Mahler's Universe: photography by Eduardus Lee at Leica Gallery Amsterdam

From 8 May to 14 June 2026, Leica Gallery Amsterdam presents Mahler's Universe, an exhibition of photographic work by Eduardus Lee (1987), house photographer of The Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. The exhibition opens exactly one year after the third Mahler Festival and features 28 photographs by Lee, complemented by sixteen images by Concertgebouw director Simon Reinink. Admission is free.

Among photographers, an invitation to exhibit at Leica is considered a milestone: the German camera brand is renowned for its quiet, discreet cameras and rich heritage. Lee describes the invitation as feeling "like winning an Oscar."

Over the course of eleven festival days, Lee photographed musicians, conductors and audiences, setting up a temporary photo studio in the royal reception room of The Concertgebouw. The festival yielded more than 2,000 images, from which a small selection has been chosen for the Leica Gallery.

A personal mission

For Lee, three threads come together in this project: music, photography and the work of Mahler, whom he calls his favourite composer. He grew up in Zeeland, trained as a violinist and pianist, and played for many years as a tutti violinist in the Zeeland Orchestra. His first live Mahler experience took place during a Christmas Matinee in the Main Hall of The Concertgebouw, on the recommendation of his childhood conductor Carlo Nabbe.

Lee considers his musical background essential to his work. Before every concert, he listens to the music or studies the score. "Timing is essential, so that you can capture precisely that one gesture, that one solo," the photographer explains. He remains modest about his role in the concert hall: "I don't make art, like a musician does — I take a more supporting role."

Both The Concertgebouw and the Concertgebouw Orchestra are happy to call on his services. He has now been photographing in the concert hall for ten years, and since last year he even has his own key.

Two perspectives

Alongside Lee's work, Mahler's Universe features sixteen photographs by Simon Reinink, general director of The Concertgebouw. Reinink photographs from a personal perspective and at close range to the musicians. From the director's unique vantage point, his work offers an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes. Lee himself describes the difference between the two series as "the difference between a rehearsal and a concert": his own work is more restrained and classical in tone.

About the Mahler Festival 2025

From 8 to 18 May 2025, the third Mahler Festival in the 140-year history of The Concertgebouw took place. In the Main Hall, all of Gustav Mahler's symphonies were performed by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo. The Recital Hall presented Mahler's complete song oeuvre. The concerts were streamed live in the Vondelpark.

Read the full interview with Eduardus Lee, "Like winning an Oscar," accompanied by a selection of photographs from the exhibition, on Concertgebouw Ontdek.

Mahler's Universe 8 May to 14 June 2026 Leica Gallery Amsterdam, Van Baerlestraat 74 Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10.00–18.00, Sunday 12.00–17.00 Free admission