On 6 October, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 is scheduled to open the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid's 2026-2027 Symphonic Cycle at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional de Música. Alondra de la Parra will conduct the ORCAM orchestra, joined by the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid and the Pequeños Cantores de la ORCAM. The symphony moves from the natural world toward a spiritual dimension.
Operabase lists the same work and venue as "Mahler's Third at Auditorio Nacional de Música", but gives 21 October 2026 at 19:30 rather than 6 October. The exact date and full cast should so be checked against the official ORCAM and Auditorio Nacional calendars.
The concert will begin at 19:30 in the Sala Sinfónica. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston will also appear. Ana González will direct the Pequeños Cantores, while Javier Carmena will lead the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid.
Mahler wrote his Third Symphony between 1895 and 1896 as a large-scale work about different dimensions of existence. Nature comes first, followed by music that moves toward divinity. This is no short seasonal opener.
Mahler divided the symphony into two parts and six movements. The first part contains only the opening movement; the second brings together the remaining five. María del Ser wrote the programme notes. She holds a doctorate in Music Education from UCM and works as an information officer at Radio Clásica, RNE. Her notes describe Mahler's method as an attempt to build a world with every technical resource available to him.
The score draws on texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano. It also uses the final chapter of the third part of Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. These sources give the symphony a vocal and philosophical dimension alongside its orchestral scale.
The performance will last approximately 90 minutes, with two sections and a 15-minute interval. The sixth movement will close the concert: Lento. Sereno. Con sentimiento. Lo que me cuenta el amor.
The event is part of a wider Spanish cultural calendar that also includes the Goya ceremony announcement. In Madrid, ORCAM has chosen a work requiring a large force on stage, with the choir and young singers.
The concert is titled La creación de un todo and will take place at the Auditorio Nacional de Música, Príncipe de Vergara 146, Madrid. The season will open with a complete Mahler symphony rather than a short introductory programme.
