Konzerthausorchester Berlin / Alice Sara Ott / Joana Mallwitz

Visionary

Mahler’s Fifth Symphony was first performed in Hamburg in 1904. It was not well received. By 1905, Mahler was convinced the symphony was »cursed«. »Nobody understands it,« he grumbled. Although Mahler was widely recognised as a great conductor, audiences at the time found his complex, lengthy and emotionally intense compositions difficult to grasp. Today, we benefit from a much better understanding of the visionary scope of his middle symphonies of which his fifth is most often played and recorded. This evening’s Hamburg performance of Mahler’s pioneering masterpiece will be played by the Konzerthausorchester Berlin with its Principal Conductor Joana Mallwitz. Beethoven’s equally visionary Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor leads the transformation to a more symphonic structure in works for soloist and orchestra. It will be performed by pianist Alice Sara Ott in a thrilling evening of groundbreaking music.