Season Opening – The Young Mahler

A historic performance of a rarity and the world première of a newly written work.

The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra has never before performed Gustav Mahler’s major early work Das klagende Lied – The Song of Lamentation – for vocal soloists, choir and orchestra. Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft is thrilled to finally take on Mahler’s youthful masterpiece. “It’s a rare and remarkable piece that should be a real draw for Mahler lovers out there,” says Bancroft.

Mahler began composing the work while still a student at the Vienna Conservatory. The composition took just over a year, and he was 20 when he completed it. However, it would be several decades before the music was performed, and Mahler made several revisions along the way. The text of Das klagende Lied is based on a folk tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.

The soloists are Swedish soprano Miah Persson, English allto Claire Barnett-Jones, Welsh tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas and Swedish baritone Arvid Fagerfjäll, together with the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, the Royal Swedish Army Band and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

The concert opens with the imaginative Fairy Tale Poem by Sofia Gubaidulina (1931–2025). “Gubaidulina’s music has become something of an obsession for me. Fairy Tale Poem is a truly beautiful piece,” says Ryan Bancroft, who now begins his third season as Chief Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. We also hear the world premiere of a new work by the Composer of the Season, Tebogo Monnakgotla.

Tickets go on sale 21 August 2025 at 11.00