Schedule

Every year the Berliner Philharmoniker gives an outstanding concert at the Waldbühne. This amphitheatre in Berlin can host 22,000 people and is used for many events such as film showings, boxing matches and concerts. In 1993 the Berliner Philharmoniker, under the baton of the Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, performed a Russian program. The concert starts with Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, followed by Tchaikovsky' world-famous Nutcracker Suite, Overture 1812 and the Elegy from the Serenade for Strings. This is followed by Borodin’s Polovtsian Dance No. 17, Stravinsky’s Firebird and Aram Khachaturian’ Sabre Dance. The program closes with the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Sr.

In Geneva, the Swiss city where she has spent most of her life, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich invites her lifelong music partner, the cellist Mischa Maisky, to play chamber music. Between the pieces, Martha opens up to her daughter Annie Dutoit in an intimate interview that addresses both their relationship and the music. On the program are Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7 variations after "The Magic Flute"; Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73; Frédéric Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3; ‘Lerchengesang’ (No. 2) from Johannes Brahms’s 4 Gesänge, Op. 70; and ‘Largo’ from Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65. This broadcast was recorded on November 12 and 13, 2020, in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a 2019 performance from the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven, Hartmut Haenchen conducts the philharmonie zuidnederland for this performance of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The German-born conductor, who became a Dutch citizen through naturalisation, was chief conductor at the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra before he was finally knighted for his services to the Dutch music landscape. The majestic opening theme of the first movement of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 foreshadows a momentous work, lasting over 20 minutes. The doubt and turmoil felt throughout the Adagio, the second movement, are supposedly Bruckner's response to the news of the death of his idol, Richard Wagner. Bruckner's use of Wagner tubas and double bass tubas creates an even more solemn and grandiose air within the Adagio. Trumpet signals refer to crowing cockerels as they interrupt the grim and clamorous Scherzo. In the Finale, Bruckner employs a persistent rhythmic pulse that starts softly yet builds up towards the explosive final bars.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18, No. 1; String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat major, Op. 74, "Harp"; and String Quartet No. 9 in C major, Op. 59, No. 3, "Razumovsky". This concert performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on October 13, 2020.

French conductor Adrien Perruchon and the Flanders Symphony Orchestra take us on a musical journey to Mexico with this performance of Aaron Copland’s El Salón México (1936). Inspired by a visit to the colorful night club of the same name in Mexico City, Copland composed the vibrant orchestral work, incorporating Mexican folk tunes. This performance was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge in Belgium, on March 1, 2017.

Andris Nelsons, together with his then-wife, the great soprano Kristine Opolais and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig present a program dedicated to Antonin Dvořák, singing the melodies that the composer hid in all layers of his music with tender, warm, soft colors. Nelsons’ tempos remain calm and relaxed, allowing the omnipresent beauty of Dvořák’s music to unfold and flood the Gewandhaus. The program opens with Othello, a Concert Overture for Orchestra, Op. 93. Opolais performs “Song to the Moon” from Rusalka, “Songs my Mother Taught Me” from Gypsy Songs, Op. 55/4. This is followed by the Polonaise and 'O, marno, marno to je' from Rusalka and 'Dobrá! Já mu je dám!... Jak je mi?' from Smetana's opera Dalibor. The concert closes with a performance of Dvořák's Symphony no. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95 (“From the New World”). Recorded at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig in May 2017.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 18, No. 5; String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4; and String Quartet No. 12 in E-flat major, Op. 127. This concert was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on December 17, 2020.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in this performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 4. This is the final of the composer's short selection of symphonic works. Described by music critic Malcolm Macdonald as one of the “supreme creative acts of the Romantic era,” Brahms' Fourth Symphony is endowed with a strong undercurrent of subdued melancholy. It seems to pine for an irretrievable past. The past lives on majestically in this work, particularly in the sighing theme of the first movement reminiscent of Baroque practice, and, above all, in the use of the Baroque form of the chaconne in the last movement, around which Brahms spins over 30 variations on a solemn, stately theme. This performance was recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA, in 2014.

Leonard Bernstein, David Bowie, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, they have all once narrated the world-famous symphonic fairy tale 'Peter and the Wolf' (1936), composed by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953). In this work, every character is illustrated by a different instrument (or section), with its own musical theme. Peter, for example, is represented by the strings, his grumpy grandfather by the bassoon, the cat by the clarinet, and the bird by the flute. As the narrative progresses and the characters interact with each other, the musical themes beautifully entwine. This performance (2018) is narrated and conducted by Marin Alsop. The musical accompaniment is provided by the Britten-Pears Orchestra.

Claudio Abbado conducts the Símon Bolívar Youth Orchestra at the Lucerne Easter Festival of 2010. Soloist is the young and talented Austrian soprano Anna Prohaska. On the program are Sergei Prokofiev's “Scythian Suite”, Op. 20, Alban Berg's Lulu Suite for soprano and orchestra, and Pamina's Aria from W. A. Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. The orchestra concludes with a performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, Op. 74.

Riccardo Chailly’s inaugural concert as Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra captures the full atmosphere of a unique musical occasion. The concert centers round composer Felix Mendelssohn, who founded the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1743. It includes an overwhelming performance of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, Lobgesang with its celebratory choral last movement, as well as the ever-popular overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream with outstanding vocal soloists including Anne Schwanewilms and Peter Seiffert. The Gewandhaus Orchestra can look back with pride at its 250-year history. It has made music history and evolved into one of the world’s best-known and most renowned orchestras.

Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in this powerful performance taken from the 150th Anniversary celebrations of Denmark’s national composer, Carl Nielsen. Alongside Nielsen’s inscrutably ironic Symphony No. 6, this performance features world-renowned French pianist Lise de la Salle as soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4. This lesser-known concerto saw three separate iterations throughout the composer’s life and is characterized by bold chromaticism and a distinctly Jazz-like quality. Luisi and de la Salle have prior experience with this piece, having previously performed and recorded it together. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.

The Orchestra Mozart, founded in 2004, is supposed to give young, talented musicians a possibility to play in a world-class orchestra being conducted by one of the outstanding conductors of our time. Claudio Abbado, the artistic director, is responsible for its profile, inviting musicians and chamber ensembles of international reputation. The Orchestra Mozart, conducted by Claudio Abbado, with their leader Giuliano Carmignola is playing Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Recorded at the Teatro Municipale Valli, Reggio Emilia. "Does the world need another set of Brandenburgs? Yes, when they are as freshly minted and as adventurously sonorous as this marvellous set from Abbado's young period-style Orchestra Mozart" (The Observer).

Minsoo Hong (1993, South Korea) performs Liszt’s Sposalizio from Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième Année (S161/1) and Bellini/Liszt’s Réminiscences de Norma (S394) during the Solo Finals of the11th 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.

In 1754, Jommelli took up the position of “Ober-Kapellmeister” at the ducal court of Stuttgart. There he wrote not only operas, serenatas and pastorales but also religious music for special occasions. One example is his Requiem, a musical farewell to the mother of Jommelli’s patron. Counterpoint German style, French ornamentation, and Italian drama come together in this unique blend, which clearly bears Naples’ signature.

Mikhail Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) in a performance of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Lucas Debargue as the soloist. The concert opens with a selection of music by Georges Bizet based on Alphonse Daudet's play 'L'Arlésienne'. The music is compiled by Mikhail Pletnev. The first movement of Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 contains five distinctive themes, of which three are reminiscent of jazz. Debargue's performance of Ravel's concerto is followed by Gabriel Fauré's Barcarolle No. 4. The performance was recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow as part of the Ninth RNO Grand Festival.

