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Amanda Atlas (soprano), Bianca Andrew (mezzo), Tom Woods (conductor)

Christchurch City Choir, Jubilate Singers, Consortia

Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra

Gustav Mahler

Gustav Mahler Photo: Public Domain

Known as The Resurrection Symphony, Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 was one of his most popular and successful works during his lifetime. In tonight’s Music Alive you can hear it performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Youth Orchestra with critically-acclaimed soprano Amanda Atlas, mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew and the Christchurch City Choir.

The title has often led to the assumption that Mahler composed this symphony on a religious impulse. But rather than being an expression of Christian faith, the symphony reflects Mahler's enduring optimism for mankind and his lifelong fascination with the beauty he believed lay within the afterlife.

This monumental symphony features orchestral forces on an epic scale with over 200 musicians on the stage. Taking its listeners on a journey of emotion and feeling that concludes with one of the most exultant moments in music, Mahler's second symphony is definitely not to be missed. (Source: Christchurch Symphony Orchestra)

Recorded live in the New Zealand Air Force Museum by Radio New Zealand