Ravenna: Vasily Petrenko and Anne-Sophie Mutter

The Festival’s opening concert will celebrate Mutter’s 50-year career. Since her dazzling debut at the age of 13 in 1976, she has received international acclaim for her performances of Beethoven’s music, particularly under von Karajan, who supported her from the outset. Mutter’s artistic journey now finds an ideal counterpoint in Mahler’s Symphony no.5, completed in 1901-02. Considered his most autobiographical work, it was inspired by Alma Schindler and composed at a turning point in his personal life. From the opening trumpet solo, echoing the composer’s childhood memories, to the tender, impassioned Adagietto made famous by Visconti’s film Death in Venice, the Fifth Symphony takes listeners on a journey from darkness to light, unveiling a world of contrasting emotions and culminating in an exuberant finale.