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Special Concert - Symphony Concert

Mahler 9

Sir Donald Runnicles with Mahler's monumental Ninth Symphony
© Oliver Killig

05/29

Saturday | 05/29/2027
7:00 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
64 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 29 | 22 €
10 € for Schüler unter 18J.
10 € for Ermäßigte Junge Leute u. 30J.
11 € for Schwerbehindert ab GdB80
11 € for Dresden-Pass

05/30

Sunday | 05/30/2027
6:00 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal
64 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 29 | 22 €
10 € for Schüler unter 18J.
10 € for Ermäßigte Junge Leute u. 30J.
11 € for Schwerbehindert ab GdB80
11 € for Dresden-Pass

About the Concert

Duration: approx. 1 hr 45 mins without intermission

Gustav Mahler's Ninth Symphony is considered a musical farewell: to late Romanticism and to a world on the brink of change. Created in 1908-1909, the work retrospectively appears as a premonition of the First World War. Fragile sounds, abrupt breaks, and grotesque dances reflect a fragile order. Particularly, the slow fading of the finale feels like a letting go, a silencing of old certainties. The Ninth thus represents the end of an era - both personally and historically - and the farewell to a European culture that irreversibly shattered in 1914. Nevertheless, it is not a gloomy farewell music, but full of irony, tenderness, and zest for life. The first movement begins with a swaying rhythm, which some interpret as a reference to Mahler's irregular heartbeat, and the two middle movements are almost caricatures of dances. However, apart from such attributions, the symphony is considered Mahler's best composition, and anyone who has heard the long fading of the final movement into nothingness can feel that this is an exceptional work in the history of music. Mahler was, by the way, a superstitious person and believed in the "Curse of the Ninth", which he thought had already claimed Beethoven, Bruckner, and Schubert as victims. Thus, he refused to label his previous work "Das Lied von der Erde" as the Ninth Symphony, even though it is often seen as such.

Programme

Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 9 in D major

Artists

Sir Donald Runnicles
Conductor
Dresdner Philharmonie

Biographies

Sir Donald Runnicles

Chief Conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie

Introducing Sir Donald Runnicles! More pictures & videos of our new Chief Conductor can be found here.

Sir Donald Runnicles has been Chief Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic since the 2025/26 season. In his concerts, he aims to combine the familiar with the new, as well as emotional immediacy with intellectual depth. In the summer of 2026, the Scottish-born conductor will conclude his 17-year tenure as General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He champions the principle of quality over quantity and has thus forged close artistic ties with renowned institutions worldwide, both in the opera pit and on the concert stage.

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Dresdner Philharmonie

Top Class!

Top class! That is the claim of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra stands for concerts at the highest artistic level, musical education for all ages and looking beyond the musical horizon. Guest performances on almost every continent and collaborations with guests from all over the world have established the reputation of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra in the international classical music world.  

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