Mozart & Mahler unites two classical music powerhouses and two of National Philharmonic’s favorite guest artists under the baton of Maestro Piotr Gajewski. Pianist Claire Huangci joins NatPhil for Mozart’s striking Piano Concerto No. 24 in C Minor, one of his most complex and virtuosic works. With a darker tone than many of his other piano works, Concerto No. 24 sweeps between moments of turmoil and serenity, showcasing Huangci’s technical prowess and the expressivity of the full orchestra.

The powerful musical arc of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 unfolds like a grand folk tale. A singular musical experience, Mahler has described it as reminding him of his mother’s smile and sounding like “a dewdrop on a flower that suddenly, illuminated by the sun, bursts into a thousand lights and colors,” and later that it “explodes into a wall of sound representing the gates of heaven.” Distinguished soloist Danielle Talamantes, soprano, joins NatPhil for the final movement, “The Heavenly Life,” in which heaven is described as a beautiful meadow full of playing children and blooming flowers, where loved ones are reunited.