Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'

Erika Sunnegårdh (soprano), Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Christiane Oelze (soprano), Lioba Braun (alto), Gerhild Romberger (alto), Stephen Gould (tenor), Dietrich Henschel (baritone) & Georg Zeppenfeld (bass)

Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Riccardo Chailly

How good to see Riccardo Chailly so radiant at the end of this great event. It's an exhilaration he earns through sheer work as well as injecting the adrenalin at most of the right moments...Chailly... — BBC Music Magazine, December 2011, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 26th Sep 2011
Catalogue No: ACC20222
Label: Accentus Music
Series: Riccardo Chailly Mahler Symphony cycle

Gramophone Magazine

January 2012

DVD of the Month

Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'

Erika Sunnegårdh (soprano), Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Christiane Oelze (soprano), Lioba Braun (alto), Gerhild Romberger (alto), Stephen Gould (tenor), Dietrich Henschel (baritone) & Georg Zeppenfeld (bass)
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Riccardo Chailly

About
Reviews
Videos
Explore

About

Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is arguably the grandest and most ambitious piece of symphonic music ever written. The composer himself regarded it as his opus summum, and an incredible number of participants at the hugely successful Munich première in 1910 earned it the nickname “Symphony of a Thousand”. At Leipzig’s International Mahler Festival 2011, Riccardo Chailly commanded almost 500 musicians, and the overwhelming result of their joint effort inspired the Leipzig-based and internationally renowned artist Neo Rauch to the painting for the cover of this DVD.

Picture Format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sound Formats DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo

Region Code: 0 (worldwide)

Running Time: 92:19 min

Disc Format: DVD 9

FSK: 0

Subtitles: German, English, French

Reviews

December 2011

How good to see Riccardo Chailly so radiant at the end of this great event. It's an exhilaration he earns through sheer work as well as injecting the adrenalin at most of the right moments...Chailly holds the attention between movements and makes you realise how many soloists within the orchestra have to sing, too. His leader, the superb Sebastian Breuninger, assists him between blazes...Chailly's rendering leads the field on DVD.

15th October 2011

these are red-blooded performances. The Italian conductor has long been a respected Mahlerian, capable of welding the symphonies’ huge structures and quixotic moods into a coherent musical statement...They also convey the physical thrill of the “live” experience, with Erika Sunnegardh risking all in the high soprano lines

January 2012

In exchanging ceremonial pomp and adrenaline-rush for an unforced, unmannered, surprisingly lyrical approach, Chailly unearths a wealth of rarely heard contrapuntal detail and secures a rare unanimity of response. The solo singers and here purely local choral forces are on the same exalted level as his venerable band whose dark transparency and unique, late-Romantic sound are, he believes, perfect for these scores.

5th November 2011

Michael Beyer’s direction on this Accentus DVD is unobtrusive in the best possible way...The clarity and force of the choral sound is remarkable, especially that of the cheerful-looking GewandhausKinderchoir. You’ll reach the end of Part One spiritually transfigured...It’s an overwhelmingly affirmative experience, and Chailly brings out the joy as well as the solemnity.

Videos

An error occurred.

Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.

Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'

Contents

Download queue

Mahler: Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of a Thousand'

DVD Video

Other available formats

Contents

Download queue