Luisi & Igor Levit

DR Symphony Orchestra

Few artists have struggled to find their place in the world like Gustav Mahler. Chief conductor Fabio Luisi continues his journey through the composer's symphonies, and here he reaches the work that captures Mahler's inner contradictions more vividly than anything else.

In Symphony No. 5, Mahler abandons the childlike lyricism and pastoral idylls of his earlier works. In its place stands a raw conflict between joy and tragedy that captures one of life's fundamental questions. The music's pain is as poignant as its triumph, when joy and optimism prevail at the end.

As a counterbalance to Mahler's symphony, the outstanding pianist Igor Levit visits Copenhagen with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 — the first magnificent orchestral work of its kind in the 19th century. The soloist, who was originally the composer himself, here occupies a more individual, impressive and energetic position than had been seen before. The work's sense of heroic conflict and powerful tension is a harbinger of the existential struggle unfolding in Mahler's symphony.