Odyssey Festival Orchestra

An exploration of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

Odyssey Festival Orchestra’s band of talented young musicians continues to refresh the concert-going experience with a programme that examines the influences behind Mahler’s epic Fifth Symphony which the composer claimed after its premiere that no-one had understood.

The first half of the concert will draw largely on the letters and reflections of his widow, Alma. It will examine some of the songs and experiences that inspired the Symphony. It will also explore how the Symphony began with Mahler’s burning sense of the immediacy of his own death and changed course when he fell in love with Alma Schindler. Many believe the Symphony’s tender Adagietto was his musical love letter to her.

Alma will be narrated by one of Britain’s greatest stage actresses, Dame Janet Suzman.

The evening concludes with a complete performance of the Symphony, conducted by Odyssey’s Artistic Director, Peter Ash.