In April 2004, at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and its founder—the legendary Claudio Abbado—perform Mahler's last finished symphony, composed in 1909, and premiered in 1912 by Bruno Walter, who was a close friend of the composer and whom Abbado himself heard conduct in Vienna. Performing this absolute masterpiece of a symphonic work, Claudio Abbado becomes one with his orchestra. Together they deliver a deeply-moving interpretation that has gone down as one of the most iconic performances of classical music caught on film: time seems to stand still and reality is held at bay... After the symphony comes to a close, a long instant of silence goes by as Abbado, the orchestra, and the audience sit in awe, before the rapturous applause begins.