Six hundreds Performers to Present Mahler’s Epic “Symphony of a Thousand” in Ostrava

Mahler’s Eighth Symphony ranks among the least frequently performed works of the classical repertoire due to its extraordinary interpretative demands, the vast number of performers involved, and its extensive spatial requirements. For the Ostrava premiere, the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, the Moravian-Silesian Sinfonietta, and the Májovák Karviná Symphonic Orchestra will join forces with 13 choirs from the Moravian-Silesian Region, Šumperk, Brno, and Katowice. The performance will be conducted by Christian Arming, Music Director of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra. More than 450 choir singers, over 130 musicians, and eight leading soloists from Ostrava, Brno, Prague, and Hamburg will appear together on one stage. Thanks to the extraordinary number of performers, this presentation of the Eighth Symphony will become the largest classical music concert ever held in the Moravian-Silesian Region.

“The Mahler 8 project strengthens Ostrava’s position on the musical map of Europe. It is a truly unique undertaking, further enhanced by the remarkable setting of Ostrava’s Trojhalí Karolina. Its spaces even resemble the Neue Musik-Festhalle, where Gustav Mahler first introduced his ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ to the musical public in 1910. Lovers of world-class classical music should not miss this extraordinary musical celebration,” says Deputy Mayor Lucie Baránková Vilamová.

The Trojhalí complex will open to the public two hours before the start of each performance, with a Viennese-style café available on site. The historical atmosphere will be complemented by Cubism-inspired artworks created by students of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ostrava, as well as an exhibition of paintings produced by pupils of elementary art schools in the Moravian-Silesian Region as part of the competition “In the Footsteps of Gustav Mahler.”