Mahler's Love Letter to Nature

Rafael Payare, conductor
Karen Cargill, mezzo-soprano
San Diego Symphony Chorus
San Diego Children's Choir
San Diego Symphony Orchestra

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3 in D minor

The approximate running time for this concert is one hour and forty minutes (no intermission).

Written over the course of three years, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 is a monumental two-part declaration of faith that reveals the composer’s wide-ranging influences, from folk song to mythology and philosophy. This vastly expansive work is Mahler’s ode to nature, progressing in ever wider circles from the intimacy of flowers and meadows, to a colossal vision of humanity, and the splendor of the cosmos and its Creator. Perhaps no other symphony of Mahler’s so well embodies his famous declaration to Sibelius, in Sibelius’s own account:

"Die Symphonie muss sein wie die Welt, Sie muss alles umfassen."
("A symphony must be like the world. It must embrace everything.")

World-renowned mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill will make her San Diego Symphony debut, conducted by Music Director Rafael Payare, for these final concerts of this historic season.