NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester: Opening Night 2026: Mahler 6 & Paukenschlag

Opening Night 2026: Mahler 6 & A Timpani Roll

A timpani and hammer strike to kick off the season: Alan Gilbert and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, and Stephan Cürlis will perform a timpani concerto—at the Opening Night on September 4 and 5 at the Elbphilharmonie.

Fri, Sept. 4, 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Sat, September 5, 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie, Grand Hall, Platz der Deutschen Einheit

Introductory events at 7 p.m. in the Grand Hall on both nights

Alan Gilbert, conductor
Stephan Cürlis, timpani
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

James Oliverio
Legacy Ascendant – Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra No. 3
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 6 in A minor

Let’s really bang those timpani!

Kick off the new season with Gustav Mahler! This has become a cherished tradition for the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Principal Conductor Alan Gilbert . Following the Second in 2022 and the First last year, the 2026 Opening Night program now features the Sixth Symphony by the titan of orchestral heights—the powerful work with its legendary hammer blows in the finale. Before that, a true institution from within the orchestra’s own ranks will take the stage at his percussion instrument: Stephan Cürlis, principal timpanist and cult-favorite audience favorite, will perform a timpani concerto by James Oliverio to kick off his final season with the NDR.

Stephan Cürlis: A Thoroughbred Musician at the Timpani

His many fans have likely been secretly waiting for this for a long time: Stephan Cürlis is enthusiastically celebrated anyway for each of his highly musical interpretations of the timpani part in major orchestral works. But now, at long last, he takes center stage as the soloist in a concerto for timpani and orchestra. The award-winning (film) composer James Oliverio originally wrote it for the Cleveland Orchestra’s timpanist, who premiered it in 2023 under the baton of Alan Gilbert .