Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich / Järvi

It would baffle the audience, said Gustav Mahler of his Sixth Symphony. The »Tragic« unfolds a sombre, fascinating soundscape with march-like rhythms, picturesque scenes of nature and explosive outbursts. In 1907, Mahler personally conducted the Austrian premiere of his Sixth.

Pain, joy and everything in between
At the end of November, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, conducted by Paavo Järvi, returns to the Vienna Konzerthaus with this work. The conductor and his orchestra have been devoting themselves intensively to Mahler’s symphonic output for the past four seasons. »“For me, Mahler encapsulates the entire history of music that came before him. […] The depth of his inner world [is] simply astonishing – so nuanced and so full of pain. And at the same time, he possessed the ability to express joy and everything in between in his music”«, says Paavo Järvi. And the composer’s wife, Alma Mahler, once remarked: »No other work has flowed so directly from his heart!«