Mahler’s Sixth Symphony
Marin Alsop, conductor
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DateJuly 23, 2026
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VenueHunter Pavilion
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Event Starts7:30 PM
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Donor Gates4:30 PM
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Public Gates5:00 PM
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Ticket Prices$17–$111
All tickets show the “all-in” price, fees included. Availability and prices are subject to change.
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Seating ChartView Seating Chart
Free and open to all ticketholders!
Before tonight’s concert by the CSO, join us for a talk by music theorist Steven Rings, featuring musical excerpts to illuminate expressive, historic, and philosophical highlights.
Dr. Rings is Professor of Music and the Humanities at the University of Chicago, where he has taught since 2005. A music theorist and the series editor of Oxford Studies in Music Theory, he publishes and teaches on a wide range of music, from classical to jazz. His most recent book is called What Did You Hear?: The Music of Bob Dylan.
About Steven Rings • Steven Rings’s writings
Steven Rings will present his lecture from 6:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Sandra K. Crown Theater.
Reserved Seat Ticket: $38–$111
Reserved Block Ticket: $17
Price per person; must reserve full block of 2, 4, or 6
General Admission Ticket: $17
Special pricing for guests ages 15 and under, as well as 65 and above: More Info
Wintrust Chair & Table Rental Reservation
The Park View is open with a classic dining menu and full-service bar, and the Freehling Room is open to eligible Ravinia donors. Reservations are recommended for dinner.
Ravinia Café and Concession Stands are open with hot food plus chilled grab-and-go, drinks, ice cream, and snacks.
Cashless: Cash will not be accepted at Dining Pavilion restaurants, bars, or concessions. Please bring a credit/debit card or other cashless forms of payment.
Know Before You Go
Getting to Ravinia: Parking, Rideshare & Train
$15 Parking Onsite • Free Metra UP-N Train
Park in the West Parking Lot at 201 Ravinia Park Rd. The lot opens 1 hour before the listed “Public Gates” time.
Park and Ride shuttles are not in service for this event – please come directly to the onsite parking lot.
Alert your driver: Uber, Lyft, and other car services must use one of the following parking lots to drop off and pick up guests.
- West Parking Lot (201 Ravinia Park Rd) — inbound access allowed up to 30 minutes before the end of the performance
- Braeside Train Station (10 N. St. Johns Ave) — ¼ mile walk from Ravinia
- Ravinia Train Station (680 St. Johns Ave) — ½ mile walk from Ravinia
- No drop-offs or pick-ups are allowed on public streets. If Highland Park Police or Ravinia staff redirect traffic, please follow those instructions.
Ride the Metra Union Pacific North Line train to and from our main entrance for free with your Ravinia ticket.
More Train Info
Inside the Hunter Pavilion
Please note the following food, drink, and personal item policies before entering the Hunter Pavilion:
- Drinks are allowed inside the Pavilion at all performances, but must be in an approved container. Drinks must be in plastic cups or plastic bottles sized for 24oz or smaller. No metal or glass containers are permitted, including metal water bottles.
- No food is permitted at reserved seats.
- No bags larger than 18″×12″×12″, coolers, wagons, strollers, large umbrellas, or any other large items Large items may be returned to your vehicle or stored (unsupervised) along the outer perimeter inside the Pavilion.
- Items brought into the Pavilion are subject to search at the entrance.
- All guests must have a ticket for entry, regardless of age.
Prohibited Items
Any item deemed harmful or unsafe by Ravinia staff is prohibited.
While comfort and enjoyment of a night out at Ravinia are our top priorities, guests are prohibited from bringing the following items into the park:
- Firearms or explosives (including those possessed by off-duty officers or concealed carry license holders)
- Professional photographic and video or audio recording equipment
- Grills, firepits, or large open flames
- Chafing fuel or other canned heating products (e.g., Sterno)
- Beer kegs
- Athletic equipment (e.g., balls and flying discs)
- Bicycles, scooters, or skates (bike racks can be found outside the west and south entrances)
- Animals, except for service animals trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities
- Tents or canopies
- Umbrellas over six feet in diameter
- Anything that needs to be staked into the ground
- Drones or other flying apparatus
- Items intended for protest, solicitation, or promotion not related to the event
Contact the box office (847-266-5100) with any questions.
Performance Content
At Ravinia, we believe that music has the power to bring people together. While we do not control what artists share, we ask all participants—artists and audiences alike—to uphold the spirit of respect, community, and connection that Ravinia offers.
Should any circumstance threaten physical safety, we will take appropriate action to ensure the well-being of our guests, artists, and staff.
Park Map
View or download our park map for the locations of Ravinia’s venues, parking lots, restrooms, first aid station, chair/table rental pickup, Festival Shop, and in-park dining options.
About the Performance
Ravinia is grateful for the support of
The Negaunee Foundation
Premier Sponsor
Mahler 6 Consortium
“A symphony must be like the world,” Mahler said. “It must contain everything.” Marshaling the profound energy of the CSO for Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, Marin Alsop leads a riveting search for meaning in a complex, rapidly changing world. Moving through moments of idyllic nostalgia to devastating fanaticism and fateful blows, this monumental work perfectly anticipates the challenges and longing of the 21st century.
Writing for NPR, Alsop elaborates: “I’m not sure there has ever been a more fitting symphony for our time than Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. … Today, as we have become immune to shock, where nothing seems too extreme and where hyperbole rules, Mahler and his Sixth Symphony seem to fit right in.” More than a century after its premiere, the Sixth still confronts audiences with its prophetic intensity and unflinching emotional truth.
For all its thunder and tragedy, the Sixth is also a refuge: a vast emotional landscape where beauty and brutality coexist, and where life’s biggest questions are asked with fearless honesty. Leonard Bernstein, Alsop’s mentor and one of Mahler’s most passionate champions, called him “the prophet of the 20th century.” In this searing performance, Alsop and the CSO reveal why Mahler’s voice speaks just as urgently to our own time.
Performers
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
Program
7:30 PM – Hunter Pavilion
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor
–No Intermission–