrimage with shimmering exotic tonalities that give way to contemplation and dramatic stirrings of rebirth. César Franck’s Symphonic Variations is a masterpiece of collaboration between piano and orchestra celebrating the interplay of poetic musical voices. Christopher Taylor’s virtuosic artistry is a perfect fit for this intimate and lyrical work. Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 is one of the most profound and transformative works ever. Written over six years, it journeys from a somber funeral march to a luminous vision of resurrection and renewal. Mahler once described this symphony as “my whole life in one work.” Themes of struggle, hope, and transcendence will bring us to a glorious reassurance of light in our lives.

Primal Light

Overture Center for the Arts

Associate Conductor Alex Amsel leads this program with two pieces inspired by faith. Soprano Liv Redpath joins to sing Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, depicting a child’s vision of heaven. This remarkable program begins with Carlos Simon’s AMEN!, an exuberant piece inspired by Pentecostal Church music, reflecting the composer’s upbringing.

Mozart & Mahler

Phoenix Convention Center

Mahler’s “farewell to the world” caps the career of one of history’s most emotive and daring composers in a work brimming with blistering intensity, paralyzing terror, and tender nostalgia in equal measure before its trademark finale gradually gives way to calm repose. Never one to shy away from a grand musical endeavor, Andrew Litton has longed to take on Mahler’s Ninth since his days as Music Director here in Colorado. During the genesis of the work, an ever-superstitious Mahler was keenly aware of the deaths of Beethoven, Schubert, and Anton Bruckner, all taken shortly after the completion of their respective ninth symphonies. He even went so far as to compose a “Tenth Symphony,” Das Lied von der Erde, after his eighth in an effort to creatively avoid the same fate. In the end, Mahler too would succumb before he could hear a performance of this incredible meditation on mortality. Whether or not you believe in the “Curse of the Ninth,” these performances will leave you with a deep sense of profundity and peace.

Mahler Symphony No. 9 with Andrew Litton

Denver Performing Arts Complex

Rafael Payare continues the Mahler cycle he launched in 2022 with Symphony No. 9, an instrumental masterpiece of unparalleled richness, where every note resonates with deep emotion. In this work, Mahler evokes humanity’s reconciliation with the universe, weaving deep spirituality with moments of awe-inspiring beauty. A rare opportunity to experience a concert that is both musically intense and introspective.

Mahler’s Swan Song

Place des Arts

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra opens its 2025/2026 season with a celebration of the great orchestrators. Torke’s Bright Blue Music opens with vibrant, expansive sound, capturing the energy of life itself. Mahler’s Rückert Lieder, sung by bass-baritone Joseph Parrish, brings poetry and music together in a deeply emotional exploration of love and melancholy. The concert culminates with Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, a dramatic and heroic orchestral journey that will captivate audiences with its sweeping narrative and bold sound. This program showcases the power of music, from vibrant and energetic to deeply reflective, through the works of three of the world’s most renowned composers.

Heroic Journeys: Torke, Mahler & Strauss

The Maryland Theatre

In the antiphon "O Radiant Dawn," which serves as the theme for this Chorage program, Scottish composer James MacMillan moves from the delicate touch of a ray of light to the rich spectrum of colors of the ever-awakening morning. In MacMillan's "A New Song," a setting of Psalm 96, the choral voices, singing a new day to the Lord, build upon a sustained pedal point, which arguably expresses the life-giving foundation of the earth, where the "primordial light" dwells (heard in Mahler's setting). Organist Stephan Pollhammer unfolds the splendor of daybreak with Reger's powerful Choral Fantasia on the Morning Star.

Chorage® #2 A Radiant Dawn

Pfarrkirche Salzburg-Itzling

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

Mahler’s Second Symphony charts a journey from funeral to rebirth, from the terrifying to the transcendent. Its indelible power was memorably captured in the 2023 film Maestro. Gustavo Dudamel, an ardent champion of Mahler, takes on this majestic work, featuring soprano Juliana Grigoryan, mezzo-soprano Beth Taylor, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. “The effect is so great that one cannot describe it,” Mahler reflected of the symphony. “If I were to say what I think of this great work, it would sound too arrogant in a letter. … The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world. I think there is no one who can resist it. One is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s wings to the highest heights.”

Dudamel Conducts Mahler’s “Resurrection”

Walt Disney Concert Hall

With the first symphony concert of the season, the new chief conductor Chin-Chao Lin, together with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra, traces key milestones in his musical biography. To kick things off, he will transport the audience to the dramatic landscapes of his homeland with the short symphonic poem " The Angel from Formosa" by the Taiwanese composer Tyzen Hsiao, evoking nostalgic sounds. Lin applied for admission to the conducting program at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, while Mahler's Symphony No. 4, which he wrote in the composer's cottage in Maiernigg, marks his renewed connection with the region where he will now serve as chief conductor.

Sound paths

Konzerthaus Klagenfurt

The Grand Tour, Joyce DiDonato: Dijon

Dijon Opera

Sibelius’ The Swan of Tuonela opens the evening with its dark, dreamlike beauty. Inspired by Finnish mythology, this atmospheric tone poem depicts a swan gliding through the waters of the underworld, its song carried by the haunting voice of the English horn. With rich, brooding harmonies and a sense of quiet inevitability, Sibelius transports the listener to a world both distant and deeply moving.

