Mahler's 5th
Gulbenkian Orchestra
Event Slider
Date
- 19:00 / Cancelled 19:00 / Sold out Wednesday, 19:00
- 20:00 / Cancelled 20:00 / Sold out Thursday, 20:00
Location
Grand Auditorium Calouste Gulbenkian FoundationThis concert will be broadcast live here on 30 April, at 20:00 (GMT).
Pricing
25% – Under 30
10% – Over 65
Cartão Gulbenkian:
50% – Under 30
20% – Over 65
10% – 30 to 65
- Conductor
-
Gulbenkian Orchestra
In 1962, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation decided to establish a permanent orchestral ensemble. Originally with only twelve musicians (strings and continuo) it was named “Orquestra de Câmara Gulbenkian”. This collective was successively enlarged and today the “Orquestra Gulbenkian” (the name it has adopted since 1971) has a permanent body of sixty instrumentalists, a number that can be expanded depending on the repertoire.
This structure allows the Gulbenkian Orchestra to interpret works from the Baroque and Classical periods, a significant part of 19th century orchestral literature and much of the music of the 20th century, including works belonging to the current repertoire of the traditional symphonic orchestras. In each season, the orchestra performs on a regular series of concerts at the Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, where it has had the opportunity of working together with some of leading names of the world of music (conductors and soloists). It has also performed on numerous locations all over Portugal, in an effort to decentralize music and culture.
The orchestra has been constantly expanding its activities in the international level, performing in Europe, Asia Africa, and the Americas. In the recording field, Orquestra Gulbenkian is associated to labels as Philips, Deutsche Grammophon, Hyperion, Teldec, Erato, Adès, Nimbus, Lyrinx, Naïve and Pentatone, among others, and this activity was recognized with several international prizes.
-
Karl-Heinz Steffens
Conductor
Now in his sixth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, German conductor Karl-Heinz Steffens is recognised as a conductor of great distinction in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. Recent highlights include leading the Norrköping Symphony in its debut performances at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw (August 2024) and the Berlin Philharmonie (September 2025), as well as his Southern Hemisphere debut with the Auckland Philharmonia in May 2024, leading to further invitations in 2025 and 2026.
In great demand as a guest conductor, recent and forthcoming appearances include ensembles such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Essener Philharmoniker, Poznań Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Israel Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, and Zurich Tonhalle Orchestras, as well as the Radio Symphony Orchestras of Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig and Stuttgart. In the UK, he is a frequent guest with the Philharmonia, with whom he conducted a complete Brahms cycle at the Royal Festival Hall, and has also worked with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, and Hallé Orchestras.
He recently concluded his tenure as Music Director at the Prague State Opera, where he conducted productions including Der fliegende Holländer and Schreker’s Der ferne Klang, amongst others. There he also launched the four-year Musica non Grata project, dedicated to works by composers suppressed by 20th-century totalitarian regimes, which included a major festival marking the 150th anniversary of Alexander Zemlinsky.
Elsewhere, Steffens has led performances at Teatro alla Scala (Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Götterdämmerung) and is a regular guest at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden. At the Norwegian National Opera, he conducted the Norwegian premiere of Pelléas et Mélisande alongside productions of Così fan tutte, Fidelio, and Calixto Bieito’s Tosca. In September 2025, he leads the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra at Musikfest Berlin in the world premiere of Marc Blitzstein’s rediscovered opera Parabola and Circula.
In his previous position as Music Director of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Steffens and the orchestra were honoured with many accolades; they received the ECHO award for Best Orchestra in 2015 for their recording of works by B.A. Zimmermann and in 2016/17 were nominated prize-winners of the Best Concert Programme of the Season by the Deutsche Musikverlegerverband, the German Music Publishers’ Association. Their recording of works by George Antheil, an addition to their extensive Modern Times series featuring an array of 20th century composers, was named Concert Recording of the Year by the Opus Klassik awards.
Prior to his conducting career, Steffens was a highly respected solo clarinettist who also held several orchestral positions culminating in the successive posts of Principal Clarinet with the Bavarian Radio and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. He was recently awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit, in recognition of his outstanding services to music.
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler composed Symphony No. 5 during an eventful period in his life. At the beginning of 1901, he suffered a serious health problem, but he was able to study Bach’s work in depth during his convalescence, during which time he met his future wife, Alma Schindler. The work is traversed by the whirlwind of emotions of a fragile man and a passionate creator. The Gulbenkian Orchestra will be conducted by Karl-Heinz Steffens.
Photo © Michael Bode
Sponsor Gulbenkian Music
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation reserves the right to collect and keep records of images, sounds and voice for the diffusion and preservation of the memory of its cultural and artistic activity. For further information, please contact us through the Information Request form.