Bayerische Staatsorchester/Jurowski Mahler 4 by Wagner, Richard, Schumann, Mahler, tirs. 19 sept. 2023, Fra (2023/2023), Dirigent Vladimir Jurowski, Barbican Centre, London, United Kingdom

Hear tales of life, death and the love we share in between as the Bayerische Staatsorchester continues its 500th anniversary celebrations with three jewels of the Romantic period. The spectres of Richard Wagner’s ill-fated lovers loom large in the overture to his heart-wrenching opera Tristan und Isolde, laying the foundations for an evening full of emotion. Virtuoso pianist Yefim Bronfman keeps the flame of love burning in Robert Schumann’s lyrical Piano Concerto – a testament not only to the composer’s relationship with his wife Clara, but to the union between orchestra and piano. It’s with Gustav Mahler’s enchanting Fourth Symphony that the orchestra brings its two-concert residency to a close, sending us to the heavens with the ‘fresh and untethered’ (Guardian) voice of soprano Louise Alder. And what a perfect send off for an orchestra that’s been crowned ‘Orchestra of the Year’ seven times in a row by Germany’s Opernwelt magazine.