Simone Young conducts Mahler’s Song of the Earth Jean-Yves Thibaudet performs Qigang Chen

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
  • Concert Hall
  • Run time: 105 minutes, 1 interval Subject to change
  • Seating map

Mahler’s powerful orchestral forces are best experienced live. The Song of the Earth is vast and moving, and the perfect way to open our 2026 Season

Mahler’s The Song of the Earth ends with an extraordinary fade out, as a contralto sings ‘everywhere, forever…forever and ever.’ It captures beautifully the way music lives around us and in our memory and is the perfect way to open our 2026 Season. 

Simone Young has opened each of her seasons as Chief Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra with one of Mahler’s symphonies to rave reviews. We continue this tradition in 2026 with the vast and moving The Song of the Earth, a symphony in all but name, brought to life by world-class vocalists Simon O’Neill and Alexandra Ionis.

Mahler’s powerful orchestral forces are best experienced live. His sound worlds engulf you like the weather, reflecting both the landscape and the human experience with their vast emotional range. From drama to tranquillity. Sombre to sun-drenched. 

Part symphony, part song cycle, Mahler’s work is based on a German translation of Tang dynasty Chinese poems. In this remarkable program, that Chinese thread connects Mahler’s work to Qigang Chen’s Er Huang for piano and orchestra, which draws on melodies from Peking opera. French superstar Jean-Yves Thibaudet is magnetic in this gorgeous concerto that reaches ‘a climax of Mahlerian dimensions’ (Bachtrack).  

With the incredible Simone Young commanding this giant work from Mahler and superstar solo performances, this is an unmissable start to our Season. 

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Event details

Program

Adam MANNING Rhythmic Acknowledgement of Country
Qigang CHEN Er Huang (Piano Concerto)
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
MAHLER The Song of the Earth

Credits

SIMONE YOUNG conductor
JEAN-YVES THIBAUDET piano
ALEXANDRA IONIS mezzo-soprano
SIMON O’NEILL tenor

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through the covered concourse. 

All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).

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