Steinaecker, Barron & Mahler Academy Orchestra

Brucknerfest Linz 2026. Revolution Mahler!

Gustav Mahler encountered finiteness at an early age: six of his siblings died in childhood. He composed the Kindertotenlieder on texts by Friedrich Rückert, which he had written after two of his children had died. Mahler also thematized farewells in his 9th Symphony - the last composition he completed: "O Jugendzeit! Vanished ones! O love! Blown away! [...] Live well! Leb' wol!", he noted in the score. Philipp von Steinaecker and singer Fleur Barron perform this moving program with a unique ensemble: the Mahler Academy Orchestra consists of members of top European orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as well as musicians from the Gustav Mahler Academy founded by Claudio Abbado. The music is played on original instruments with which the sound of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra around 1900 was meticulously reconstructed. The revolutionary result is a completely new Mahler for today's ears - full of color, warmth and existential drasticness.