Journeys of Discovery: Dreams

Riotous, hallucinatory, extraordinary: Mahler’s Third Symphony knows no bounds, taking us from the smallest flower to the mystery of divine love.

Mahler’s famous quote about ‘embracing the world’ in his symphonies finds its fullest expression in this, his longest symphony. In six movements he charts the evolution of nature and mankind. The elemental power of summer is set against the delicacy of the natural world. And the dark night of the soul is broken by the sounds of angels and a ‘great summons’ to love more deeply than ever before.

A symphony filled with music of life-enhancing physicality and breathtaking melodic beauty, it is a story of such breadth and ambition that only Mahler could have dreamed of it, let alone write it.

 "[Petrenko] didn’t overdo the grandeur; there was no sense of wallowing in the sheer weight of sound for its own sake. Tempi were always brisk, textures agile and crisp... every detail carefully defined."

The Guardian ★★★★ review of the RPO's performance of Mahler's Symphony No.8 in October 2022.

This concert has no interval.

This concert has been rescheduled from from Thu 8 April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

 The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Aline Foriel-Destezet.

Large print versions of the programme for this concert are available on request. Please email your request to Doran Crowhurst crowhurstd@rpo.co.uk at least one full week before the performance.