Performer: Knabenchor Hannover

As Teodor Currentzis' time in charge of the SWR Symphony Orchestra draws to a close, he bids farewell in a series of nationwide performances of Britten's memorial to the pity of war.

Doing justice to the vast scale of Mahler's "Symphony of a Thousand" is itself the mightiest of tasks. Semyon Bychkov and his NDR forces only partially succeed.

Leading five choirs, fine soloists and a glowing Netherlands Philharmonic, conductor Marc Albrecht emphasised the human struggle in a highly dramatic performance of Mahler’s mammoth eighth symphony.