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Sat 05 May 2007My big weekBrian O'Rourke: Staging Mahler's Symphony of a ThousandGustav Mahler described his symphony No 8 thus: "Imagine that the universe bursts into song." Clearly Mahler decided that if it did, such a song would be very loud indeed and for the premiere held in Munich in 1910 there were more than 1,000 performers on stage. The composer didn't like the Symphony of a Thousand nickname (attributed to his agent) but it stuck, and it helps us to imagine the immense choral and orchestral forces required to deliver it.