Gustav Mahler. The 10th Symphony

To mark the 165th anniversary of composer Gustav Mahler's birth, the St. Petersburg Governor's Symphony Orchestra performed his Tenth Symphony at the Lutheran Church of Saints Peter and Paul.

Mahler's symphonic legacy, incorporating the achievements of Beethoven, Schubert, Bruckner, and Tchaikovsky, includes nine completed scores. Each symphony immerses the listener in the world of the human soul, filled with contradictions and passions.

The epilogue to Mahler's creative journey is his Tenth Symphony, begun in 1910 but left unfinished. Surviving sketches of the score suggest that Mahler's new work both harks back to the lyrical song roots of the early 19th century and simultaneously looks to the future—to the innovative aspirations of the turbulent 20th century. The composer's widow, Alma, approached Arnold Schoenberg and later Dmitri Shostakovich with a proposal to reconstruct the entire symphony from the surviving fragments; both composers declined. The most successful reconstruction, by Derrick Cooke, is the version performed in concert.

WORKS:

Gustav Mahler. Symphony No. 10 in F-sharp major,

(Derrick Cooke's version).

PERFORMERS:

Governor's Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg,

Artistic Director and Conductor – Anton Lubchenko.

Lutheran Church of St. Peter and Paul (Petrikirche), St. Petersburg, December 17, 2026