Every year, the Europakonzert is hosted by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a notorious concert hall or on a special location. This years concert is performed at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London. The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink starts with Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture from "Roméo et Juliette". The second piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is his famous Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K. 216 played by the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. During his career he played with a lot of famous orchestras and conductors such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons. He has a great passion for chamber music and plays a lot of recitals with the Italian pianist Enrico Pace. The concert closes with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which he wrote in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The première caused a lot of sensation and near-riot in the audience because of the avant-garde nature, music and choreography of the piece. The Rite of Spring is now considered as one of the masterpieces of classical music history and has influenced many 20th-century music composers. The encore is Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz from the Nutcracker.

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) composed 13 symphonic poems, largely inspired by literary texts. The composer himself wrote piano duet arrangements for these pieces, showcasing his incredible ability of imitating a full orchestra on the piano. Liszt, one of the 19th century’s most important piano virtuosos, strongly influenced the further development of piano music. The Romantic period was the era of the virtuoso pianists: the piano was the instrument of choice for countless musicians and listeners alike. No house of standing could do without a piano: it was a status symbol. Piano music was played in concert halls, palaces, salons, churches and public houses alike. Liszt’s symphonic poem no. 4, ‘Orpheus’, breathes a meditative atmosphere. No. 3, ‘Les Préludes’, is best known in its symphonic version – the piano version presented here is rarely heard. The work dates back to the period 1848 – 1854 and was initially meant to serve as introduction to a choral cycle to be based on the texts of the poet Joseph Autran, ‘Les quatre éléments’: earth, air, water and fire. In this broadcast, the Italian piano duo of Marco Sollini and Salvatore Barbatano performs these Liszt piano works. These recordings were made at the beautiful 12th century church of San Marco in the small but picturesque village of Ponzano di Fermo, as part of the 2015 edition of the annual, itinerant festival ‘Armonie della sera’ in the Italian province of Le Marche.

Today’s Brussels Philharmonic concert focuses on the diverse musical styles that characterized the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the impressionism of Claude Debussy's Jeux (1913), conductor Michel Tabachnik's ensemble focuses on one of the leading composers of modern music: Igor Stravinsky. His first ballet music, Firebird (1910), is a highlight of the concert. The concert opens with Anton Webern’s Five Pieces for Orchestra Op. 10 (1913). These five, ultra-short pieces are not thematically connected, nor do they include traditional formal plans or tonal relationships - prepare for a listening challenge!

Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5, KV. 283. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.

Featuring W. A. Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi, love is the theme of this 1998 New Year's Eve concert. Maestro Claudio Abbado selected two of the best Mozart interpreters, Christine Schäfer and Simon Keenlyside, for this traditionally meaningful event. Marcelo Álvarez from Argentina, who some compare to a young Domingo, sings highlights of the tenor repertoire, and Italian prima donna Mirella Freni tops the occasion with a breath-taking performance of the letter scene from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin.

For the 2016 edition of the Waldbühne, the Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili and the Québécois conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin join the Berliner Philharmoniker for a beautiful concert. They present an all Czech program! We always think of Germany, Austria, and Italy when we name great classical composers, but the Czech Republic also delivered some master composers such as Antonin Dvorák, Bedrich Smetana, Leos Janacek, and Bohuslav Martinu. This concert starts with Smetana’s famous Vltava from Má Vlast. Lisa Batiashvili plays Dvorák’s Violin Concerto in A minor, and the concerts centerpiece is Dvorák’s Symphony No. 6.

Every year, the Europakonzert is hosted by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a notorious concert hall or on a special location. This years concert is performed at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London. The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink closes with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which he wrote in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The première caused a lot of sensation and near-riot in the audience because of the avant-garde nature, music and choreography of the piece. The Rite of Spring is now considered as one of the masterpieces of classical music history and has influenced many 20th-century music composers. The encore is Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz from the Nutcracker.

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.

Performed in the grandeur of Berlin's foremost opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Mozart Celebration is dedicated to the life's work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This one-time-only gala concert features exuberant Mozart pieces, performed by some of the world’s leading singers and musicians. Conductor Julien Salemkour leads these beautiful performances played by the Staatskapelle Berlin. The star solists are Nicolaj Znaider (violin), Thomas Quasthoff (baritone) and Sylvia Schwartz (soprano). The program features Ouverture from la Clemenza di Tito, 'Violin Concerto No. 5', the song 'Chi sa, chi sa, qual sia', Piano Concerto No. 23, the aria 'Per questa bella mano', Papageno's Aria from the Magic Flute, the duet 'Papageno-Papagena' from The Magic Flute, and Symphony No. 40.

Italian pianists Roberto Prosseda and Alessandra Ammara perform W. A. Mozart's Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 488, Felix Mendelssohn's Sonata for two pianos in D major, MWV S 1, and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, during an off-season concert recorded at Fazioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy in June 26, 2020.

Maestro Abbado made a big donation when he appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo in 1994. Claudio Abbado's Japanese tour is considered one of the highlights of his career and this concert is especially memorable. The original version of Mussorgsky's A Night on Bald Mountain and a sequel from Stravinsky's The Firebird, which contains 7 of the 19 pieces of the full-length ballet, are on the program. This concert ends with one of Tchaikovsky's most popular pieces, Symphony No. 5.

Over the course of 19 days, the best youth orchestras in the world led by great conductors, and flanked by virtuoso soloists, guaranteed exciting and inspiring concert performances at the Young Euro Classical 2017. The festival is known to be the most important platform for international young orchestra musicians in the European classical music tradition, and for its development. This highlight version is a collection of infectiously energizing and outstanding performances by musicians from across the globe. Their repertoire includes renowned classical works as well as local composers. On the program: Verdi - La forza del destino, Beethoven - Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky - Six Romances, Kohji - Georgian, Mingrelian Songs, Weinberg - Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes Op. 47 and Wong - As the Heart Soars.

Conductor Jan Latham-Koenig leads the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in this concert recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, on April 21, 2016. The program opens with Felix Mendelssohn’s concert overture Die Hebriden, Op. 26 (The Hebrides). During a trip to Scotland, the composer was deeply impressed by the natural splendor of Staffa, an island of the Inner Hebrides, which inspired him to compose his concert overture. Next on the program is Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, featuring Pascal Amoyel as the pianist. It is the composer’s only concerto. Grieg composed the work in 1868, drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk music. The program ends with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. The work is very popular, especially because of its touching second movement. At the Allegretto’s 1813 premiere, the audience demanded an immediate encore.

Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5 (KV. 283) and four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert. The performance ends with Chopin's technically demanding Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Italian violinist Laura Marzadori and Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti performed a wonderful concert at Teatro Sociale di Camogli, Italy. On the program are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata No. 18 in G major, K. 301; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24; Manuel de Falla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole (transcription by Paul Kochaniski); Camille Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; and ‘Méditation’ from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs. This performance was recorded on March 8, 2022.

‘In compositions including passagework, out-of-tune notes which are not in accordance with the laws of counterpoint do indeed occasionally occur. But without them, a beautiful effect is not possible!’ Neapolitan Ascanio Mayone resolutely consigns criticism of his daring compositional style to the wastepaper basket. He has found the perfect ambassador in Louise Acabo: the impressive and very young winner of the Concours Corneille 2018.

Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst leads his Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 2 in D major, KV 131, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31, recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA. In addition, Welser-Möst takes a walk through ‘his’ Vienna, enlightening us on this musical capital that was home to both Mozart and Schoenberg. He contrasts the Divertimento No. 2, written by 16-year-old Mozart, with Variations for Orchestra, by the mature Schoenberg.

Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) in a concert program dedicated to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. The program opens with the composer’s Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21. Afterward, Fischer conducts Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, in which Richard Goode features as the soloist. The acclaimed American pianist (1943) is known for his interpretations of the Beethoven repertoire. Goode recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the BFO and Fischer, earning him exceptional critical acclaim and a Grammy Award nomination. As an encore, Goode performs the Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Partita in B-flat major, BWV 825. The program closes with Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on January 29, 2017.

In September 2016, we celebrated the birthday of one of Japan's best-known conductors: Seiji Ozawa. Renowned for his advocacy of modern composers, Ozawa founded the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto in 1992. As of 2015, it is better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. Seiji Ozawa appeared on stage himself with 63 Saito Kinen Orchestra members, passionately conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 and No. 7. Beethoven's Second Symphony was mostly written during the composer's stay at Heiligenstadt, at a time when his deafness was becoming more pronounced. The work premiered in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on April 5, 1803. The Seventh Symphony premiered with Beethoven himself conducting in Vienna in 1813 at a charity concert for wounded soldiers. The Allegretto was the most popular movement and had to be encored.

The Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the world’s finest orchestras, its fame stretching all the way to Japan. Unsurprisingly, this 2000 concert, recorded at Tokyo’s magnificent Suntory Hall, was a resounding success. Mariss Jansons conducts a beautiful program that includes Antonin Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Oberon, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto featuring star violinist Hilary Hahn (*1979)

Azerbaijan-born artist Seljan Nasibli moved to England at an early age, where she was encouraged to take up music. Although Nasibli chose to sing jazz, her Oxford teachers heard an operatic tendency in her voice and advised to train classically. Nasibli completed her studies at The Royal College of Music, where she graduated with a master's degree in Vocal Performance. In this episode of Stingray Originals, Nasibli performs three of Giacomo Puccini's most beautiful arias: 'Signore, ascolta!' and 'Tu, che di gel sei cinta' from the opera Turandot, and 'Quando m'en vo' (Musetta's Waltz) from the opera La bohème.

The German Brass ensemble delivers some of Bach's most popular tunes in breathtaking brass arrangements. Recorded live from the magnificent St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, this concert features timeless pieces by the legendary German composer, such as Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Adagio in G minor, and Jesus bleibet meine Freude. The German Brass is one of the most popular brass ensembles of our time and includes musicians from the best German orchestras, including the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin and Munich. Offering a complete view of the church for which Bach has designed most of his works and taking advantage of the room's exceptional acoustics, this cutting-edge recording is a veritable visual and aural feast, and a perfect celebration of Bach's work.

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 Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, also known simply as Tafelmusik, is a Toronto-based Canadian baroque orchestra, specialised in early music. The ensemble is directed by violinist Jeanne Lamon. In ‘The Galileo Project: Music of the Spheres’ they perform music by Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel to a backdrop of high-definition images from the Hubble telescope, NASA and Canadian astronomers. Explore the fusion of arts, science and culture in the 17th and 18th centuries in this imaginative concert commemorating Galileo’s first public demonstration of the telescope. Actor Shaun Smyth narrates a compelling script while the musicians weave in and around a magical stage set by Marshal Pynkoski. Created and scripted by Alison Mackay.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored repertoire for piano and violin in this wonderful concert, recorded at Château de Chantilly, France. The ‘Grande Dame’ of the piano is joined by various renowned artists, including pianists Evgeny Kissin, Theodosia Ntokou, and Cristina Marton-Argerich, and violinist Maxim Vengerov. On the program are Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concertino for two pianos, Op. 94; Frédéric Chopin’s Impromptu No. 3, Op. 51, Polonaise No. 6, Op. 53 “Heroic”, and Waltz No. 6, Op. 64 No. 1; Camille Saint-Saëns’s Polonaise for two pianos, Op. 77; César Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano in A major; and Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid and Schön Rosmarin. This performance was recorded on June 12, 2021.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18, No. 2; String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135; and String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. This concert was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on December 16, 2020.

One of the first Christmas carols ever written is Perotin the Great’s Salvatoris Hodie. This brilliant 12th century composition, one of the first works ever written for four voices, opens First Snow: the atmospheric Christmas concert by the Brussels Philharmonic. Straying from ‘ars antiqua’, the program also features a performance of two contemporary melodies penned by conductor Bo Holten based on texts by the Icelandic poet Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975). As an added bonus, a hand-picked selection of various Polish and French Christmas songs rounds off this enjoyable yuletide program.

This chamber music concert is part of ‘Preludio’ concert series of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid. The program opens with Joseph Haydn’s Concerto in D major for cello and orchestra, H VIIb: 2 (cello and piano reduction), performed by cellist Alejandro Gómez Pareja and pianist Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas. Next, violinist Cecilia Novella Genovés and pianist Alina Artemyeva present Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, followed by Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe’s Sonata for solo violin in D minor, Op. 27, No. 3, played by Genovés. Next on the program is Henry Vieuxtemps’s Capriccio, Op. 55, ‘Hommage à Paganini’, presented by violist Mario Carpintero Martín. Bassist Ramsés Martínez Millán and pianist Marharyta Kozlovska close the program with a performance of Johannes Sperger’s Sonata for double bass and viola in D major (in an arrangement for double bass and piano). This performance was recorded at Auditorio Sony of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain, on April 30, 2024.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, maestro Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program featuring Johannes Brahms’s Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81, and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, ‘Titan’. Brahms composed his concert overture during the summer of 1880. With its dark and tumultuous character, it could be regarded as the serious counterpart of his more joyful Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. Mahler completed his first symphony eight years later, in 1888. Originally a five-movement piece, the composer discarded the second movement ‘Blumine’ some years later, resulting in the final four-movement version we know today. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Antoni Wit conducts the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in performances of Chopin's Piano Concertos No. 1, Op. 11 and No. 2, Op. 21. Soloists are Nikolai Demidenko and Evgeny Kissin. After performing the first concerto, Demidenko encores with Chopin's Mazurka Op. 17/4. Kissin closes the concert with Chopin's Etude Op. 10/12 and the Waltz in E minor, Op. post. This concert was part of the celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary in 2010. Chopin composed the second concerto one year before the Concerto No. 1 and completed both works at the age of 20, before leaving his home country Poland and moving to Paris.

The beautiful Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg formed the background for the 1996 edition of the annual Europakonzert of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In honour of the Russian hosts, the concert opened with highlights from Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet', followed by the Cavatina from Rachmaninoff's opera 'Aleko'. After the intermission, Kolja Blacher featured in the two 'Violin Romances' by Beethoven, followed by a performance of his 'Seventh Symphony'. The orchestra is led by maestro Claudio Abbado.

Fidelio (originally titled "Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe," which translates to "Leonore, or the Triumph of Marital Love"), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. This 2018 opera film from the Swiss Theater St. Gallen is based on Jan Schmidt-Garre's highly acclaimed stage production of Beethoven's Fidelio. Otto Tausk conducts the Sinfonieorchester and choir of St. Gallen, as well as many wonderful soloists in a beautifully designed set by Nikolaus Webern. The producers carefully filmed and edited several performances, and by using additional footage of starring soloist Jacquelyn Wagner as Leonore, the captivating stage production is enhanced and transformed into a unique cinematic experience.

One of today’s most distinguished conductors, Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in a performance featuring works from the oeuvre of Johannes Brahms. The concert begins with the Academic Festival Overture, written in honor of the University of Breslau, which awarded the composer an honorary doctorate in philosophy. This is followed by Brahms only Violin Concerto (in D major), described by violinist Joseph Joachim, whom it was originally written for, as one of the four great German violin concerti. This performance features violin soloist Julia Fischer. It was recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA, in 2014.

