Preview – BBC Proms 2026: Mahler’s Tragic Sixth

Programme

György Kurtág Stele
Mahler Symphony No. 6 in A minor

BBC Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Sakari Oramo

Wednesday 22 July 2026 · 7pm–c9.05pm
Royal Albert Hall

Listen on BBC Radio 3 / BBC Sounds

Preview

Quite how Kurtág’s Stele will go down on the radio or in the Royal Albert Hall is an open question. Stele is one of the composer’s more accessible works compared to some of his chamber or solo works. There’s the Kurtág characteristic of playing with perception, be it explicitly or implicitly. This is highly atmospheric and, in keeping with Kurtág’s compositional aesthetic, it’s also over really quite quickly. Expect a lot of aficionados nodding sagely in the audience.

Mahler 6 is a must-listen. Not necessarily because it’s the BBC Symphony Orchestra and conductor Sakari Oramo, so much as the work itself. A grand exploration of a vivid imagination in which the vulnerability at the heart of the human experience is laid bare. The opening of the second movement has the power to reduce even the coldest of human beings to tears. If it doesn’t, you’re dead inside.

Review

This review will be published following the concert.

Gallery

Photography will be added once available.