Symfonieorkest Van De Munt . Mark Wigglesworth

Parting and death. These are the two themes that stand at the core of Mahler's last completed symphony. The public soon called it his 'farewell symphony', as if Mahler anticipated his own early death some two years later. The Ninth Symphony, rather than a psychological study, serves more as a border post between two worlds. Mahler's music was regarded as the high point of the romantic period, but it simultaneously offered a window of opportunity to the young Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School. The Ninth Symphony represents the struggle between two eras and the personal struggle between hope and despair, clarity and chaos, and joy and resignation. The La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Kazushi Ono, has in the past astounded the audience with their rendition of Mahler's Seventh Symphony at deSingel. Mark Wigglesworth has also more than proved himself entirely familiar with Mahler's musical world.