This orchestra expertly pranked their conductor with a Mahler/Happy Birthday mashup

25 May 2018, 15:32 | Updated: 25 May 2018, 15:35

The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra can play Mahler magnificently - but in this rehearsal, they thought they would ambush their maestro with a birthday tune.

Italian conductor Daniele Gatti is the Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, and he loves Mahler.

On 6 November last year (which also happened to be his 56th birthday), the maestro thought he was taking the podium to rehearse the first movement of Mahler's Fourth Symphony.

Everything started as he was expecting, before Mahler's score morphed into something else altogether. And what a good sport – he even conducted along.

Bravo to the Concertgebouw!

And if you're in the mood for another orchestral prank, here's what happened when a US orchestra decided to have some fun at the expense of their British conductor...