Mahler 2

An epic contemplation of life and death.

Gustav Mahler’s assertion that ‘a symphony must contain the world’ is vindicated spectacularly by the composer’s Symphony No 2, the Resurrection Symphony. In this epic piece for a huge orchestra, two soloists and massed voices, Mahler does nothing less than create a sweeping expression of the human experience in musical form.

From its opening funeral march to its final ecstatic hymn of faith in the afterlife – taking in an Austrian ländler, a klezmer clarinet and far more in between – this is a work that pushes musicians to their limits in its conjuring of terror, triumph, grief and comfort.

Artist-in-Residence Esa-Pekka Salonen, a musician of colossal experience, conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, and star soloists and choirs in this performance of Mahler’s perhaps most captivating and moving symphony.

When Salonen conducted the same work as his farewell concerts at the San Francisco Symphony in 2025, the press described the results as ‘staggering’, ‘ferocious’ and ‘exalted’.

An orchestra that has never been on better form, a conductor known for his thrilling and new-minted interpretations, and Mahler’s inspiring hymn to the resilience of the human spirit – these performances in Grieghallen promises to be overwhelming live music experiences for everyone involved.

Image: Esa-Pekka Salonen, photo by Hiroyuki Ito