Mahler's Third Symphony, Royal Festival Hall

The Philharmonia Orchestra’s principal conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, has a special relationship with Mahler. He made his debut with the orchestra in 1983 conducting the Third Symphony, and returns to this landmark work in a special Sunday afternoon concert (1 Oct).

The epic piece is in six passionate movements, and while it is Mahler's longest symphony, it is in many ways his most joyful. One of the Austrian composer's best-loved creations, completed in 1896, it hymns the delights of the natural world, where “nature acquires a voice and tells of profound secrets”, and reveals a childlike zest for life that was later coloured by experience.

The Philharmonia are joined by the highly-acclaimed American mezzo-soprano Michelle De Young, who appears in London in autumn 2017 at the Royal Opera House in Verdi's Aida, and in the symphony's innocent refrains by Philharmonia Voices. It promises to be an uplifting afternoon of outstanding musicianship.