Mahler 8 is an enormously popular work, but you won’t find it performed live as regularly as you might hear, for example, his Fifth Symphony. Why is this?
Enormous forces
Mahler 8 requires a number of enormous ensembles to be performed. It features a huge orchestra with a harmonium and a mandolin amongst other things, a chorus that’s divided into sixteen parts, a children’s choir and eight soloists! We spoke to our Musical Director, David Hill, to find out more about the ensembles that the work requires.
It’s not easy to combine all of these instrumentalists – it takes days to prepare and practise the work to make sure that everything works together perfectly.
The premiere of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony had over a thousand performers present, earning it the name ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ (which was penned by the concert promoter, Emil Gutman). It was certainly a statement – Mahler by this point had written seven other symphonies amongst other works. Many considered this work to be a culmination of all of the learnings from his other works – he had previously used a choir for his second symphony. A less accomplished composer might not have been able to get a work performed with such large forces involved, but Mahler’s stature allowed him to do this.
The marriage of venue and music
The premiere for Mahler’s Eighth Symphony was at the Neue Musik-Festhalle in Munich. The venue could fit 3,000 people, and as such was a very large room. While Mahler never specified the size of the space that this work should be performed in, the venue makes an enormous difference to this work. Mahler was famously quoted saying:
“Try to imagine the whole universe beginning to ring and resound. There are no more human voices, only planets and suns revolving in their orbits”
In the right room, this symphony can take on a ‘revolving’ quality with different sounds clashing and surrounding the listener – which is all down to Mahler’s masterful composition techniques.”
Experience Mahler 8 live
London’s iconic St Paul’s Cathedral is one such venue which is perfect for this work. We are very much looking forward to joining forces with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Youth Choirs, eight spectacular soloists and David Hill there to perform Mahler 8 on Thursday 9 October. This piece is often saved for special occasions, and this certainly is a special one – we’re celebrating our 150th anniversary this year. Join us to hear this towering work at an iconic venue – book your tickets here now.