Das Lied von der Erde - Marc Albrecht, Sasha Cooke, Andrew Staples

The late-romantic German-Austrian repertoire is familiar territory for Marc Albrecht. On the program are two works that break through traditional genre boundaries: Arnold Schönberg composed his tone poem for a chamber ensemble instead of the full orchestra. A poem by Richard Dehmel thus received a very intimate translation into music. Gustav Mahler then pulled out all the stops in Das Lied von der Erde, a work he did not want to call a symphony – even though it is that in every way. Each in their own way, Arnold Schönberg and Gustav Mahler sought connection. Verklärte Nacht explores with hopeful vulnerability the distance between two lovers who are in danger of losing each other and finding each other again. Uit Das Lied von der Erde speaks the will to connect with the higher. “Ewig... ewig...”: with those final words, Mahler looks forward to tomorrow, and thus Marc Albrecht also concludes his first season as chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.