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. 6 (Piston) Symphony No. 6 (Piston) The Symphony No. 6 by Walter Piston was completed in 1955. Piston composed the symphony to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He dedicated the score to the memory of Serge Koussevitzky and his wife Natalie. The symphony was first performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Charles Munch, on November 25, 1955. The work, like the earlier Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 4 is in four movements: A typical performance will last around 25 minutes. The symphony opens with a smooth sonata-allegro movement in A minor that gives the effect of