On April 25 and 26, Susanna Mälkki will lead the Gulbenkian Orchestra in a program featuring works by Kaija Saariaho and Gustav Mahler at the Grande Auditório Gulbenkian in Lisbon.
The concert begins with Saariaho’s HUSH, a concerto for trumpet and orchestra composed for Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, who will perform as the soloist. This work showcases Saariaho’s signature sound world, blending atmospheric textures with expressive lyricism. Mälkki, a longtime collaborator and champion of Saariaho’s music, has described the composer’s work as “new and timeless, personal and universal” (New York Times).
In the second half, Mälkki conducts Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, a monumental work that took several years for the composer to finish. This symphony, often called “Titan,” marked Mahler’s emergence as one of the most prolific symphonic composers of all time.
Photo credit: Jiyang Chen