Schedule

Alexander Ullman (1991, United Kingdom) performs Franz Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 (S125) during the final of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht 2017. The competition actively presents, develops and promotes piano talents from around the world. In doing so, it has become one of the prominent gateways to the international professional classical music scene for young musicians. The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition was founded in 1986 in the Netherlands and since has built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

Acclaimed classical music talent scout Antonio Mormone (1930-2017) lives on as the name-giver of the Premio Internazionale Antonio Mormone (PIAM), awarded to the winner of the Italian music competition of the same name. The first edition of this competition, which was held in various venues in Milan from 2019 to 2021, was dedicated to the piano. As part of this competition, Ying Li (China, 1997) performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata No. 13 in B-flat major, K. 333, and Béla Bartók’s Sonata, BB 88, Sz.80. This performance was recorded at Nuovo Teatro Ariberto in Milan, in June 2021.

Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman and the Berlin Philharmonic perform the Violin Concerto, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. Beethoven dedicated his Violin Concerto to his colleague Franz Clement, a prominent violinist of the time. The first of the piece was presented in Vienna in 1806. The piece was only interpreted a handful of times during the following decades. However, the work took a new lease of life in 1844, when the young violinist Joseph Joachim, barely 12 years old, performed with the London Philharmonic Society, under the direction of Mendelssohn. Since then, Beethoven's Violin Concerto has been one of the most important concertos in the classical repertoire. This work, renowned for its wide range of cadenzas, poses a great technical and intellectual challenge, brilliantly picked up by Perlman and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

The pianist Evgeni Koroliov interprets J. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) as part of the Leipzig Bachfest. This work was originally composed for the harpsichord, and includes an aria and 30 variations. Published for the first time in 1741, the Goldberg Variations are considered one of the most important examples of the "theme with variations" form. Koroliov's performance of Bach's work is generally a source of great excitement, and his interpretation of the Goldberg Variations is no exception. This concert was recorded at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in June 2008.

Beethoven’s last three sonatas – Opus 109, 110 and 111 – explore the intimate meanders of the human soul, from despair to transfiguration. At the time of their composition, Beethoven was already locked in himself by his deafness. This deeply affected his relationship to others and to the world. This "psychological framework" is explored by director Mariano Nante, setting pianist Alexandre Tharaud in a film inspired by the universe of Tarkovski. Filmed in abandoned castles, and lit by director of photography Yorgos Arvanitis, this work evokes solitude and introspection and offers an inner journey through images and music.

Soprano Natalie Image (Canada, 1992) performs ‘Exsultate jubilate – Allegro’ from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s motet Exsultate, jubilate (Exult, rejoice), K. 165; ‘Sniegourotchka’s Melting Aria’ from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden; and ‘Que vois-je là? … Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir!’ from Charles Gounod’s Faust, during the first round of the Voice Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2022 (CMIM). This performance was recorded at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Watch the series ‘Discovering Masterpieces’, your audio-visual concert guide to the great masterpieces of classical music. The series brings you 20 half-hour documentaries on 20 classical masterpieces: acclaimed experts, famous soloists and outstanding conductors take you on a journey back to the time and place of composition. In today’s documentary, Hector Berlioz’ ‘Symphonie Fantastique’. This ‘Fantastic Symphony’ is widely regarded as one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period. Leonard Bernstein once called it “the first musical expedition into psychedelia” because of its hallucinatory and dream-like nature. The German musicologist Wulf Konold describes the idea behind and the realization of this fascinating work.

Italian cellist Silvia Chiesa and Italian pianist Maurizio Baglini perform a wonderful recital as part of the 2023 edition of the Amiata Piano Festival. On the program are Claude Debussy’s Cello Sonata, L. 135; Allegro moderato from Camille Saint-Saëns’s Cello Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 32; Allegro ma non troppo from Johannes Brahms’s Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38; Allegro scherzando from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19; Alla Romanza – Largo doloroso from Francesco Cilea’s Cello Sonata in D major, Op. 38; Scherzo – Allegro molto from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 69; Vive Henri IV (No. 2) and Charmante Gabrielle (No. 3) from Azio Corghi’s Après cinq chansons d’élite; and George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (transcription for cello and piano by Thierry Huillet). This performance was recorded at the Forum Fondazione Bertarelli in Poggi del Sasso, Italy, on July 29, 2023.

