1047 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
USA

Kent Tritle conducts The Symphony of a Thousand
GUSTAV MAHLER, SYMPHONY NO. 8
at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Additional Performance Added by Popular Demand
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street)
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in collaboration with the Manhattan School of Music and Oratorio Society of New York, presents an unprecedented Great Music in a Great Space performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, featuring more than 450 musicians on Wednesday, February 24th and Thursday February 25th, at 7:30p.m. at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan.
Kent Tritle, Director of Cathedral Music, will lead this work, often referred to as “The Symphony of a Thousand” as the 1910 premiere of the piece, scored for a very large orchestra, featured 1030 musicians. Tritle’s 90-minute production will be comprised of a full symphony orchestra enhanced by many additional players, an off-stage brass ensemble, two large mixed choirs, a children’s choir, and eight soloists: Sara Murphy, mezzo-soprano; John Tiranno, tenor; and Adam Lau, bass; along with five graduate students from the Manhattan School of Music. The renowned Cathedral Great Organ stars as well.
Mahler spoke of the 8th as his most ground breaking symphony and the grandest thing he had ever done. From the moment Tritle first visited the Cathedral with the idea of serving there, he dreamed of conducting musical creations on a grand scale befitting the world’s largest neo-Gothic space. Mahler’s 8th Symphony, weaving together the text of a medieval hymn and the closing scene of Goethe’s Faust, draws together essential redemptive themes of Western culture and is one of the most ambitious and thrilling of such works.
Great Music in a Great Space, a concert series open to the public, is inspired by a range of musical traditions. Re-launched in 2012, Great Music in a Great Space resumes the legendary Cathedral concert and recital series from the 1980s, showcasing the most exciting composers and performers in the world of choral and instrumental music and consistently drawing capacity crowds.
Tickets start at $25. For more information on this or to purchase tickets, please visit https://www.stjohndivine.org/visit/calendar/events/music/12964/great-choir-gustav-mahlers-symphony-no-8.