The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall

If silence had a sound, what would you hear? Maybe something like the massive stillness that opens Mahlers First Symphony. Does this beginning represent a magical spring dawn, or the creation of life itself? Its the starting point for a young artists journey through tragedy and triumph a voyage through life and death, birdsong and fanfares, funeral marches and Viennese waltzes.
No recording does this grand, rumbling, and exhilarating symphony justice: its one of those pieces that you simply have to experience live, and only one venue in London can match such musical scale; the cavernous spectacle of the Royal Albert Hall.
First, though, a majestic interlude from Puccini sets the scene for Bernsteins Chichester Psalms. Raising the roof with a shout of joy, this setting of three Hebrew psalms is both affirming and exhilarating a timeless plea for peace and unity.