With 7,548 musicians playing (more-or-less) together in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Arena, Germany has claimed a world record for huge orchestras, beating a previous effort in Australia 3 years ago by over 300 players.
The Saturday night event involved amateur groups and full orchestras from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. The project was started by Jens Illemann, a trumpeter from Hamburg, who says “We wanted to show how music can connect people, and how important it is for Germany,”
The playlist for the evening included the “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, a section from a Dvorak symphony, a song from “Starlight Express” and a John Miles song, “Music was my first love.”
Here’s a YouTube video of part of the concert:
