Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, a youth orchestra considered one of the foremost in the world, arrives in Madrid with cellist Julia Hagen as soloist in Dvořák's concerto, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester is considered one of the leading youth orchestras in the world. In this concert it is conducted by Grammy winner Cristian Măcelaru, and the programme brings together two works from the late-Romantic repertoire. Cellist Julia Hagen performs Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, written during the composer's stay in New York in a period marked by homesickness for Bohemia.

Dvořák rewrote the ending of the work following the illness and death of his sister-in-law Josefina, whom he had loved in his youth. With that renewed conclusion, the concerto rests on a cello solo that alternates tenderness and heartbreak, one of the most highly regarded scores in his catalogue.

The second part is dedicated to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, 'Pathétique'. The composer conducted it himself in Saint Petersburg and died shortly afterwards, which is why the work is often associated with a farewell.