A gala to say "thank you!": We're closing out the season with the *Missa solemnis*
There are seasons that are remembered for a particular production, a soloist, a premiere, or a particularly exciting evening. But no season would be possible without you—the one who chooses to be there to listen.
For 48 years, the audience of the Minería Symphony Orchestra has made summer a musical tradition in Mexico City. Some have been with us since the very first seasons; others inherited this tradition from their parents and now bring their own children; still others have made friends in our concert halls; and this summer, some sat in front of a symphony orchestra for the very first time.
Each of these experiences is an essential part of our history as an orchestra.
In 2026, we also experienced a different season. The renovation of the Nezahualcóyotl Hall led us to temporarily perform at other iconic venues in the city: the Silvestre Revueltas Hall at the Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center and the Main Hall of the Palace of Fine Arts.
But you were there, and that made us continue to feel at home, even though the venue had changed.
That's why we want to say thank you! with a closing gala dedicated to one of Beethoven’s most profound and monumental works: the Mass in D Major, Op. 123, Missa solemnis.
The performance will take place on Friday, August 28, at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, August 29, at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, August 30, at 12:00 p.m. in the Silvestre Revueltas Hall at the Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center, featuring Jennifer Rowley, soprano; Guadalupe Paz, mezzo-soprano; Kameron Lopreore, tenor; Harold Wilson, bass; and the Minería Symphony Chorus, conducted by Samuel Pascoe. All will be conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto, our artistic director.
A season that began far from home
The story of 2026 began before summer and far from home.
In January, the Minería Symphony made its debut at Chicago's Orchestra Hall—presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra itself—as part of a ten-concert tour through nine cities and six states in the United States.
Months later, we returned home for the summer season. Over the course of eight episodes, we explored very different musical worlds. We opened with Don Juan by Richard Strauss, *Distant Light* by Pēteris Vasks, and Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony. We returned to Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Beethoven, Mahler, Schubert, Mozart, and Haydn. We reached the virtuosity of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto and the theatrical world of *Petrushka* by Stravinsky.
We also listen to music composed in our time and in our region. *Altar de viento*, by Gabriela Ortiz, transformed the air into musical matter. *Trajín*, by Alejandra Odgers, transformed tension and movement into sonic agitation. And we presented the world premiere of the Concerto for Cello and Orchestraby the young Colombian composer Ludsen Martinus.
We welcome renowned guest artists, explore familiar repertoires from new perspectives, and share the once-in-a-lifetime experience of offering music to bring people together, inspire, and transform lives.
The play we chose to close the season
Our 2026 Summer Season concludes with the Missa solemnis.
Beethoven wrote some of the most famous works in the history of music, but his strictly sacred output is surprisingly limited. Two great masses stand out in his catalog: the Mass in C major, Op. 86, and the Missa solemnis, which belongs to his final creative period. If you’d like to learn more about his life, his musical language, and the transformation he brought about in Western music, you can read our article Who Was Beethoven: The Genius Who Revolutionized Music.
The Origin of the Missa solemnis was a specific celebration. Archduke Rudolf of Austria, a student of Beethoven’s and one of his most important patrons, had been appointed Archbishop of Olmütz. Beethoven decided to compose a grand mass to accompany the ceremonies marking his installation and wanted to complete it in time for that occasion.
But the music began to grow. Beethoven worked on the score between 1819 and early 1823. The date of the ceremony passed, and the work continued to expand as the composer returned to it time and again. The collection at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn documents both that connection to Rudolf and the lengthy process of composing the Mass.
By the time it was finally completed, what had begun as music intended for a specific ceremony had become something much greater. Beethoven was even aware that its scope extended beyond the liturgical realm: he went so far as to note that the work could also be performed as an oratorio.
Five major sections for a single search
The Ordinary of the Mass is divided into five main parts: Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. In Beethoven’s work, the Benedictus, which is part of the Sanctus, takes on such importance that it is usually listed separately in the program:
- Kyrie
- Gloria
- Creed
- Sanctus
- Benedictus
- Agnus Dei
Beethoven uses this traditional structure to create a journey of immense scope. At times, the music becomes more intense and seems to turn inward; at others, the choir and orchestra take on monumental proportions. Celebration, tension, contemplation, and hope follow one another within the same musical framework.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the work lies in the relationship between music and words. Beethoven does not treat the text merely as something to be sung; he seeks to transform his ideas into sound.
At the end of the Creed, for example, the voices unfold complex lines that seem to rise and fall as the text speaks of the resurrection and eternal life. An abstract idea thus takes on an almost physical dimension through music.
That intensity permeates the entire Missa solemnis and also explains why it is one of the most demanding works in the symphonic-choral repertoire. The composition challenges the orchestra, the soloists, and especially the choir, which must navigate wide contrasts, a broad range of pitches, and a counterpoint structure of immense complexity. The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s program notes on the work allow us to explore in greater detail both its history and the vocal and instrumental forces that Beethoven envisioned.
For this closing performance, the Minería Symphony Choir will take center stage alongside the orchestra: many different voices will have to breathe, listen, and move forward together.
Beethoven, the Missa solemnis and the Ninth Symphony
There is also an extraordinary moment in the history of this play.
The Missa solemnis was performed in its entirety for the first time in St. Petersburg in April 1824. Just a few weeks later, on May 7, Beethoven attended one of the most important concerts of his life in Vienna.
That night, the audience heard the overture "The Consecration of the House", three sections of the *Missa solemnis* —Kyrie, Credo and Agnus Dei— and the premiere of Symphony No. 9.
Two of the monumental works from his final creative period were brought together in a single evening. The Los Angeles Philharmonic highlights this historical connection between the two scores and points out that Beethoven never got to hear a complete performance of the Missa solemnis.
Thank you, thank you, thank you
The Missa solemnis will be the final performance of our 2026 Summer Season. It will also be a celebration of these past 48 years and of the community that has made them possible.
Thank you for joining us again this summer.
We look forward to seeing you on Friday, August 28, and Saturday, August 29, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, August 30, at 12 p.m. in the Silvestre Revueltas Hall at the Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center, to bid farewell together to a season that, like music itself, only truly exists when it is shared.
