On 15 May 2026, Josep Pons conducts Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie at the Congresshalle Saarbrücken. The concert forms part of his first full season as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the orchestra and stands among the major symphonic events of the season.
Composed between 1903 and 1904, Mahler’s Sixth Symphony occupies a unique place within the composer’s output. Often referred to as the “Tragic” Symphony, it combines overwhelming energy with moments of profound introspection. Although the subtitle does not appear in the final published score, the work explores themes of destiny, human vulnerability and the struggle between hope and adversity.
The symphony is especially renowned for its famous hammer blows in the final movement, among the most striking moments in the symphonic repertoire. Conceived by Mahler as symbolic blows of fate, they form part of a monumental musical architecture demanding exceptional structural control and orchestral precision.
The performance continues Josep Pons’s long-standing relationship with Mahler’s music, one of the defining elements of his artistic career. Over recent decades he has conducted Mahler’s symphonies with leading European orchestras and has developed long-term projects devoted to the composer, most notably the Mahler Universe cycle at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
For the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the performance also represents an important milestone within Josep Pons’s artistic project, requiring the highest level of orchestral cohesion while deepening the ensemble’s work on sound, balance and large-scale symphonic architecture.