In an amazing concert on December 17, 2025, Andris Nelsons conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra, playing Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4, as well as Jörg Widmann's Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI), featuring Håkan Hardenberger on the trumpet. Get tickets now!

A journey to paradise with the Concertgebouw Orchestra

The Concertgebouw Orchestra is delighted to welcome Andris Nelsons back to conduct the orchestra. He will be conducting two large-scale works, both of which find resolution in a timeless, heavenly vision.

Mahler’s lightest and airiest symphony, the fourth, is also one of his most popular works. Indeed, it has been a part of their repertoire since 1904, when the composer himself conducted the Dutch premiere. Now, they get the opportunity to experience Andris Nelsons’ interpretation of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony. In the final part, German soprano Christiane Karg transports us to heaven as seen through the eyes of a child.

Before the interval, it is the trumpet virtuoso Håkan Hardenberger who takes you on a journey to paradise. Jörg Widmann's trumpet concerto Towards Paradise is a psychological quest, an erratic musical journey leading through hectic, anxious, loving and melancholic moments, until they gradually give way to a breathtaking view

For further information, please visit the Concertgebouw Orchestra website.

About the conductor Andris Nelsons

Andris Nelsons was a trumpeter in the opera orchestra of his hometown, Riga, before moving to St. Petersburg in 2001 to study conducting with Alexander Titov, followed by private lessons with Mariss Jansons.

He then became chief conductor of the Latvian National Opera (2003-2007), the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (2006-2009), and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (2008-2015). Since the 2014-15 season, Nelsons has been the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and, since February 2018, also the Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. His two orchestras collaborate extensively, which in 2019 resulted in three concerts featuring musicians from both institutions and, a year later, joint CD recordings.

He has conducted opera productions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, the Wiener Staatsoper, New York's Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival.

Nelsons regularly guest-conducts such orchestras as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. Since August 2008, he has been a welcome guest with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, both in Amsterdam and on tour. The most recent collaboration was in August 2020, when Nelsons conducted Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony.

Concert programme

Here is the concert programme:

• Jörg Widmann - Towards Paradise (Labyrinth VI)
• Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 4

Performers

Here are the performers:

• Andris Nelsons, conductor
• Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet
• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

About the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra was founded in 1888. Its distinctive sound has made it one of the world’s leading orchestras. 

The orchestra is renowned for its renditions of works by Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Anton Bruckner, as well as its long-standing concert traditions, including the St. Matthew Passion in the week before Easter and the Christmas Matinee. It has always worked closely with contemporary composers.

The Concertgebouw Orchestra has had just seven chief conductors to date. The eighth was announced in 2022: Klaus Mäkelä joined as artistic partner in 2022-23 season and will become chief conductor in 2027. The coming season sees five extraordinary programmes with Klaus Mäkelä at the helm. 

Get your tickets

Check out the Concertgebouw Orchestra website for more information about the concert programme and the performers! The ticket price includes a complimentary glass of wine before the concert and at the interval, as well as free cloakroom use.