Mahler Academy Orchestra / Barron / von Steinaecker

What did Gustav Mahler's symphonies sound like in his time? Not only works from the Middle Ages, Renaissance or Baroque were performed with different instruments or playing styles than we are used to today. Philipp von Steinaecker and his Mahler Academy Orchestra have set out in search of the original Mahler sound – with careful research into the instruments Mahler himself procured, handwritten playing instructions in the conducting score of Mahler's friend Willem Mengelberg and old shellac discs. His performance of Mahler's Fifth at the Wiener Konzerthaus in September 2024 already left a deep impression, the interpretation impressing with the immense richness of colour of the original instruments.

Philipp von Steinaecker, Fleur Barron and the Mahler Academy Orchestra
Formerly an assistant to Claudio Abbado and John Eliot Gardiner, Philipp von Steinaecker perfectly combines historical performance practice with the interpretation of Mahler's works. Half of the orchestra consists of young scholarship holders from the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano, the other half of members of renowned orchestras such as the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. This time, with Fleur Barron as the singer, the programme includes »Kindertotenlieder« and Mahler's Ninth, both works that deal with finiteness and fade away in an enchanting way.