Josep Pons conducts the Orquestra del Liceu on March 31 with Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler, one of his most profound works. The concert, part of the Univers Mahler series, stands out for its emotional intensity and sonic richness. This event is part of the closing of the symphonic project dedicated to the composer, culminating in July with Symphony No. 8
The 2025/26 season will mark a turning point for the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu with the culmination of Univers Mahler, the project led by Josep Pons to present the complete symphonic works of the composer. After more than fourteen years at the helm of the ensemble, Pons brings this chapter to a close with two major events: Symphony No. 9 on Tuesday, March 31, and Symphony No. 8 “of a Thousand” on July 24, a concert that will close both the season and his tenure as Music Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, after which he will become Honorary Music Director from the 2026/2027 season. A двой gesture combining artistic culmination and a tribute to his legacy.
The concert Univers Mahler: Symphony No. 9 offers a journey through one of Gustav Mahler’s most profound and revealing scores. Premiered posthumously, the Ninth is a work shaped by an awareness of the end, yet also by a lucid and expansive vision of the world. From intimate fragility to broad expressiveness, the symphony unfolds a discourse that moves between contemplation and tension.
In this context, Josep Pons, a renowned interpreter of the Mahlerian repertoire, delivers a reading that highlights the work’s emotional depth and sonic architecture, exploring its contrasts and its ability to create meaning through detail.
Symphony No. 9 is closely linked to the composer’s personal circumstances. Written after the death of his daughter and the diagnosis of a heart condition that would lead to his death four years later, the work becomes a space for reflection on finitude and the passage of time. In Toblach, far from Vienna, Mahler found an environment that allowed him to channel this state into music that avoids overt drama in favor of a narrative of great emotional complexity.
Even at the time, composers such as Alban Berg recognized the uniqueness of the score, especially highlighting the first movement as one of the highest expressions of Mahler’s musical language.
With an approximate duration of 1 hour and 20 minutes and performed without interval, the concert offers a continuous immersion into the symphony’s four movements, from the opening Andante comodo to the final Adagio, in which the music gradually dissolves into silence.
This concert is part of Ciutat de Clàssica 2026 and belongs to a programme that reaffirms the role of the Orquestra del Liceu as a central pillar of the Theatre’s musical activity.
The concert Univers Mahler: Symphony No. 9 by Gustav Mahler is part of the Ciutat de Clàssica 2026 programme.
