The last symphony produced by the Czech composer during his stay in America in 1892 – 1895 is one of the most famous symphonic pieces ever written. In order to do justice to this monumental work, 72 young musicians from both ensembles did their utmost to rehearse the four movements with combined force and perform them in two joint concerts. The resulting cooperation between the two music schools gave the members of both orchestras a unique opportunity to work intensively on an important classical work in a much larger plenum than usual and over a longer period of time.

Not only did the young people gain a valuable perspective on the creation of a demanding classical music programme, but the two concerts also posed a number of challenges for the leadership of the two orchestras, since the restrictions due to the COVID 19 pandemic made it impossible for both ensembles to rehearse their material in a larger group for much of the preparatory phase. In addition to the musical preparation, both orchestras therefore had to constantly find new ways of working together.

In addition to the two performances in front of an audience at the Temple du Bas in Neuchâtel, both orchestras were committed to making a live recording available online as a video. The result was published on the YouTube channel of the Biel Music School.