Violinist Kristof Barati and Pianist Lucas Debargue pair for the first time in a duo concert at the 25th anniversary edition of the Swiss Verbier Festival in 2018. Although this was their inaugural collaboration, the two young artists found a perfect understanding around this romantic programme. The two featured works were written very few years apart from one another (Brahms’ first sonata for violin and piano in 1879 and Franck’s sonata in A in 1886). The Brahms sonata was recorded by Kristof Barati a few years ago, while Franck’s is known to be a favourite of Lucas Debargue. The virtuoso piano part suits his gigantic hands and the fantasy of the third movement his love for improvisation. The cyclic form and the many echoes between the piano and violin parts unite the two artists, like accomplices in possession of the best assets to bring in all the emotion these romantic works have to offer. The listener is suddenly in a position to re-discover the scores and cannot but join the admiration marks that escape from the audience in between the movements. A very moving performance which deserves its benchmark status.

This very special concert event celebrates the diversity and richness of Canada through the eyes and ears of its people. Ensemble Made in Canada’s Mosaique Project features a commissioned suite of piano quartets by 14 Canadian composers, each inspired by a region of our vast country. Their album release and two-year National tour culminate in St. Catharines’ stunning Partridge Hall! The ensemble consists of Elissa Lee (violin) Sharon Wei (viola), Rachel Mercer (cello) and Angela Park (piano) and is rapidly gaining recognition as Canada’s premier piano quartet.

Enjoy a sparkling performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano Concerto No. 1, by the incredible piano virtuoso Russian Daniil Trifonov, with Kent Nagano conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, to prove once more how majestic and incredible classical music can be when it’s done right! The concert opens with the famous Air from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3. Also on the program are Berlioz' Le Corsaire and Bizet's Symphony in C major. Recorded at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv, in 2014.

‘True lovers of Italian music’ is how the musicians of the young ensemble L’Escadron volant de la Reine describe themselves. Their fascination with Naples resulted in a programme for Holy Week. A sonata by Ziani, a motet by Caresana and a dialogue by Nola embrace two ‘leçons de ténèbres’ by Alessandro Scarlatti. His Miserere and Sinfonia Terremoto provide the turbulent final note.

Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti appears both as conductor and soloist in this concert recorded at Teatro Chiabrera in the Italian city of Savona. He is accompanied by I Musici di Parma. On the program are J. S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E major, BWV 878 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, No. 9), Joseph Haydn's Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major (Hob. XVIII: 11), Bach's Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 889 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, No. 20), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491, and Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871 (The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, No. 2). This performance was recorded on January 17, 2025.

Riccardo Chailly’s inaugural concert as Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra captures the full atmosphere of a unique musical occasion. The concert centers round composer Felix Mendelssohn, who founded the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1743. It includes an overwhelming performance of Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, Lobgesang with its celebratory choral last movement, as well as the ever-popular overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream with outstanding vocal soloists including Anne Schwanewilms and Peter Seiffert. The Gewandhaus Orchestra can look back with pride at its 250-year history. It has made music history and evolved into one of the world’s best-known and most renowned orchestras.

In this splendid 2013 concert from the Church of Verbier, Switzerland, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Chinese pianist Yuja Wang join forces to interpret three sonatas by Johannes Brahms. Leonidas Kavakos rose to fame in 1985, when he became the youngest musician to ever win the first price of the prestigious Sibelius Competition. With Yuja Wang, an accomplished artist at young age herself, he forms a masterful duo of chamber music interpretation. The programme features Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, also known as the "Regensonate," Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, the "Thuner Sonata," a portrait of the Swiss lake of Thun's peaceful scenery. It comes to a fiery and passionate finale with Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 3 in D minor, Op 108.

In May 2019, the new principal conductor of the Gewandhaus, Andris Nelsons, presented Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 with his orchestra in combination with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with outstanding violinist Baiba Skride as the soloist. In this composition, the violin does not allow itself a break, continually tells its dark story and gets into a vicious circle of ostinato Passacaglia bass lines again and again falls into beguilingly beautiful singing. Tchaikovsky initially thought his 'Symphony of Fate' was a failure and believed himself to be at the end of his creative powers. It was probably the composer's nature, plagued by self-doubt, that made it almost impossible for him to develop a self-confident attitude to his own creative power. Between this two works, Skride performs Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Violin.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored chamber music repertoire in this wonderful concert, recorded at Château de Chantilly, France. The ‘Grande Dame’ of the piano is joined by various renowned artists, including pianists Evgeny Kissin, Iddo Bar-Shaï, and Arielle Beck; violinists Gidon Kremer, Maxim Vengerov, and Tedi Papavrami; cellist Mischa Maisky, Flugelhorn player Sergei Nakariakov, as well as her daughter and grandson: Lyda Chen-Argerich (piano and viola) and David Chen-Argerich (piano). On the program are Alfred Schnittke’s Congratulatory rondo for piano and violin; Preludes No. 5, 21, and 24 from Mieczysław Weinberg’s 24 Preludes, Op. 100 (arranged for solo violin by G. Kremer); ‘Waltz’ and ‘Slava’ from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 6 Morceaux, Op. 11, and Romance for six hands; Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid; Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke Op. 73, and Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44; and ‘Laideronnette, impératrice des Pagodes’ from Maurice Ravel’s Ma mère l'Oye. This performance was recorded on June 11, 2021.

This performance was recorded during Mozart Week on January 27, 2006 in Salzburg, Austria, at the Großes Festspielhaus (Large Festival House) in celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. Under conductor Riccardo Muti, it features Thomas Hampson (baritone), Mitsuko Uchida (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin), Yuri Bashmet (viola), Wiener Singverein, and Wiener Philharmoniker. Pieces include Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. 364, arias and scenes from Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute and Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385 ("Haffner").

Enjoy a sparkling performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano Concerto No. 1, by the incredible piano virtuoso Russian Daniil Trifonov, with Kent Nagano conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, to prove once more how majestic and incredible classical music can be when it’s done right! The concert opens with the famous Air from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3. Also on the program are Berlioz' Le Corsaire and Bizet's Symphony in C major. Recorded at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv, in 2014.

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.

In May and June 2021, Argentinian star pianist Martha Argerich celebrated her 80th birthday performing at Château de Chantilly, France. In this concert, recorded at the festival Les Coups de Cœur de Chantilly, Argerich is joined by three musicians who are particularly close to her heart: cellist Mischa Maisky, violinist Maxim Vengerov, and pianist Iddo Bar-Shaï. They perform with the orchestra Les Siècles under the baton of Romanian-Austrian conductor Ion Marin. The concert opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56, with Argerich, Vengerov, and Maisky as soloists. Written in 1803, it is Beethoven’s only concerto for more than one solo instrument. This is followed by Camille Saint-Saëns’s musical suite The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux), featuring Argerich and Bar-Shaï as the pianists. This musical suite from 1886 consists of 14 movements, each depicting a different animal. The work was published posthumously in 1922, as Saint-Saëns was concerned that his animal miniatures, full of delightful jokes, might damage his reputation as a serious composer. This performance was recorded at Château de Chantilly, on May 4, 2021.

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.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored chamber music repertoire in this wonderful concert, recorded at Château de Chantilly, France. The ‘Grande Dame’ of the piano is joined by various renowned artists. As part of this concert, Argerich, violinist Tedi Papavrami and cellist Mischa Maisky perform Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49.

Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska conducts the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in a concert program consisting of Lili Boulanger’s D’un Martin de Printemps, Marc-André Dalbavie’s Concerto for Flute, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36. The luminous optimism of the young Boulanger is poles apart from the raw passion and white-hot melodies of Tchaikovsky’s semi-autobiographical symphony. LSO principal flute Gareth Davies brings out all the dazzle and daring of Dalbavie's 21st-century classic. The program closes with Prayer for Ukraine by composer Valentin Silvestrov. This concert was recorded at LSO St Luke’s in London, UK, on May 18, 2022.

