In every work of art, Gustav Mahler saw a ‘trace of infinity’. This program gazes up into the vast mystery of the heavens, allowing some of the most beautiful works of music ever composed to lead the senses and inspire the imagination. 

We open with an ode from Henry Purcell, a giant of English Baroque and a favourite of Jessica Cottis, CSO Chief Conductor and Artistic Director. Composed in 1689 for voices and a period orchestra, Cottis will conduct her own modern reworking of this early gem. 

Acclaimed international pianist Jayson Gilham takes the stage for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, which famously featured in the 1967 Swedish drama Elvira Madigan. Praised by none other than Albert Einstein for its kaleidoscopic harmonies, this concerto is among Mozart’s most beautiful works. 

The program culminates in a performance of Mahler’s sublime Fourth Symphony, the essence of which came together in a matter of days after several years of creative silence. Mahler bucked conventions, from the opening sleighbells to the closing movement for soprano and orchestra. His most sophisticated score yet, the Fourth Symphony is nonetheless beguilingly childlike in its simplicity. The final image is a picture of heaven through the eyes of a child: an endless abundance of feasting. 

Artists

Jessica Cottis Conductor
Jayson Gilham Piano
Celeste Lazarenko Soprano
Canberra Symphony Orchestra

Repertoire

Henry Purcell (Arr. Cottis) Celestial music did the gods inspire, Z. 322
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 ‘Elvira Madigan’
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 4 in G major