Opening Weekend: Mahler’s Titan Symphony with Eric Jacobsen

Legacy and New Life Eric Jacobsen, conductor Jeffrey Kahane, piano Gabriel Kahane: Heirloom Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1, “Titan” Gustav Mahler famously said, “A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything.” His First Symphony opens as nature awakens, celebrates the joy of youth, chronicles the triumphs and trials of life, and builds to one of music’s most awe-inspiring climaxes. Gabriel Kahane’s Piano Concerto, composed for his father, pianist and featured soloist Jeffrey Kahane, similarly traces the human journey across generations. Eric Jacobsen serves as the Virginia Symphony Orchestra’s twelfth Music Director, a position he’s held since 2021.  He is also artistic director and co-founder of The Knights, the uniquely adventurous NYC-based chamber orchestra, and Music Director of the Orlando Philharmonic. In addition to conducting, Eric is a dedicated chamber musician (cello) and is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. Pianist, conductor, and scholar Jeffrey Kahane has forged an expansive musical career with highlights including concerto performances with the New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, recitals with Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell, European tours as Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, lectures and performances of Beethoven symphonies informed by his immersion in ancient literature, and collaborations with the Emerson, Miró, Dover, Attacca and Calidore String Quartets. Gabriel Kahane is a musician, writer, and storyteller. He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists ranging from Phoebe Bridgers, Paul Simon, Sylvan Esso, and Sufjan Stevens, to ensembles including The Knights, Brooklyn Rider Quartet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Roomful of Teeth, and Attacca Quartet. As a theater artist, Kahane’s work has appeared at Playwrights Horizons, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Public Theater.