Gianandrea Noseda conducts Schubert and Mahler

At the prestigious Kennedy Center, the incomparable Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra perform two uncontested giants of the symphonic repertoire. First on the program: though musicians and scholars have debated the perennial mysteries of Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony—what became of its other movements, or whether it was really unfinished at all—its startling originality and profound beauty have never been in question.

Schubert’s influence can be heard in the work of fellow Austrian Mahler, whose gargantuan Fifth Symphony rounds out the evening. Written during Mahler's courtship of wife Alma and soon after a near-fatal illness, the scope of the work is astonishing: from the opening funeral march through the delicate Adagietto and triumphant finale, it encompasses no less than the full range of human emotion.

Photo: Gianandrea Noseda © Tony Hitchcock