Part of the LA Phil’s “Mahler Grooves Festival,” this program features my favorite Mahler symphony: No. 7 in E minor, frequently labeled “Song of the Night” for its many nocturnal evocations. My preconcert lecture will focus on the fascinating structure and programmatic suggestions of this expansive work, as well as Mahler’s always inventive use of the orchestra.

The concert promises to be extraodinary, led by Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, who describes Mahler’s Seventh as “a symphony of everything: from chaos to glory, sarcasm to tenderness, from a funeral march to a seductive tango. It is a cosmic symphony of perfect construction and galactic emotional scope.”