A concert by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Kwamé Ryan, featuring Schubert's Symphony No. 9 'The Great', Mahler's 'Kindertotenlieder' and Carlos Simon's 'Fate Now Conquers'.
The Charlotte Symphony is bringing Schubert's Symphony No. 9 to the Knight Theater over three nights: Friday, Oct. 23, Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25. Music Director Kwamé Ryan leads the orchestra, and the program is built around that symphony, which is known as "The Great" for its scale and length.
It's not the only thing on the bill. The evening opens with Carlos Simon's Fate Now Conquers, a piece that looks back at Beethoven. Then comes Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, a song cycle for mezzo-soprano and orchestra, with Raehann Bryce-Davis on vocals. It's a deeply personal set of songs about mortality, and the symphony frames it as a reflection on loss and resilience before the Schubert takes over.
That's where the night lands. Symphony No. 9 is the culmination of the program, and it earns its nickname. It opens with a noble horn call and builds through a sweeping scale and unstoppable momentum, ending in a triumphant blaze of exultation. It's a big, heroic work that holds its own as the finale.
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This is part of the Charlotte Symphony's 2026-27 Classical 12 Series, a twelve-concert season led by Kwamé Ryan that traces a hero's journey through the repertoire. Along the way, the orchestra is playing Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, and Tchaikovsky's Pathétique. If you like to know what you're about to hear, there's a pre-concert talk an hour before each performance in the Wells Fargo Pre-Function Space.
The Knight Theater seats 1,192 and shares a lobby with the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. The Friday and Saturday shows run from 7:30 to 9:30 PM; the Sunday matinee is 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Tickets start at $53.26.
