Fabio Luisi conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 8, "Symphony of a Thousand"

This program is dedicated to the memory of tenor Limmie Pulliam (1976 – 2026).

Every performance of Mahler's utterly singular Symphony No. 8 is an event — and one of this calibre by the impeccable Dallas Symphony Orchestra, multiple choruses, and eight world-class soloists under the baton of Fabio Luisi is unmissable! Popularly known as the "Symphony of a Thousand" for its monumental forces, Mahler's Eighth is one of his most ambitious and fully realized achievements, the product of a feverish ten-week period of remarkable inspiration: "I saw the whole piece immediately before my eyes," he remarked, "and only needed to write it down, as though it were being dictated to me."

This symphonic and choral tour de force, a hymn to the redemptive power of love structured in two parts, presents an unforgettable juxtaposition of the sacred and the profane, pairing the Latin text of the 9th-century Veni creator spiritus with the closing passages from one of Mahler's favorite German works, Goethe's Faust. Maestro Luisi intrepidly leads the DSO through this gargantuan undertaking, alongside the Dallas Symphony Chorus and Children's Chorus, as well as artists from the Baltimore Choral Arts and eight internationally renowned vocal soloists.