Performances of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony are few and far between, especially on the anniversary of Mahler’s death. Led by their Chief Conductor Designate Klaus Mäkelä, Sunday’s concert was the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s final contribution to the Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival 2025. Using choirs from Paris, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, plus the Dutch National Children’s Choir, this 400-strong ensemble was a force to be reckoned with. Adjustments to the Concertgebouw's stage and the removal of four rows of seats made this performance – their first here since Mariss Jansons' in 2011 – something of a logistical challenge. Definitely the hottest ticket in town.
Completed in the summer of 1906, Mahler’s “Symphony of a Thousand” was the last work to be premiered during his lifetime. Written in two parts, Mahler uses two unrelated texts to examine man’s place in the world: one sacred, the other secular. The Latin hymn Veni Creator Spiritus is followed by a setting of the final scene from Goethe’s Faust; resulting in two contrasting movements unified in their search for eternal redemption.
Mahler’s Eighth is the ultimate challenge for any conductor. After carrying the score around for a year, hoping to become its friend, the performances this week will surely provide a defining point in Mäkelä’s career. From the very first note, meticulous preparation was evident, everyone on stage quite literally singing from the same page. Mäkelä made the difficult sound easy; the challenging, accessible. The journey, seamless and natural, never lost sight of the overarching narrative.
With the organ taking centre stage, Veni, Creator Spiritus (Come, Creator Spirt) echoed around. Full of drama, the seven soloists’ voices blended beautifully. Soprano Hailey Clark soared effortlessly. Delicate woodwind and chiming bells soon calmed the mood, making the rasping brass seem even more menacing. Giorgio Berrugi’s repeated “lumen” (light) flooded the stage. In response, the chorus’ “Accende lumen” (Light the light) felt just that little bit wilder and very exciting before their violent and repeated “Hostem” forcefully drove away the enemy. At the centre, the mighty RCO, their immense bass-line grounding and conferring gravitas. As the full glory of God burst into life, and with the choir at full throttle, their might was thrilling.
In complete contrast, string pizzicati and aching woodwind solos led us forward to Part 2 and Goethe’s gentler search for love in its many manifestations. Luscious harmony abounded before horns and cellos shared their intense, all-consuming love. A brass chorale drew us nearer to God before heavenly violins, harps and two quivering mandolins dispelled any troubled thoughts. Bravo to the four choirs for their precise and compelling diction – their razor-sharp consonants like shards of glass in the waves. Bravo also to the children, some aged just ten and singing from memory. They were a formidable force in what must be one of the finest educational projects staged in the Netherlands in recent years.
The soloists formed a formidable team. Baritone Michael Nagy found not just the darkness as arrows pierced his breast, but also the light in an “enduring star”. Bass Tareq Nazmi plunged the depths as Pater Profundis, even if he didn’t quite have the power to shake the earth. As Mulier Samaritana, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston gave solace in her sincere promise of eternal love and revelled in her lower register when uniting “both soul and body”. High in the balcony, doused in a heavenly mist, Miriam Kutrowatz’s Mater Gloriosa sparkled, her crystal clear soprano angelic. Finally, Berrugi's Doctor Marianus brought a touch of opera in “Höchste Herrscherin der Welt” (Highest Lady of the World) when he talked of love, courage and waning anger.
As harps and violins beseeched their Maker, time stood still. No words can convey the beauty and magnitude on offer. Mahler’s all-encompassing sound world ushered us towards a glorious fulfilment.
