Damiaan Denys & Camerata RCO

Mahler took a four-hour walk with Freud in Leiden during the summer of 1910. The subject of discussion is a question: How would more insight into his psyche impact his creativity? While Mahler felt relieved after their conversation, it remained a singular event. Philosopher and psychiatrist Damiaan Denys sheds light on this intriguing encounter. Mahler's music, including his indescribably tender and loving Adagietto, accompanies the discussion.

Damiaan Denys lets his imagination run wild to continue the dialogue between the composer and the famous psychiatrist. Mahler was a troubled individual: as a child, he witnessed the deaths of siblings, and his marriage was not without crises. Sorrow and joy, sublimity and banality blend in his music in a gripping manner. In Vienna, Mahler experienced the sudden emergence of the prodigy Erich Wolfgang Korngold. "The new Mozart!" he exclaimed in amazement. A sensation as a child, conquering the world at the age of 20 with his opera 'Die tote Stadt', pioneering film composer in Hollywood, Korngold became somewhat forgotten after his death. But in recent years, his music has been appearing on music stands more and more frequently. Listen to how he sings about Viennese fin de siècle, like his colleague Mahler.

Please note: this concert is completely spoken in Dutch.