Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s new Mahler recording marks a return to the core symphonic repertoire with the Philadelphia Orchestra Gustav Mahler’s Eighth Symphony was billed as the “Symphony of a Thousand” exploring themes of redemption through the power of love. The performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of its music director Nézet-Séguin in March 2016 marked – almost to the day – the 100th anniversary of the glorious U.S. premiere by the very same orchestra in 1916, then conducted by Stokowski.