One thing is certain: the team spirit which conductor Gustavo Gimeno evokes so emphatically can be felt more than ever in 2023, when the Luxembourg Philharmonic celebrates its 90-year anniversary. It is certainly evident in the extraordinary concerts the musicians and their maestro are bringing us this year. Here is a roundup of our favourites coming up this September!  

15.09. Mahler’s Symphony N° 5 

A country cottage, a rippling lake in Carinthia, summer heat: this earthly paradise was the backdrop for the creation of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony N° 5 during a period of convalescence. Was it the sense of having escaped death that inspired him to write this masterpiece? Or perhaps it was the encounter with young Alma Schindler, whom he would later marry. Veering between darkness and irresistible elegance, Mahler’s symphony meets a new composition by the Luxembourgish composer Georges Lentz on 15.09., «…to beam in distant heavens…». Conceived under the star-spangled horizon of Australia, this violin concerto also reflects upon the duality of light and shadow, the proximity of death and the joy of being alive.  

21.09. Mozart & Schubert: Symphonic Milestones 

An encounter between giants and generations: that’s the promise of this all-symphonic evening at the Philharmonie. And we’re not just talking about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert headlining the programme… The Austrian maestro Leopold Hager directed our very own Luxembourg Philharmonic for 15 years, back when it was still called the Orchestre Symphonique de Radio-Télé-Luxembourg. 43 years later and at the venerable age of 87, he returns for a moving reunion in the Grand Duchy. The musicians in the orchestra and faces in the audience may be new, but the emotion will be the same when he conducts two favourites of the classical repertoire. 

28.09. Shostakovich in perspective

«Shostakovich in perspective». Yes, but whose perspective? One of them is certainly Gustav Mahler’s! The 1885 cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen portrays the composer’s unrequited love for Johanna Richter. Unlike Dmitri Shostakovich, who was known to be very familiar with the aesthetic of his Austrian colleague, Richter never heard the work. Shostakovich’s Fourth Symphony, which was directly influenced by Mahler, features an extensive first movement, lasting almost the duration of a complete symphony of the classical era. Under Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s lead, the Luxembourg Philharmonic is sure to enchant the audience with this piece. Before that, they will join forces with the baritone George Nigl to bring you Mahler’s earlier song cycle.

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