The work of **Gustav Mahler** (1860-1911) - emotionally powerful meditations on human life and its meaning - is musically complex and psychologically disruptive. In celebration of the legacy of a definitive composer of crisis and catharsis, our season ends with Mahler's monumental First Symphony, which he wrote when he was 28. Military fanfares, yodels, nursery tunes and birdsong sound over the hum of the universe. Mahler himself called its finale, “the cry of a wounded heart”: music struggling to overcome darkness —dissonant screams; a flash of lightning from a dark cloud.

Written for very large orchestral forces, it will be performed here by the **Philharmonia Orchestra,** conducted by **Elena Schwarz**. Music of agony and ecstasy, the Symphony’s exploration of the inevitable doom of romanticism mirrored Mahler’s own conflicted state of mind. He wrote of the piece, “My whole life is contained in it: I have set down in it my experience and suffering.” Mahler’s sampling of genres (incorporating scraps of well-known melody, popular songs, street ballads) is evidence of his compositional ingenuity and forethought. Mahler’s pursuit of whole truths continues to feel relevant in our present moment of crisis; his radical thinking, his singing of nature, and his rich sonic world providing inspiration for generations to come.

All ages

Presented by Bold Tendencies.

No Covid-19 entry requirements

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 1 “Titan”

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Bold Tendencies

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