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Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Mäkelä Conducts Mahler 9
Oct 1-4, 2026
Overview
Mahler’s last completed work, the Ninth Symphony, opens with a sighing farewell, but that’s just the start. The composer takes you on a journey through the depths of the human spirit, exploring all its beauty, bitterness and transcendence. Zell Music Director Designate Klaus Mäkelä galvanizes audiences with his Mahler interpretations, offering performances that are “exquisitely, sensitively and lovingly made” (Chicago Tribune).
Program
Mahler
Symphony No. 9
Performers
Enhance your experience
Preconcert Conversation
Explore the music in a free preconcert conversation featuring Carl Grapentine in Orchestra Hall 75 minutes before the performance. The talk will last approximately 30 minutes. No additional tickets are needed.
Preconcert Dining
Explore Chicago Symphony Center’s on-site dining options for a seamless preconcert experience. Preorder a Sound Bites meal to enjoy in the Rotunda before the concert — or make a reservation to dine at the Thomas Club, offering a prix fixe menu featuring traditional American fare and a spectacular view of Lake Michigan.
Reservations Learn more and view the menu
Postconcert Book Signing
Celebrate the release of Phillip Huscher’s new book, Passing the Baton: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Music Directors Who Shaped Its Greatness, and meet the author at postconcert signings in Grainger Ballroom, October 1-3. Copies will be available for purchase at the Symphony Store and in the Box Level lobby before each signing. The events are free and open to all ticketholders.
Sponsors & Partners
These concerts are generously sponsored by Zell Family Foundation.
Inside the Music
About the music
The sprawling canvases of Gustav Mahler portray the sum of human experience: abandonment, despair, joy and redemption — “the whole world,” as the composer often said.
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About the music
Common wisdom has it that writing a 10th symphony is the compositional equivalent of breaking a mirror while walking under a ladder. Beethoven, Schubert, Dvořák and Mahler all died after their 9ths. And so the “Curse of the Ninth” remains embedded in popular culture.
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