Vasily Petrenko conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 8

Vasily Petrenko leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahler's sublime Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major, known as the "Symphony of a Thousand" for the enormous forces required: an immense orchestra, two adult choirs, a children's choir, and no fewer than eight soloists! Perhaps the most resounding success of Mahler's lifetime, the Eighth unfolds in two imposing movements that form a majestic musical edifice celebrating artistic creation and the redemptive power of love. The first part focuses on the 9th-century hymn Veni creator spiritus, and the second longer part on the final scene of Goethe's Faust, in which Faust is saved by Gretchen's love. This grandly ambitious symphony may be the most triumphantly optimistic of the nine by Mahler, who called it his "gift to the nation… a great joy-bringer."