Maestro Iván Fischer leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a performance of Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70. The work was completed in March 1885 and premiered one month later in London conducted by the composer himself. With its dramatic and dark style, this symphony stands in stark contrast to the predominantly optimistic tone of Dvořák’s broader oeuvre. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, on January 29, 2021.

“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.

Mikhail Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) in a performance of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Lucas Debargue as the soloist. The concert opens with a selection of music by Georges Bizet based on Alphonse Daudet's play 'L'Arlésienne'. The music is compiled by Mikhail Pletnev. The first movement of Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 contains five distinctive themes, of which three are reminiscent of jazz. Debargue's performance of Ravel's concerto is followed by Gabriel Fauré's Barcarolle No. 4. The performance was recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow as part of the Ninth RNO Grand Festival.

Renowned Mozart specialist Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016) conducts Orchestra della Svizzera italiana in this November 2005 live recording from the Palazzo di Congressi in Lugano, Switzerland. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, K.299 (1778) is one of the Austrian composer's most popular pieces, due to its cheerful, lighthearted mood. Soloists Patrick Gallois (flute) and Fabrice Pierre (harp) have worked on their joint interpretation, providing some discreet ornamentation to Mozart's effervescent solo lines. Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute (1791) and his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major (1788), jewels from the composer's late period, crown this wonderful concert program recorded on the occasion of the Mozart Anniversary Year 2006.

The 2017 Prague Spring festival is brought to a powerful close as Krzysztof Penderecki conducts the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Slovak Philharmonic Choir in a performance of his monumental seventh symphony "Seven Gates of Jerusalem". This work bears witness to an introspective thought about faith, written in honour of the city of Jerusalem, for soloists, choir and orchestra, with libretto taken from Old Testament. For expressive purposes, Penderecki uses specific instruments: the tubaphone, percussive objects designed by the composer himself, and the shofar, an ancient Jewish liturgical instrument. Soloists for this performance include Iwona Hossa (soprano), Karolina Sikora (soprano), Anna Lubanska (mezzo-soprano), Adam Zdunikowsk (tenor), Piotr Nowacki (bass) and David Švehlík (speaker). Also featured in the programme is a rendition of the "Serenade for Orchestra" by Czech composer Isa Krejci. Recorded at Smetana Hall in Prague, Czech Republic.

Japanese violinist Naoya Nishimura and Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti perform an intimate recital recorded at the Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya, Japan. On the program are Arcangelo Corelli’s Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 12, “La Folia”; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring”; Manuel de Falla’s 7 Canciones populares españolas; Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for violin and piano; Camille Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; Niccolò Paganini’s Cantabile in D major, Op. 17; and Antonio Bazzini’s Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25, “La Ronde des Lutins”. This performance was recorded on June 22, 2019.

Johann Sebastian Bach probably wrote this set of six Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord during his time as chapel master in Köthen. Presumably, he wrote these sonatas for Prince Leopold and later adapted them for further use in Leipzig. Maybe this is why these pieces are well playable for amateurs, while every sonata still has the finesse that can offer a challenge to professional musicians. The different pieces are meant to be a set, just like the Brandenburg concertos.

English conductor and pianist Wayne Marshall leads the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France in a special concert celebrating classical music in film. The extensive program opens with the overture of Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie and concludes with Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5. In between we are treated to renditions of Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Gerswhin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Duke Ellington’s C Jam Blues, Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee, the Adagietto of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and Strauss’ Emperor Waltz. Each of the evening’s featured works has found its way onto the silver screen in one way or another. This concert was recorded at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, in 2014.

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With over 22.000 in attendance, they are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. This year the outstanding orchestra under the baton of Neeme Järvi take us on a trip to Arabian “Thousand and One Nights”, with soloist Janine Jansen, a rising star who quickly gained the reputation of one of the foremost young violinists on the international concert stages. On the program are Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Symphonic Suite, op. 35, Grieg's 'Peer Gynt' Suite No.1, op. 46, excerpts from Nielsen's Aladdin Suite for Orchestra op. 34, Saint-Saëns's Introduction und Rondo capriccioso and "Meditation” from 'Thais' by Massenet.

In this splendid 2013 concert from the Church of Verbier, Switzerland, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Chinese pianist Yuja Wang join forces to interpret three sonatas by Johannes Brahms. Leonidas Kavakos rose to fame in 1985, when he became the youngest musician to ever win the first price of the prestigious Sibelius Competition. With Yuja Wang, an accomplished artist at young age herself, he forms a masterful duo of chamber music interpretation. The programme features Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, also known as the "Regensonate," Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, the "Thuner Sonata," a portrait of the Swiss lake of Thun's peaceful scenery. It comes to a fiery and passionate finale with Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 3 in D minor, Op 108.

Andrea Marcon conducts the La Cetra Barockorchester of Basel, accompanied by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená at the 25th anniversary edition of the Swiss Verbier Festival in 2018. Kožená’s musical range seems expandable to infinity: whether adopting Cole Porter or Duparc, Mahler or Martinu, her mezzo-soprano voice works wonders. However, within the richness of her career, baroque music remains a favourite repertoire, as proven once more by this recital in the Church of Verbier filmed in the summer of 2018. It demonstrates a remarkable simplicity: alternation of vocal and short sparkling instrumental works. The programme illustrates “blindness in love”, a theme which is best embodied by the magnificent Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda. Magdalena Kožená here changes the Church into a theater hall: on a sleekly decorated stage, with a moving naivety, the singer seizes a few accessories to improvise the narrative and the medieval legend is revived by her hallucinated expression. An extremely beautiful moment.

Conductor Jan Latham-Koenig leads the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. French pianist Pascal Amoyel features as the soloist. Grieg composed the work in 1868, drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk music. It is the composer’s only concerto. The work premiered on April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Edmund Neupert as the soloist, and was received enthusiastically. The Norwegian premiere followed a few months later. This performance was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, on April 21, 2016.

Iván Fischer conducts the Budapest Festival Orchestra in a concert recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary in 2015. The concert opens with Sergei Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34. After this, Thomas Zehetmair stars as solo violinist in Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 63. The second part of the concert is features music by Igor Stravinsky. On the program is music composed for the ballet 'Jeu de cartes' (1937) and the Firebird Suite, No. 2 (1919). 'Jeu de cartes' is one of Stravinsky's neo-classical works and consists of three parts ('deals'). The Firebird Suite, No. 2 is based on the music from the ballet of the same name, which was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and premiered in Paris in 1910.

Can we get into Beethoven’s creative mind, especially in the last phase of his life, when he was coping with severe hearing loss? Tom Beghin’s new recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Opus 109, 110, and 111 is an artistic exploration of how Beethoven’s musicking was shaped by the work environment he created with the help of colleagues and friends. Not only does pianist Tom Beghin perform Beethoven’s trilogy of pianistic masterpieces on a magnificent new replica of Beethoven’s Broadwood piano, he uses a reconstruction of the Gehörmaschine that was mounted on the composer’s piano so he could continue to create music as his hearing declined. ‘You do hear better when you bring your head under this machine, don’t you?’ André Stein asked Beethoven. Two centuries later, we too can bring our heads under the machine and wonder: Do we hear Beethoven differently? Beghin draws us inside the hearing machine, where we feel as well as hear the essence of Beethoven’s rambunctious and irresistibly poetic musical vibrations. Inside the Hearing Machine invites us into the multisensory playground of a deaf composer for whom the machine was more than a hearing aid and who interacted with his instrument through much more than sound.

The Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim and Claudio Abbado star at the Europakonzert 1994 in Meiningen, Germany, performing Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 and Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. Popularly known as the Emperor Concerto and composed in Vienna between 1809 and 1811, Piano Concerto No. 5 is Beethoven’s last completed piano concerto and often performed by star pianists such as Daniel Barenboim. A few decades later in 1877, Brahms completed his Second Symphony, which is often compared to Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony given its cheerful and pastoral character.

Azerbaijan-born artist Seljan Nasibli moved to England at an early age, where she was encouraged to take up music. Although Nasibli chose to sing jazz, her Oxford teachers heard an operatic tendency in her voice and advised to train classically. Nasibli completed her studies at The Royal College of Music, where she graduated with a master's degree in Vocal Performance. In this episode of Stingray Originals, Nasibli performs three of Giacomo Puccini's most beautiful arias: 'Signore, ascolta!' and 'Tu, che di gel sei cinta' from the opera Turandot, and 'Quando m'en vo' (Musetta's Waltz) from the opera La bohème.

In 1722, when Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Köthen, Germany, he published a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys. This collection became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, BWV 846–869. About two decades later, Bach compiled a second book in Leipzig, which became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book Two, BWV 870-893. Bach intended these pieces for the clavier, which includes the harpsichord, clavichord, and organ. Despite this unclarity, these pieces are regarded as some of the most important works in the history of Western classical music. In this broadcast, Joanna MacGregor plays Preludes and Fugues Nos. 13 to 24 (BWV 858-869) from Book One of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, recorded at the Palau Güell in Barcelona, Spain, in 2010.

Early music specialists Le Miroir de Musique collaborate with multi-instrumentalist Baptiste Romain, performing a handful of sacred works by the 15th-century composer, music theorist, and member of the Burgundian School: Johannes Tinctoris. Though much of the composer's oeuvre has not survived, his extant works demonstrate an impressive passion for complex polyphony. Most renowned are Tinctoris' motets and masses. This performance was recorded as part of the Utrecht Early Music Festival at the Pieterskerk, Utrecht, The Netherlands in 2019.

Europakonzert 2004 was held in Athens, Greece. This concert featured the Berliner Philharmoniker performing live at the ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre along with an interesting combination of conductor and soloist - Sir Simon Rattle wielding the baton as pianist Daniel Barenboim plays Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1. The Athens concert marked a double première: it was the first Europakonzert under the direction of the new chief conductor, as well as the first time Rattle and Barenboim appeared together. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an amphitheatre built in 161 AD in memory of Herodes Atticus’ wife, is situated on the slope of the Acropolis. With a seating capacity of at least 5,000 spectators, it was reputed to be the finest theatre in all of Greece.

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.

The extraordinarily talented pianist Elena Bashkirova has been president of the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation in Leipzig since October 2020, succeeding legendary conductor Kurt Masur. In this concert at the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, Bashkirova is joined by soprano Juliane Banse, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, cellist Claudio Bohórquez, clarinettist Karl-Heinz Steffens, and pianist Ohad Ben-Ari in a chamber music program dedicated to the music of Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Hensel. The program opens with Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49. This is followed by a selection of songs: Mendelssohn’s Schilflied ‘Auf dem Teich, dem regungslosen’, Op. 71 No. 4, and Reiselied ‘Der Herbstwind rüttelt die Bäume’, Op. 34 No. 6; Hensel’s Vorwurf, Op. 10 No. 2; Verlust, Op. 9 No. 10; and Sehnsucht, Op. 9 No. 7; Mendelssohn’s ‘Allnächtlich im Traume seh ich dich’, Op. 86 No. 4; ‘Die Liebende schreibt’, Op. 86 No. 3; and Nachtlied ‘Vergangen ist der lichte Tag’, Op. 71 No. 6. The program continues with Mendelssohn’s Seven Songs without Words, for piano four-hands (Op. 62 Nos. 1-6, and Op. 67 No. 1), and comes to a close with Mendelssohn’s Three pieces for clarinet, violoncello and piano (arr. Ernst Naumann), comprising Prelude, Op. 35 No. 4, Songs without Words, Op. 53 No. 2, and Duet, Op. 38 No. 6. This performance was recorded in November 2020.

Europakonzert 2004 was held in Athens, Greece. This concert featured the Berliner Philharmoniker performing live at the ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre along with an interesting combination of conductor and soloist - Sir Simon Rattle wielding the baton as pianist Daniel Barenboim plays Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 and Arnold Schoenberg's arrangement of Brahms' Piano Quartet No 1. The Athens concert marked a double première: it was the first Europakonzert under the direction of the new chief conductor, as well as the first time Rattle and Barenboim appeared together. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an amphitheatre built in 161 AD in memory of Herodes Atticus’ wife, is situated on the slope of the Acropolis. With a seating capacity of at least 5,000 spectators, it was reputed to be the finest theatre in all of Greece.

This exclusive live concert production presents a unique selection of movie classics - from Sergio Leone’s iconic Spaghetti Westerns to modern mafia masterpieces by Francis Ford Coppola and the cult movies of Tarantino. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir are conducted by Sarah Hicks in this premiere performance of authentic soundtracks by composer legends Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Sonny Bono and Bernard Herrmann. Soloists for this performance are Tuva Semmingsen (mezzo), Christine Nonbo Andersen (soprano), Hans Ulrik (saxophone) and Mads Kjølby (guitars). Recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2018.

House of Dreams is an imaginative concert designed by Alison Mackay. The concert is a magical journey to the meeting places of baroque art and music - five European homes where exquisite works by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell and Marais were played against a backdrop of paintings by Vermeer, Canaletto, and Watteau. Stage direction by Marshall Pynkoski and narrated by Blair Williams. The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, also known simply as Tafelmusik, is a Toronto-based Canadian baroque orchestra, specialised in early music. The orchestra was founded in 1979 and has 19 full-time members who specialize in historical performance and technique, with additional musicians joining the ensemble when required. The ensemble is directed by violinist Jeanne Lamon.

The National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia is joined by acclaimed Russian pianist Boris Berezovsky in an interpretation of works by Rachmaninov and George Gershwin. Conductor Konstantin Khvatynets directs this concert, filmed at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow. The programme includes George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini and 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 Berliner Philharmoniker and Lang Lang under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmonic during the 2008 edition of the Europakonzert, held in the renowned hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. The first edition of the Europakonzert was in 1991, and since then, the founding of the Berlin Philharmonic on May 1st in 1882 is annually celebrated with a concert in a European city of cultural significance. The orchestra opens with an outstanding performance of Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements.

Mikhail Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra in a performance of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major, featuring Lucas Debargue as the soloist. The composer completed this lively three-movement Piano Concerto in 1931. He incorporated several jazz elements in the work, especially in the two outer movements. This performance was recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, in 2017, as part of the Ninth RNO Grand Festival.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored chamber music repertoire in this wonderful concert, recorded at Château de Chantilly, France. As part of this concert, the ‘Grande Dame’ of the piano is joined by violinists Maxim Vengerov and Tedi Papavrami, cellist Mischa Maisky, and her daughter Lyda Chen-Argerich on viola in a performance of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44. This performance was recorded on June 11, 2021.

Conrad van Alphen conducts Sinfonia Rotterdam and the Nationaal Vrouwen Jeugdkoor in a performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Op. 32, recorded at De Doelen, Rotterdam, in 2019. Van Alphen founded Sinfonia Rotterdam in 2000. Under his passionate leadership, this orchestra has developed into one of the Netherland’s best-known orchestras. Holst worked on his orchestral suite The Planets, as an expression of his interest in astrology, from 1914 to 1916. The Planets consists of seven movements, each one named after the planet known at that time (excluding Earth), and its corresponding astrological character: “Mars: the Bringer of War”, “Venus: the Bringer of Peace”, “Mercury: the Winged Messenger”, “Jupiter: the Bringer of Jollity”, “Saturn: the Bringer of Old Age”, “Uranus: the Magician”, and “Neptune: the Mystic”. The middle section of Jupiter features a glorious melody that has become widely known. Holst adapted this melody when he set the poem “I Vow to thee to thy Country” to music. The last movement of The Planets includes a women’s choir, lending the music its mysterious, celestial atmosphere.