Darkness to Light

Maryland Hall

Mahler’s Song of the Earth

Severance Music Center

To parallel our celebrations of Symphony Hall’s 125th anniversary, frequent guest pianist Randall Hodgkinson joins the Chamber Players for a program featuring composers active at the time of the hall’s opening in 1900. Amy Beach and Charles Martin Loeffler were both prominent in Boston’s musical community at the turn of the last century. Charles Koechlin and Camille Saint-Saëns represent two generations of Parisian music, while Mahler (and his younger colleague Schoenberg) were both active in Vienna.

Boston Symphony Chamber Players | Boston, Symphony Hall, & the BSO in 1900

New England Conservatory of Music

Regents Opera roars back into life with a concert of typically epic magnitude!

Following their critically acclaimed Ring Cycle earlier this year, they open their 2025-26 season with two late Romantic masterpieces -Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and Gustav Mahler’s mighty Symphony no.2 ‘Resurrection’.

Regents Opera have made their name by performing operatic works of the grandest scale and this opening concert will set the tone for another season of spectacular music making.

Regents Opera: Resurrection Symphony

Blackheath Halls

Tired of the ignorance and conservative mindset of establishment types, critics and celebrity musicians of the time, Schoenberg dreamed of a new counter-culture.

Paraorchestra: Dance Like Nobody's Watching

Music this moving needs space to breathe, and as Sakari Oramo continues his journey with the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Mahler cycle, it feels right to give it a concert of its own. “Triumphantly tragic” was how The Arts Desk described Oramo’s recent performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony; now, as the journey continues, there’s no more impactful way to start our new season.

Oramo conducts Mahler's Ninth Symphony

Barbican Centre

The Master's program in Wind Orchestra Conducting is a state-of-the-art, comprehensive, and practice-oriented program, and is demonstrated through contemporary original compositions and symphonic arrangements for wind instruments.

Master Recital Blasorchesterleitung

Mozarteum University Salzburg

Ayres offers a different perspective on mountain life with his extraordinary No. 42 – In the Alps: an ‘animated concert’ which combines a virtuosic and ravishing score with a zany story and projected silent film-style titles. Mary Bevan appears as soloist for this playful, beautiful and often uproariously funny piece which tells the story of a young girl stranded on top of an unclimbable mountain-top, who learns to sing from the mountain animals around her and falls in love with the distant trumpet-playing of a boy in the valley far below.

In the Alps

Kings Place

The symphony should be like the world,’ declared Gustav Mahler, ‘it should embrace everything!’ His mighty Seventh Symphony does exactly that: a wild, wonderful journey through Alpine storms, moonlit serenades, dark fairy tales and pure, roof-raising joy. With Oliver Knussen’s sonic fireworks to begin and the incredible Francesco Piemontesi in Ravel’s sparkling Concerto, join Scotland’s National Orchestra and Music Director Thomas Søndergård for this spectacular opening of the new Concert Season.

Season Opener: Mahler Seven

A jangle of sleighbells, a flurry of birdsong … in music, sometimes the simplest things are the most powerful. Mahler’s playful Fourth Symphony begins under pure blue skies and ends in a child’s dream of heaven. Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you paints its pictures in the purest shades of light, and this Shakespeare song-cycle with a haunting difference has already become one of the 21st century’s best-loved classics. Edward Gardner unites these wondrous worlds tonight – plus, of course, the pristine voice of soprano Jennifer France.

Mahler’s Fourth

RSNO Season 25-26: Mahler Seven

It's time again to feel the rush of 100 musicians on stage when we join musical forces with our colleagues in the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra – this time with their new chief conductor on the podium.

Mahler's 6th Symphony

Mahler’s playful Fourth Symphony begins under pure blue skies and ends in a child’s dream of heaven.

Mahler’s sunny Fourth, whose ethereal last movement describes a child’s vision of heavenly life — overflowing bowls of tasty food, angels, saints and St. Cecilia and her kindred playing music to accompany the dancing of 11,000 virgins — radiantly portrayed by powerful and stunningly resonant soprano, Sofia Formina. Bachtrack says “her high notes were very secure in brilliant.” Music Director Fabio Luisi also leads the vivacious “Oxford” Symphony, composed on the occasion of Haydn’s receiving an honorary Doctor of Music degree at that university and conducting the work after the ceremony.

Haydn & Mahler

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

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

The BSO begins the exploration of Boston in 1900 with two pieces that were composed at the same time Symphony Hall was being built.

Mahler Symphony No. 4 | Boston, Symphony Hall, & the BSO in 1900

Boston Symphony Orchestra

With the stage filled to capacity and a duration of approximately 80 minutes, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 is nothing less than a gigantic masterpiece. The composer himself expressed that his symphonies should: " contain the whole world " . And it is as if all the nuances and facets of the world are encapsulated in the 6. A demonic battle march is like a musical battle of fate. But love and joy of life also make their entrance. In the finale, however, the menace returns with iconic blows from an oversized Mahler hammer, as a percussionist thunders against a massive block of wood.

Composer

Gustav Mahler

Events

Upcoming events

8 - 10 Jan, 2026

Romance & Revelation · Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

9 - 11 Jan, 2026

Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 · Philadelphia Orchestra

Jan 12, 2026

Mahler's Second · Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

Jan 14, 2026

The Resurrection Mixtape · Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

16 - 17 Jan, 2026

Teddy Conducts Mahler’s Ninth · Louisville Orchestra

Past events

18 - 19 Dec, 2025

Philippe Jordan, Maria Dueñas · Bamberger Symphoniker

17 - 19 Dec, 2025

Czech Philharmonic • Magdalena Kožená · Czech Philharmonic

About

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