Bruckner's Fifth Symphony has been called the "Medieval" because of its multi-layered, Baroque, contrapuntal tonal textures and the "Catholic" because of its solemn majesty. These designations are uniquely fitting to the work, Bruckner himself called it his "Fantastic," especially when it is performed at the Monastery of St. Florian, as on this recording. It is not without reason that Bruckner also called the Fifth his "contrapuntal masterpiece." Indeed, the incredible prominence of the finale arises from an almost fanatical contrapuntal interplay that bundles together the structures of the entire symphony into one homogeneous form and leads them together into a grandiose double fugue that is unique even for Bruckner. Franz Welser-Möst, Music Director of both The Cleveland Orchestra and the Zurich Opera, brought his U.S. ensemble to St. Florian in September 2006 for performances at the Linz Brucknerfest. Bruckner wrote the Fifth in 1875/76, but the work was not premiered until 1894, after it had undergone many revisions by the composer.

Soprano Isabel Weller (Germany, 1994) and pianist Yuriko Watanabe (Japan, 1994) perform Claude Debussy’s Nuit d’étoiles, L. 2, and Mandoline, L. 43; Joseph Haydn’s Piercing eyes, Hob. XXVIa, No. 35; ‘Die Mainacht’ from Johannes Brahms’s Vier Gesänge, Op. 43; ‘Pietà’ from Paul Hindemith’s Das Marienleben, Op. 27; Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold; and ‘Lied vom Winde’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, during the semi-finals of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Het Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

After recording all 32 Ludwig van Beethoven piano sonatas to celebrate the composer's 250th birth anniversary, celebrated Italian pianist Riccardo Schwartz decided to record solo piano works by Robert Schumann. In this performance, Schwartz presents Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Composed between 1834-37, the work began as a theme and a set of sixteen variations. The theme had been composed by Baron von Fricken, an amateur musician and father of Ernestine von Fricken, to whom Schumann was engaged in 1834. The work was first published in 1837, containing the theme and twelve etudes (only nine of them were indicated ‘variations’). Fifteen years later, in 1852, Schumann published a second edition of the work, eliminating two etudes and making some revisions to the piano writing. Acclaimed pianist Riccardo Schwartz (1986) has performed as a soloist with many world-renowned conductors, including Gustav Kuhn and Yuri Temirkanov. His acclaimed performances include recitals and concertos for piano and orchestra in many prestigious concert halls.

“Everything about Mariss Jansons exudes joy and sovereignty” raved Süddeutsche Zeitung in January 2018, when the celebrated conductor celebrated his 75th birthday at Munich's Philharmonie am Gasteig with a concert program that centered around the music of Stravinsky, Hummel and Beethoven. This thrilling, varied concert from with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra demonstrates the close relationship which has developed between conductor and orchestra over the past 15 years. Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements was written in 1942–45, inspired in part by the Second World War and the “abhorrent pictures” of the war he saw in newsreel footage. Albeit in a very different way, Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto also sparkles. Written in 1803, the concerto is a brilliantly crafted showpiece for the recently invented keyed trumpet. Here the trumpeter is Martin Angerer, Principal Trumpet of the BRSO in warm rapport with Jansons and the orchestra. Beethoven, one of Jansons's dearest composers, rounds out the concert. Although Beethoven's Mass in C, written in 1807, was his first Mass setting, it is a work of clear ambition.

In this exquisite 2016 concert from Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Russian National Orchestra and star-pianist Boris Berezovsky are led by conductor Mikhail Pletnev in a performance of magnificent works by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Winner of the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Berezovsky interprets the works of Rimsky-Korsakov with a virtuosic power. The programme features The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya, suite for orchestra, as well as The Tale of Tsar Saltan, musical pictures for orchestra. It is produced by the Moscow Philharmonic Society, which Saint Petersburg-born composer Dmitri Shostakovich himself once described as playing a significant role "in the development of musical life [in Russia]. It is a kind of university which is attended by millions of music lovers and thousands of musicians.” The Moscow Philharmonic Society was founded in 1922 by then-Commissar for Culture, Anatoly Lunacharsky, and has over the years come to be Russia's leading concert organizing institution.

The film Jaroussky sings Bach & Telemann is a portrait of a very special vocalist, and of two exceptional composers. When Philippe Jaroussky - whose angelic voice seems almost timeless, not belonging to any one epoque or decade - sings works by Telemann and Bach, it becomes abundantly clear that the sheer emotional force and the purifying power of their music have not diminished over the centuries. The works performed in this film are Telemann's Jesus liegt in letzten Zügen and Sinfonia from Brockes-Passion; Der am Ölberg zagende Jesus, and Bach's Sinfonia from Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis and Ich habe genug.

