On Saturday, February 4, the city of Los Angeles witnessed a spectacle that made history: Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in E-flat Major “Symphony of Thousand” performed by Gustavo Dudamel, 99 musicians from the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and 91 from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, along with eight soloists and 818 singers from 16 choruses.

Five thousand people attended the concert held at The Shrine Auditorium at 8:00 p. m. Personalities from the world of entertainment such as William Shatner, John Lightow and Julie Andrews were among the audience.Tickets sold out two weeks prior to the event and were scalped for up to $500 each.

“It marks a rare, but certainly not unique, instance of the symphony being performed on the scale that the composer intended,” wrote David Ng in an article published by Los Angeles Times on February 4 under the title Super Symphony. This is the most ambitious concert ever staged by the LA Phil, which even had to rent out The Shrine Stadium and nearly double the size of the auditorium's stage so as to accommodate all of the performers (1,017).

Dudamel for Peace

Dudamel, two orchestras and multiple voices perform Mahler symphonies for peace. That is the title given to the symphonic cycle that will be presented as part of the Mahler Project at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas from February 7 to February 18. This cycle is possible thanks to the Simón Bolívar Music Foundation, governing body of the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela.