The Hallé: Sir Mark Elder conducts Bruckner's Eighth Symphony

Sir Mark Elder is a master of expansive repertoire: Wagner’s operas, Elgar’s Oratorios, Mahler’s symphonies – they’ve been given countless unforgettable performances by him. This concert offers a rare opportunity, in his final year as the Hallé’s Music Director, to experience him conducting one of the biggest and most thrilling symphonies of them all, Bruckner’s mighty Eighth.

Bruckner was often wracked with self-doubt but the success of his Seventh Symphony in his 60th year emboldened him to embark on his most ambitious symphony. Fellow composer Hugo Wolf praised it as ‘the creation of a giant, surpassing in spiritual dimension and magnitude all the other symphonies of the master’ and when you hear the Eighth live you’ll see what he meant. To the massive organ sonorities for which he was famous, he added the deep roar of a large brass section turbocharged by four Wagner tubas. The result is a uniquely powerful, awe-inspiring sound: the hushed expectancy of the opening setting the scene for an 80 minute journey that delivers thrills at every turn, from unstoppable juggernaut rhythms to great arcs of melody and jaw-dropping climaxes that would overwhelm even Wagner’s gods.

Sir Mark will introduce the symphony from the stage before the performance.