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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

Prices
from 64 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 29 | 22 €
FLEX fee + 6 €
Reduced prices:
from € 10 for pupils under 18 
from €10 for young people under 30
from 11 € for Dresden-Pass and SB from GdB 80
Who receives discounts? Read here.

05/30

Sunday | 05/30/2027
6:00 pm Start of Concert
Kulturpalast, Konzertsaal

Prices
from 64 | 53 | 45 | 39 | 29 | 22 €
FLEX fee + 6 €
Reduced prices:
from € 10 for pupils under 18 
from €10 for young people under 30
from 11 € for Dresden-Pass and SB from GdB 80
Who receives discounts? Read here.

About the Concert

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
Dirigent
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 start of the 2025/26 season. In his first Dresden season, he will be presenting Strauss's "Elektra" in concert, conducting concerts at the British Festival, and leading the orchestra on a tour of Asia, to name just a few projects. The Scotsman will also remain General Music Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin until mid-2026. He stands for the principle of quality over quantity and has thus established close artistic ties with renowned institutions worldwide, both in the opera pit and on the concert podium.

 

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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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