Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 to be Performed with 450 Musicians at Cathedral of St. John NY

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in collaboration with the Manhattan School of Music and Oratorio Society of New York, present an exciting new show, as 450 musicians will gather together over two performances to perform a very powerful version of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, in what is sure to be a sonic phenomenon. Kent Tritle, director of Cathedral Music, will lead work which, since its premiere in 1910, when 1,030 musicians first performed it together, has the nickname "The Symphony of a Thousand."

Gustav Mahler was more pleased with the 8th over all of his others. Conductor Tritle envisioned the Cathedral as the perfect place to stage such a grandoise masterwork. From the Cathedral's press release, "From the moment Tritle first visited the Cathedral with the idea of serving there, he dreamed of conducting musical creations on the grand scale befitting the world's largest neo-Gothic space. Mahler's Symphony No. 8, 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."

The two performance will happen February 24 & 25 at 7:30 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street), Manhattan. Tickets for the performance start at $8 for both performances.

If you wish to purchase tickets for the 24th, go here.

If you wish to purchase tickets for the 25th, go here.

For a list of future events happening at the Cathedral,follow this lead

For those of you interested here is a little bit about the Cathedral, via the press release, "The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is chartered as a house of prayer for all people and a unifying center of intellectual light and leadership. People from many faiths and communities worship together in services held more than 30 times a week; the soup kitchen serves roughly 25,000 meals annually; social service outreach has an increasingly varied roster of programs; the distinguished Cathedral School prepares young students to be future leaders; Adults and Children in Trust, the renowned preschool, afterschool, and summer program, offers diverse educational and nurturing experiences; the outstanding Textile Conservation Lab preserves world treasures; concerts, exhibitions, performances, and civic gatherings allow conversation, celebration, reflection, and remembrance-such is the joyfully busy life of this beloved and venerated Cathedral."

Coupled with Mahler, it sounds like quite an exciting evening.