In operation since 1997, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a 'descendant' of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado in 1986 and is made up of former members of the latter ensemble. It packs in 45 musicians from 20 different countries, and they make around 60 or 70 appearances each year - including opera performances. The orchestra has fostered important artistic relationships over the years with such musicians as Daniel Harding, Leif Ove Andsnes, Reinhard Goebel, Jonathan Nott, Christopher Hogwood, Philippe Herreweghe, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Murray Perahia, Cecilia Bartoli, Martha Argerich, Christian Tetzlaff and Emanuel Ax. Serving as the ensemble's musical adviser since 2006 is the wonderful Italian conductor Daniele Gatti, who has already received resounding ovations from the audience at Müpa Budapest more than once. The two symphonies by Schumann on the programme - both of them rich in colours, depictive in spirit and temperamental - are often played by large ensembles. In this case, however, owing to the more economical number of musicians on stage, they will sound more compressed, with their various characters coming across more agilely.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest