01.06.2025

ELEANOR LYONS & DAVID STEFFENS in Mahler 8 | Vienna & St. Pölten

‘Imagine that the universe begins to sound and resound. It is no longer human voices, but planets and suns orbiting": In his eighth symphony, Gustav Mahler reaches for the stars - and no wonder it was heralded as the ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ at its premiere due to its large musical contingent. The Pentecostal hymn ‘Veni, creator spiritus’ and the conclusion of Goethe's ‘Faust II’, written a thousand years later, are united by musically underpinned references to create an overwhelming jubilant celebration of creativity par excellence.

As part of Yutaka Sado's final concerts as chief conductor of the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, Eleanor Lyons and David Steffens also take part as soloists in a hand-picked group of singers. The Australian soprano, recently heard at the Musikverein in Erich Zeisl's ‘Requiem Ebraico’ and immediately afterwards celebrated as a stand-in in Mahler's Second Symphony with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer, will also be heard in Mahler's Eighth Symphony with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra under Eliah Inbal in February 2026, while David Steffens - recently a celebrated Gurnemanz in Stuttgart - will return to the Danish National Orchestra under Fabio Luisi at the end of October with the Pater Profundus in Mahler's Eighth.

Cast

Verity Wingate, Soprano I
Eleanor Lyons, Soprano II
Christina Gansch, Soprano III
Štepánka Pucálková, alto I
Yajie Zhang, alto II
Maximilian Schmitt, tenor
Rafael Fingerlos, baritone
David Steffens, bass

Yutaka Sado, conductor
Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria
Vienna Singverein (rehearsal: Johannes Prinz)
Slovakian Philharmonic Choir (rehearsal: Jan Rozehnal)
Vienna Boys' Choir (rehearsal: Manolo Cagnin | Jimmy Chiang | Niccolò Morello)