Backstage with the London Philharmonic Orchestra is a 4-part series following one of the world’s most prestigious music institutions as it prepares to open the London season at Royal Festival Hall. Over three days of orchestral rehearsals, Sky Arts/Love Monday was given exclusive access to conductor, Edward Gardner, and selected musicians as they gear up to perform Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.2, otherwise known as the Resurrection Symphony, an epic piece on the human experience of mortality and promise of redemption.
Members of the Strings, Woodwind, Percussion and Brass sections offer insights into the instruments they play follow their meticulous preparation for the performance. The players and conductor’s stories are interwoven with their personal exploration of Mahler’s music and the challenges that his detailed score places on them as they rehearse in depth each of the 5 Movements that make up the symphony. The series concludes with the filmed capture of the Symphony, performed live in front of a sell-out crowd. Will all the rigour from rehearsals pay-off and be rapturously received?
