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Schubert and Mahler with Iván Fischer

Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ and Mahler’s First Symphony

Iván Fischer conducts the Concertgebouworkest - image: Renske Vrolijk/Concertgebouworkest

Iván Fischer kicks off his first season as the Concertgebouworkest’s honorary guest conductor with Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ and Mahler’s First Symphony: it’s sure to be one for the history books.

Even the most familiar pieces sound as if they were only just composed when conducted by Iván Fischer.

Concert programme

  • Franz Schubert

    Symphony No. 8 'Unfinished'

  • -- interval --

  • Gustav Mahler

    Symphony No. 1 'Titan'

Performers

About this concert

Iván Fischer has been an important guest conductor for the Concertgebouworkest for many years. He keeps the musicians on their toes with his fresh ideas, invariably inspired by his knowledge of the score. That’s why any concert he conducts is always a special event. Even the most familiar pieces in the repertoire sound as if they were only just composed when he conducts them. 

Expectations are high for his interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, a work you can lose yourself in. Major philosophical questions and humour, depth and naivety, polyphony and peasant dances, birdsong and a funeral march, despair and consolation, ‘Frère Jacques’ and quotations from his own works – Mahler ties it all together. Even a leading orchestra needs a guide with a clear vision in a musical labyrinth of such complexity. What better conductor than Iván Fischer? 

No one knows for sure why Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 remained unfinished, but that fact has never diminished its popularity. The music is so irresistible in its melodic richness that we simply want to hear it again and again. Especially when interpreted by the Concertgebouworkest’s new honorary guest conductor.

Memorial concert

Our beloved honorary conductor Bernard Haitink died on 21 October. After sharing a rich history spanning sixty-five years, we can rightly speak of the end of an era. On Sunday evening, 6 February 2022, the Concertgebouworkest will be organising a memorial concert conducted by Iván Fischer. Maestros Haitink and Fischer had great respect and admiration for each other and would often try to attend each other’s concerts. More information about this concert will follow shortly.

Dates and tickets

About this concert

Iván Fischer has been an important guest conductor for the Concertgebouworkest for many years. He keeps the musicians on their toes with his fresh ideas, invariably inspired by his knowledge of the score. That’s why any concert he conducts is always a special event. Even the most familiar pieces in the repertoire sound as if they were only just composed when he conducts them. 

Expectations are high for his interpretation of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, a work you can lose yourself in. Major philosophical questions and humour, depth and naivety, polyphony and peasant dances, birdsong and a funeral march, despair and consolation, ‘Frère Jacques’ and quotations from his own works – Mahler ties it all together. Even a leading orchestra needs a guide with a clear vision in a musical labyrinth of such complexity. What better conductor than Iván Fischer? 

No one knows for sure why Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 remained unfinished, but that fact has never diminished its popularity. The music is so irresistible in its melodic richness that we simply want to hear it again and again. Especially when interpreted by the Concertgebouworkest’s new honorary guest conductor.

Memorial concert

Our beloved honorary conductor Bernard Haitink died on 21 October. After sharing a rich history spanning sixty-five years, we can rightly speak of the end of an era. On Sunday evening, 6 February 2022, the Concertgebouworkest will be organising a memorial concert conducted by Iván Fischer. Maestros Haitink and Fischer had great respect and admiration for each other and would often try to attend each other’s concerts. More information about this concert will follow shortly.