Mahler Festival: Concertgebouworkest and Klaus Mäkel�� - Mahler's Symphony No. 8
Incoming chief conductor Klaus Mäkelä is now leading the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Mahler's Eighth Symphony. They are assisted in this monumental work by no fewer than four choirs. Especially for the Mahler Festival in the Concertgebouw on 16 and 18 May 2025. Note: Tickets will go on sale on 1 June 2024.
Mahler Festival: Concertgebouworkest and Klaus Mäkel�� - Mahler's Symphony No. 8
Concertgebouw Orchestra and four choirs
Klaus Mäkel�� has been artistic partner of the Concertgebouw Orchestra since 2022 and will become chief conductor in 2027. Earlier in this festival, he already conducted the First Symphony, today the Eighth. The Concertgebouw Orchestra shares the stage with no fewer than four vocal ensembles: the National Radio Choir, Laurens Symphonic, the Choeur de l'Orchestre de Paris and the National Children's Choir.
Mahler's Symphony No. 8
Mahler wrote to his friend Willem Mengelberg that his Eighth Symphony was his greatest work ever. 'All the other symphonies were anticipating this.' Moreover, he experienced it as if the piece of music was dictated to him in a vision. In two monumental movements, Mahler says he sings of the entire universe. 'There are no longer human voices sounding. They are planets and suns, revolving in their orbits.' Practically speaking, it is also a rather voluminous work. Mahler often needed many performers, and there are close to four hundred in Mahler's 'symphony of a thousand'. Or more: in 1912, Mengelberg conducted a version with two thousand musicians and singers.
Mahler Festival
From 9 to 18 May 2025, Het Concertgebouw is organizing a major Mahler Festival for the third time. After the Mahler Festivities in 1920 and 1995, all of Mahler's symphonies will be heard again in the Main Hall. Among others, they will be performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, which was once conducted by Mahler himself. A selection of top soloists and choirs, led by conductors such as Iván Fischer and Jaap van Zweden, devote themselves to these monumental works. More information about the Mahler Festival can be found here.
Amsterdam 750
On 27 October 2025, Amsterdam will celebrate its 750th anniversary, marking a year-long celebration. Starting on 27 October 2024, a jubilee year full of activities for all Amsterdammers begins.
Dates and times
Friday 16 May | 20:15 - 22:35 |
Sunday 18 May | 13:30 - 15:50 |
Part of
Amsterdam 750
On 27 October 2025, Amsterdam will be celebrating its 750th birthday. During the 12-month lead-up to this momentous milestone, the city is going all out. The festival year kicks off on 27 October 2024, filled with various activities from small neighbourhood get-togethers to major cultural events
More informationMahler Festival: Concertgebouworkest and Klaus Mäkel�� - Mahler's Symphony No. 8
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