This splendid Christmas concert was recorded live from the Freiburg Cathedral in 1999. It features soprano Barbara Bonney, recognized worldwide for the clarity of her voice and the precision of her diction, and the baritone Matthias Goerne, one of the most promising singers of his generation. Accompanied by the Baroque Orchestra of Freiburg and the German Brass, they perform pieces from Bach's Christmas Oratorio (BWV 248), Mozart's Mass in C minor (KV 427), and Handel's Messiah.

Belgian conductor Jos van Immerseel leads Anima Eterna Brugge in a concert program dedicated to American composer George Gershwin. The program opens with Gershwin’s symphonic suite Catfish Row (arr. Steven D. Bowen) which is based upon music from his famous opera Porgy and Bess (1935). This is followed by the well-known tone poem An American in Paris (1928). After, soprano Claron McFadden joins the orchestra, presenting a selection of Gershwin’s classic jazz songs, including ‘The man I love’ (1924-27), ‘I got rhythm’ (1930), and ‘By Strauss’ (1936). She also performs ‘My man’s gone now’ and ‘Summertime’ from Porgy and Bess. The concert ends with Gershwin’s celebrated Rhapsody in Blue, with Bart Van Caenegem as featured pianist. This performance was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, on March 3, 2017.

Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5 (KV. 283) and four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert. The performance ends with Chopin's technically demanding Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.

Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda performs Frédéric Chopin's technically challenging Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52. Completed in 1842, this piece is celebrated as a masterpiece within the Romantic piano repertoire, renowned for its intricate structure and profound emotional depth. This performance was recorded at the stunning baroque palace Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta, Italy, in 2006.

Enjoy a genuine musical marathon as a prelude to the Utrecht Early Music Festival 2018. During three concerts, the Huelgas Ensemble sing an entire alphabet of Burgundian composers, one for every letter. It concerns composers who were employed by the Burgundian court, with a special exception for Josquin, prince of polyphony. The singers perform arm-in-arm with Paul Van Nevel, visiting mass movements, motets and chansons by known and masters-to-be-discovered like Champion, Divitis, Binchois, de Orto, van Weerbeke, and many others. With “anonymous” to “incognito” they bring a double ode to the many nameless polyphonists who nonetheless made breathtaking contributions to the polyphonic repertoire of the 15th century.

Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in this powerful performance taken from the 150th Anniversary celebrations of Denmark’s national composer, Carl Nielsen. Alongside Nielsen’s inscrutably ironic Symphony No. 6, this performance features world-renowned French pianist Lise de la Salle as soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4. This lesser-known concerto saw three separate iterations throughout the composer’s life and is characterized by bold chromaticism and a distinctly Jazz-like quality. Luisi and de la Salle have prior experience with this piece, having previously performed and recorded it together. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.

In May 2019, the new principal conductor of the Gewandhaus, Andris Nelsons, presented Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 with his orchestra in combination with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with outstanding violinist Baiba Skride as the soloist. In this composition, the violin does not allow itself a break, continually tells its dark story and gets into a vicious circle of ostinato Passacaglia bass lines again and again falls into beguilingly beautiful singing. Tchaikovsky initially thought his 'Symphony of Fate' was a failure and believed himself to be at the end of his creative powers. It was probably the composer's nature, plagued by self-doubt, that made it almost impossible for him to develop a self-confident attitude to his own creative power. Between this two works, Skride performs Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Violin.

In September 2016, we celebrated the birthday of one of Japan's best-known conductors: Seiji Ozawa. Renowned for his advocacy of modern composers, Ozawa founded the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto in 1992. As of 2015, it is better known as the Seiji Ozawa Festival. Seiji Ozawa appeared on stage himself with 63 Saito Kinen Orchestra members, passionately conducting Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 and No. 7. Beethoven's Second Symphony was mostly written during the composer's stay at Heiligenstadt, at a time when his deafness was becoming more pronounced. The work premiered in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on April 5, 1803. The Seventh Symphony premiered with Beethoven himself conducting in Vienna in 1813 at a charity concert for wounded soldiers. The Allegretto was the most popular movement and had to be encored.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, which plays pieces by George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein as part of a musical celebration of Americana. This concert was presented at the Waldbühne in Berlin, a green theatre based on the amphitheatre of the ancient Greek city of Epidaurus which is one of Berlin's favorite outdoor scenes because of its enchanting setting. This concert features talented soloists Willard White, Cynthia Haymon, Damon Evans, Cynthia Clarey, Marietta Simpson, and Daniel Washington. The program includes pieces from Porgy and Bess, "Rhapsody in Blue" and "I Got Rhythm" by Gershwin, as well as the opening of Bernstein's Candide.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program that includes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17, ‘Little Russian’, and Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, better known as the Enigma Variations. Written in 1872, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 bears the nickname ‘Little Russian’, as the composer used folk tunes in his work from Ukraine, then known as ‘Little Russia’. Completed in 1899, Elgar’s Enigma Variations is an orchestral work comprising a theme and fourteen variations, each variation being a musical sketch of one of the composer’s friends. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, maestro Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a performance of Johannes Brahms’s Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81. Brahms composed his concert overture during the summer of 1880. With its dark and tumultuous character, it could be regarded as the serious counterpart of his more joyful Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Karita Mattila (soprano), Violeta Urmana (alto), Thomas Moser (tenor), Eike Wilm Schulte (bass), Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor: Claudio Abbado. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. The European Concert has been a tradition of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1991. The musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding on May 1st, 1882, playing in different European cities. In 2000, the orchestra played at home in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.

This very special concert event celebrates the diversity and richness of Canada through the eyes and ears of its people. Ensemble Made in Canada’s Mosaique Project features a commissioned suite of piano quartets by 14 Canadian composers, each inspired by a region of our vast country. Their album release and two-year National tour culminate in St. Catharines’ stunning Partridge Hall! The ensemble consists of Elissa Lee (violin) Sharon Wei (viola), Rachel Mercer (cello) and Angela Park (piano) and is rapidly gaining recognition as Canada’s premier piano quartet.

Musical critics from North America, Europe, and Russia praise Nalchik-born pianist Misha Fomin for his subtlety of touch and phrasing. He graduated cum laude from the Gnessin’s Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, where he studied with Lina Bulatova, a former student of professor Helen Gnessina and legendary Heinrich Neuhaus, and later continued his musical studies at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar. Today, he enjoys the praise from audiences around the world for outstanding performances and is known to teach piano to young musicians through frequent masterclasses and educational events. For this 2018 concert, Fomin returned to Amsterdam´s Concertgebouw to interpret Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 Pathétique and Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27, Nr. 2 Moonlight, as well as Tchaikovsky's The Four Seasons, Op. 37b.

Over the course of 19 days, the best youth orchestras in the world led by great conductors, and flanked by virtuoso soloists, guaranteed exciting and inspiring concert performances at the Young Euro Classical 2017. The festival is known to be the most important platform for international young orchestra musicians in the European classical music tradition, and for its development. This highlight version is a collection of infectiously energizing and outstanding performances by musicians from across the globe. Their repertoire includes renowned classical works as well as local composers. On the program: Verdi - La forza del destino, Beethoven - Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky - Six Romances, Kohji - Georgian, Mingrelian Songs, Weinberg - Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes Op. 47 and Wong - As the Heart Soars.

