Concert

Vasily Petrenko conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 8

Royal Albert Hall

Live
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Cast

Sarah Wegener — Soprano

Jacquelyn Wagner — Soprano

Regula Mühlemann — Soprano

Jennifer Johnston — Mezzo-soprano

Benedict Nelson — Tenor

Michael Nagy — Baritone

James Platt — Bass

Philharmonia Chorus

Bournemouth Symphony Chorus

City of London Choir

Schola Cantorum of The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

Tiffin Boys' Choir

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Vasily Petrenko — Conductor

Program notes

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."

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