Vasily Petrenko conducts Mahler's Symphony No 8

Even by Mahler’s standards, his Symphony No.8, nicknamed ‘Symphony of a Thousand’, is a work of immense proportions. Vasily Petrenko, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s Music Director Designate, is joined on stage at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, eight soloists, three choruses, two children’s choirs, an organ and two brass bands, for what promises to be a titanic performance of this rarely heard masterpiece. Written in two halves, Part I employs the text of a 9th century hymn ‘Veni Creator Spiritus’ (‘Come Creator Spirit’), and Part II – inspired by the final scene of Goethe’s Faust – sees Faust’s soul rescued from the clutches of the Devil, then ascend to Heaven in a blaze of glory.