Mahler’s First Symphony by Heart

Live at the BBC Proms: Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon present a musical and dramatic exploration of Mahler’s Symphony No 1, followed by a complete performance from memory.

Presented by Katie Derham, live from the Royal Albert Hall, London.

A musical and dramatic exploration of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1

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Interval: Katie Derham introduces a selection of songs composed by Alma Mahler.

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Mahler Symphony No. 1 in D major (performed from memory)

Natalie Lewis (mezzo-soprano)
Jack Bardoe (actor)
Sarah Twomey (actor)
Aurora Orchestra
Nicholas Collon (conductor)

‘All the floodgates within me have opened… my whole being points me towards this symphony.’ Proms favourites Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra are back to lift the bonnet on another symphonic masterwork.

Fifteen years in the making, Mahler’s First Symphony was a major statement of intent – a musical distillation of the composer’s life in sound, from klezmer bands to the natural world, folk dances to funeral marches, symphony and song united as one.

A dramatised first half featuring mezzo-soprano Natalie Lewis introduces both the music and the story behind it, before a complete performance of the symphony after the interval.