At the behest of Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich, several classical music stars took part in this concert in aid of the Erasmus Fund for medical research in intensive care, recorded at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium, on October 21, 2023. The concert pays tribute to the renowned cellist Aleksandr Khramouchin (1979) who suddenly passed away on May 13, 2023. As part of this concert, trumpetist Sergei Nakariakov and pianist Maria Meerovitch perform Lensky’s aria from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin.

René Pape perfectly embodies the new generation of opera singers: with a current and relaxed appearance, he craves new challenges and demonstrates an openness to ambitious experimentation. In the musical film My Heart Is Burning, René Pape sings and plays various roles that showcase the impressive versatility of his voice and the many facets of his personality. Directed by Sibylle Muth.

Young Venezuelan conductor Glass Marcano is a rising star. Having played in various local youth and symphony orchestras as a violinist, her first experience conducting an ensemble followed in 2012. In September 2020, she won the Orchestra Prize at La Maestra Competition – the first orchestra direction contest for women – held in Paris. In this concert, recorded at Opéra de Tours in February 2021, Marcano leads the Orchestre Symphonique Région Centre-Val de Loire/Tours in performances of two Romantic masterpieces. The program opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, featuring Stéphanie-Marie Degand as the soloist. This piece is one of the most important works in its genre. The program concludes with Georges Bizet’s 1855 Symphony in C major, written when the composer was only 17 years old.

Ayumu Yamanaka (1988, Japan) performs La lugubre gondola (S134bis), Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth, (S382bis) and Die drei Zigeuner (S383) during semi-final II (chamber music) of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, in 2017. The competition actively presents, develops, and promotes piano talents from around the world. In doing so, it has become one of the prominent gateways to the international professional classical music scene for young musicians. The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition was founded in 1986 in the Netherlands and has since built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

Soprano Ana Carolina Coutinho (Brazil, 1993) and pianist Megumi Kuroda (Japan, 1989) perform Franz Schubert’s Die Blumensprache, D. 519; ‘Sonnenuntergang’ from Viktor Ullmann’s Drei Hölderlin-Lieder; ‘Verschwiegene Liebe’ from Hugo Wolf’s Eichendorff-Lieder; ‘Il vole’ and ‘Fleurs’ from Francis Poulenc’s Fiançailles pour rire, FP 101; ‘Wasserrose’ from Richard Strauss’s Mädchenblumen, Op. 22; Kōsaku Yamada’s 風に乗せてうたへる春の歌八章; たたえよ、しらべよ、歌いつれよ;and Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold, during the semi-finals of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Het Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Antonello Manacorda leads the Orchestra and Choir of Teatro La Fenice in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s beloved opera Die Zauberflöte (‘The Magic Flute’). Mozart probably started to compose his masterpiece in May 1791, less than six months before his death. The work’s libretto is written by Emanuel Schikaneder. In its fairy tale-like narrative, Prince Tamino is commissioned by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina, who has been captured by priest Sarastro. Accompanied by bird-catcher Papageno, Tamino begins his quest. After finding Pamina in Sarastro’s territory, Tamino is first subjected to a number of trials in order to prove he is worth marrying Pamina. Die Zauberflöte features wonderful arias, including the famous 'Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen' ("Hell's vengeance boils in my heart"), a virtuoso aria for coloratura soprano sung by the Queen of the Night. Among the soloists are Goran Jurić, Antonio Poli, Ekaterina Sadovnikova, Alex Esposito, Olga Pudova, and Caterina di Tonno. This performance was recorded at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy, in 2015.

Europakonzert has been a tradition of the Berlin Philharmonic since 1991. Every year, the musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding (May 1st, 1882) and celebrate their heritage from the Old World. The Europakonzert of 1992 from El Escorial in Madrid was conducted by Daniel Barenboim and features the world-renowned tenor Plácido Domingo. The program consists of Giuseppe Verdi's Overture La Forza del Destino and Verdi's Lo l'ho perduta! from Don Carlos. Followed by excerpts from Hector Berlioz' La damnation de Faust and Franz Schubert's unfinished Symphony No. 7., the concert also features music by Richard Wagner: Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond from Die Walküre, Prelude to Act I from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and orchestral excerpts from Götterdämmerung.

Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks performs Frederic Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61. Recorded at the Nicols Concert Hall, Evanston, IL, USA. Faliks has established herself as one of the most communicative, and poetic artists of her generation. The Polonaise-Fantaise was dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, composed and published in 1846