1. by "final 3 Symphonies" I mean Symphony #8, Das Lied Von Der Erde, and Symphony #9.
2. As fine as Dudamel's is, it is far surpassed by the first two commercially available recordings: Bernstein, London Symphony Orchestra et. al. recorded in Ely Cathedral London, UK 1969; and Jascha Horenstein, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Chorus, et al., recorded Royal Albert Hall, London, UK 1959. It's a tossup, though Horenstein's conclusion is heartbreakingly, overwhelmingly powerful! There is always that tension in Mahler between heartbreak and transcendence in his final 3 symphonies.
3. thank you for posting these. I hope they make a DVD of the Caracas performance including the intro interviews & all the applause with the kids. We drove down to LA (from SF) to get in 2wks of the 3 -- 6 of the symphonies. Among many special moments: the SBOV timpanist, playing without a score, practically dancing at the end of the 5th.
4. Dudamel leads the LA Phil, Simon Bolivar S.O.and well over 1000 choristers join forces for a repeat performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 ("Symphony of a Thousand") in Caracas, Venezuela at 5:00PM Eastern Standard Time on Saturday, 18 February 2012. The concert will be broadcast live in HD in hundreds of theaters world-wide. US tickets are approximately $20.
5. Wow. Just wow.
6. Thank you for this post. The swells in my heart and the tears in my eyes, prove it. Thank you.
7. I sang in this and will never forget the evening!

VID 20120204 00026

6.23 min. | 4.5555553 user rating | 2189 views

Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 8, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra., Gustavo Dudamel, conductor, numerous soloists and choirs at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Unofficial Blackberry Torch video clip taken 04 Feb 2012, between 8:15-9:45 PM PST. Measure locations refer to 1989 Dover edition of full orchestral score. More information at http://www.laphil.com/tickets/mahler/index.cfm.Rehearsal mark [204] to end plus ovation and final bows.
Tags: VID 20120204 00026 Gustav Mahler Dudamel LAPhil Los Angeles Philharmonic Shrine Auditorium Symphony of a Thousand No. 8