Symphony No. 8 (Mahler) Symphony No. 8 (Mahler) The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire. Because it requires huge instrumental and vocal forces it is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand", although the work is normally presented with far fewer than a thousand performers and the composer did not sanction that name. The work was composed in a single inspired burst, at Maiernigg in southern Austria in the summer of 1906. The last of Mahler's works that was premiered in his lifetime, the symphony was a critical and
Symphony No. 5 (Chávez) the Third Symphony, though of course without the powerful effect of a large orchestra . Symphony No. 5 (Chávez) Symphony No. 5, also called "Sinfonía para cuerdas" (Symphony for Strings) is a composition for string orchestra by Carlos Chávez, composed in 1953. The Fifth Symphony was commissioned on 24 September 1952 by the Koussevitsky Music Foundation, and was sketched in July and August 1953. Chávez composed all of it during the month of September, while he was living in Acapulco, completing the fair copy of the score the following month. The score is dedicated to the memory of Serge and