Mahler: Symphony No. 8

Symphony No. 8 is the highlight of the set. The superb engineering has clarity, depth, and richness of sound even in the most massive climaxes. In many recordings the extra brass that enters in the last moments of both movements sounds anemic — not here. Bychkov’s pacing is excellent and the singing (fabulous choral work and eight exceptional soloists) conveys the emotional and spiritual import of the text… Bychkov is just as thrilling and more spiritually questing, so that the final Chorus Mysticus is a true moment of spiritual transcendence.

The Classical Review, 26 April 2026

LISTEN & BUY

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Semyon Bychkov, conductor

Czech Philharmonic & Semyon Bychkov present Symphony No. 8 in E flat major (1906–07), a work conceived on an immense scale and sung throughout, where the voice itself becomes an integral part of the symphonic fabric. In its opening, Mahler realises his vision of a pure ‘symphonic’ sonata form expressed entirely through the human voice, a striking synthesis of words, music, and dramatic intent.
 
The first part stands as the purest music Mahler ever wrote – clear-cut, radiant, and idealistic. The second half becomes a journey back to that purity, a rhapsodic struggle through darkness, reaching towards transcendence and Goethe’s vision of heaven. Yet the numinous conclusion proves elusive, and beneath the work’s utopian scope lies a profound emotional and existential tension, shaped by the turbulence of Mahler’s final years.

 

TRACK LISTING
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand“
Part One
I. Veni, creator spiritus
II. Infirma nostri corporis
III. Accende lumen sensibus
IV. Veni, creator spiritus (2)
V. Gloria Patri Domino

Part Two
I. Poco adagio
II. Waldung, sie schwankt heran
III. Ewiger Wonnebrand
IV. Wie Felsenabgrund mir zu Füßen
V. Gerettet ist das edle Glied der Geisterwelt vom Bösen
VI. Uns bleibt ein Erdenrest
VII. Höchste Herrscherin der Welt!
VIII. Dir der Unberührbaren
IX. Bei der Liebe, die den Füßen
X. Neige, neige, du Ohnegleiche
XI. Blicket auf zum Retterblick
XII. Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis

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