Vienna Philharmonic

Yuja Wang, piano
Christiane Karg, soprano
Elīna Garanča, mezzo-soprano
San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Jenny Wong, director

A highlight of the season! The ravishing Vienna Philharmonic returns to Berkeley for three concerts led by dynamic maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin. The revered 185-year-old orchestra and star conductor—who together brought down the house at their last Zellerbach Hall performances in March 2025—have enjoyed a close partnership over many years, a relationship finely honed through numerous tours and recordings. For this visit, the focus is Mahler, a particularly important figure in the Philharmonic’s history whose Ninth Symphony received its posthumous premiere by the orchestra in 1912. The composer’s unforgettable music is a perfect match for the towering musical institution, which will be joined by a selection of internationally acclaimed guest artists throughout the Berkeley residency.

The first performance features Mahler’s poignant final completed symphony, one of the most profound and emotionally complex works in the orchestral repertoire. The second night features both the serene charms of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, with Christiane Karg as soprano soloist, and Prokofiev’s rambunctious Concerto in C major, with superstar pianist Yuja Wang joining at the keyboard. In the final program, Mahler’s mighty Resurrection symphony takes the listener on a journey through earthly trials to ultimate transcendence, and features vocalists Christiane Karg and Elīna Garanča, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. 

“The Vienna Philharmonic sound is so sumptuous it takes a rare conductor to resist its advances. … The Viennese fondness for [Nézet-Séguin] may well be that, in his exuberance, he lets them live it up”—Los Angeles Times

The Maria Manetti Shrem and Elizabeth Segerstrom California Orchestra Residency

Patron Sponsors: Nadine Tang (3/3); Jerome and Thao Dodson (3/4)