French lutenist Thomas Dunford performs various works for lute by J. S. Bach in this intimate chamber music concert, recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, in 2017. On the program are Suite for lute in G minor, BWV 995; Suite for solo cello in G major (arr. for lute), BWV 1007; and Chaconne from Partita for solo violin in D minor (arr. lute), BWV 1004. Paris-born lutenist Thomas Dunford (*1988) discovered the lute at the age of nine. He studied at the Conservatory of Paris and the Schola Cantorum in Basel, and participated in masterclasses with lutenists such as Rolf Lislevand and Julian Bream. He has made various solo and ensemble appearances at Europe’s most prestigious festivals.

On New Year’s Eve the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle invite us to join them together with Cecilia Bartoli, who graced their annual concert at the Philharmonie, Berlin with arias selected from her extraordinary repertoire. Also featured: exhilarating dances by Brahms and Dvořák that happily combine characteristics of their own idioms with Slavonic and Hungarian folk music. The program features following works: Rameau’s Dances Suite, Gavotte and Entr’acte from Les Boréades; Handel’s “Scherza in mar la navicella" from Lotario, “Ah che sol...M'adoro l'idol mio” from Teseo and “Lascia la spina” from Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno. This is followed by orchestral performances such as Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances Op. 46/1, No. 4, Op.72/4 and Op. 46/3, Suite No. 2 from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1.

Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5 (KV. 283) and four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert. The performance ends with Chopin's technically demanding Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.

Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmonic during the 2008 edition of the Europakonzert, held in the renowned hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. The first edition of the Europakonzert was in 1991, and since then, the founding of the Berlin Philharmonic on May 1st in 1882 is annually celebrated with a concert in a European city of cultural significance. The orchestra opens with an outstanding performance of Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements. Furthermore, Vadim Repin, one of today’s most fascinating artists, features as soloist in Bruch’s Concerto for Violin No. 1, Op, 26. The orchestra concludes with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, of which the second movement, Allegretto, gained instant popularity after its premiere in 1813 and remains a crowd favorite.

Mikhail Pletnev (piano), Karita Mattila (soprano), Violeta Urmana (alto), Thomas Moser (tenor), Eike Wilm Schulte (bass), Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor: Claudio Abbado. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19 - Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. The European Concert has been a tradition of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1991. The musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding on May 1st, 1882, playing in different European cities. In 2000, the orchestra played at home in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.

Every year, the Europakonzert is hosted by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a notorious concert hall or on a special location. This years concert is performed at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London. The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink starts with Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture from "Roméo et Juliette". The second piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is his famous Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K. 216 played by the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. During his career he played with a lot of famous orchestras and conductors such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons. He has a great passion for chamber music and plays a lot of recitals with the Italian pianist Enrico Pace. The concert closes with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which he wrote in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The première caused a lot of sensation and near-riot in the audience because of the avant-garde nature, music and choreography of the piece. The Rite of Spring is now considered as one of the masterpieces of classical music history and has influenced many 20th-century music composers. The encore is Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz from the Nutcracker.

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.

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Romantic repertoire, Francesco Attesti (*1975) gave his first recital at age 11 and by the time he was 23, had earned the highest honours in piano from Florence’s Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini. In this recording of his 2016 Deeply Mozart concert tour, Attesti performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos KV 449 and KV 488 with the Italian OIDA Orchestra and conductor Paolo Belloli.

Ever so young, but already the winner of multiple prizes: Cristiano Gaudio is a harpsichord player to keep an eye on over the coming years. You need wait no longer to experience him for the first time: we have engaged this superstar for a harpsichord recital of toccatas and sonatas by Alessandro Scarlatti and Francesco Durante - the primo maestro of the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesù Cristo.

This performance was recorded during Mozart Week on January 27, 2006 in Salzburg, Austria, at the Großes Festspielhaus (Large Festival House) in celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. Under conductor Riccardo Muti, it features Thomas Hampson (baritone), Mitsuko Uchida (piano), Gidon Kremer (violin), Yuri Bashmet (viola), Wiener Singverein, and Wiener Philharmoniker. Pieces include Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major, K. 364, arias and scenes from Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, The Magic Flute and Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385 ("Haffner").

Maestro Jaap van Zweden conducts the Orchestre de Paris in a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47. This performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris, France, on March 9, 2016.

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.

Director Carlus Padrissa created an astonishing avant-garde production of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation (Die Schöpfung), Hob. XXI:2 with internationally acclaimed Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus. This multimedia production presents the viewer with a continuous stream of imagery, text and spectacle, transforming the composer’s masterpiece into an immersive theatrical experience. The show utilizes huge helium-filled balloons, a stage crane, and singers submerged in an aquarium. In this performance, French conductor Laurence Equilbey leads her own insula orchestra and choir accentus. Vocal soloists are soprano Mari Eriksmoen, baritone Daniel Schmutzhard, and tenor Martin Mitterrutzner. This performance was recorded at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France, on May 12, 2017.

In this concert recorded in November 2016 at the magnificent Baroque basilica of Saint Florian, Austria – once the home of Anton Bruckner – the Wiener Singverein, the Cleveland Orchestra and its principal conductor Franz Welser-Möst pare down all traces of bombast wherever emotions could easily run out of control. Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, reaches out to comfort the living through religious texts not traditionally associated with the Requiem Mass. The result is a work of great intensity that speaks to people of all faiths, believers and non-believers alike. The program’s two soloists – Hanna-Elisabeth Müller and Simon Keenlyside – are already at home on the world’s stages. While the former has carved a career for herself not only as an opera singer but also as a concert artist, the London-born Keenlyside has been building his impressive career around the prestigious guest appearances he has made during the past ten years.

French violinist Renaud Capuçon appears at the festival Les Coups de Cœur de Chantilly, presenting a chamber music program consisting of classical and 20th century repertoire. He performs with the soloists of the International Menuhin Music Academy led by French conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow. First on the program is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major, K. 364, in which Capuçon and violist Gérard Caussé appear as the soloists. Capuçon is then joined by pianist Iddo Bar-Shaï for a performance of Mozart’s Sonata for violin and piano in E minor, K. 304. The program closes with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op. 110a, which is a transcription of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 by Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai, the composer’s close friend. This performance was recorded at Château de Chantilly, on May 15, 2021.

Colombian principal conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada took the Spanish Orquesta Sinfónica Freixenet on the road to perform at some of Europe’s greatest music centers in celebration of Madrid’s Reina Sofía School of Music’s 30th anniversary. This concert features a wonderful performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88. It was recorded at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary on October 20, 2021.

Philippe Herreweghe conducts his Collegium Vocale Gent in this chamber music program dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach. On the program are Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069; Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79; and Missa brevis in G major, BWV 236. The soloists are soprano Dorothee Mields, tenor Thomas Hobbs, countertenor Alex Potter, and bass Peter Kooij. The program continues with a fine selection of Bach’s works performed by French lutenist Thomas Dunford. On the program are Suite for lute in G minor, BWV 995; Suite for solo cello in G major (arr. for lute), BWV 1007; and Chaconne from Partita for solo violin in D minor (arr. lute), BWV 1004. This concert was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, in 2017.

Pianist Leon Bernsdorf performs Liszt's Sonetto 123 del Petrarca (S161/6) from the Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième Année (Italie), Bagatelle sans tonalité (S216) and the complete Grandes Études de Paganini (S141) during the semi finals of the International Liszt Competition 2017 at TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht.

Italian pianist Roberto Prosseda performs Frédéric Chopin's technically challenging Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52. Completed in 1842, this piece is celebrated as a masterpiece within the Romantic piano repertoire, renowned for its intricate structure and profound emotional depth. This performance was recorded at the stunning baroque palace Villa Contarini in Piazzola sul Brenta, Italy, in 2006.