CSO Presents Mahler 8, Symphony of a Thousand

Livia Rose
Dec 17, 2018
2 min read

Last Friday night, within the walls of the QPAC Concert Hall, musicians of all ages and talents came together to present Gustav Mahler's magnificent Eight Symphony, the Symphony of a Thousand.

Performing to a sold-out crowd, the Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra presented the magic of Mahler's Eighth Symphony, equipped with an offstage brass section that could be seen in the boxes above the orchestra, complemented by eight stunning soloists from all over the world and a choir just short of 400 voices consisting of Queensland Conservatorium students and community choirs. With the youngest performer approximately 7 years of age and the oldest around 70, musicians from all walks of life with different levels of experience, joined forces under the steady baton of Maestro Johannes Fritzsch.

Just hours before show time, the conductor gave some words about how he felt the rehearsals was going, especially for the students in the orchestra who held the weight of pulling off the exquisite music of Mahler's 8th Symphony.

'Mahler 8 is one of the biggest pieces in the romantic repertoire, written for so many soloists, choir members and instruments. I am very happy with the progress of the orchestra, as it is an enormous challenge for a student orchestra to tackle a piece such as this. Although technically speaking, it is not so difficult, it is a great opportunity for students to learn a lot about their instruments and to learn in such a huge ensemble. It is perfect to give the students a way to play their instruments as best as they can for where they are in their studies, and also, to ask themselves, how they fit in the bigger sense.'

So, what was the result of this performance?

The effort and organisation, not to mention the funding that is required to pull off a production as big as Mahler 8, was certainly not without reward for performer or audience member alike.

To answer simply, the result was magical.

Smiles could be seen all around as bows were raised into the air, and bells of instruments were held high for the final bar of Mahler's 8th Symphony. Audience members, many standing in appreciation, clapped wildly in admiration for the performers who stood proudly, their many hours of work coming to a close.

Will we ever see anything like it again in our lifetime?

With the last performance in Brisbane being over 20 years ago, we can sure hope that in the coming years, musicians get to experience the magnificent music of Mahler make their chests fill with the vibrations of the mass orchestra and the audience shiver in awe, just as those hundreds of musicians did on Friday night.

And so I leave you with a quote by the amazing Victor Hugo which raises the question, should we strive to provide more experiences like this, to provide education and experience for the youth of today?