Schedule

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.

To transcend the political and ideological divides between their respective countries, Daniel Barenboim, an Argentinian Jew and Israel's most famous pianist and conductor, and Edward Said, a Palestinian philosopher and Christian, created the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, an ensemble of young musicians between the ages of 13 and 26 who have as many Israelis as there are Arabs. Despite this great symbolism, the objectives and ambitions of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are first and foremost musical: the political divisions of the Middle East are setting aside the time of the union of these young musical talents which speaks volumes about the power of cultural interaction. This performance delivered to Victoria Hall in Geneva features two famous masterpieces: Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. The concert ends with the Sad Waltz of Sibelius and the opening of La Forza del Destino of Verdi.

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.

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 Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony No. 35, K. 385, recorded during the very first Europakonzert in the Smetana Hall in Prague, 1991. Mozart originally composed the symphony as a serenade for the family of Sigmund Haffner, a childhood friend from Salzburg in 1782. The composer made some revisions in the following year, adding multiple instruments and conducted the premiere of the four-movement piece on March 23, 1783, in Vienna. The “Haffner” Symphony, as it is known now, is a transitional work in Mozart’s career. The work was meant to be party music for Salzburg and was transformed into a symphony for Vienna.

Harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé conducts Ensemble Correspondances and soloist Sophie Karthäuser (soprano) in a performance of Michel-Richard de Lalande's (1657-1726) sacred music piece Les Leçons des Ténèbres ('lessons of darkness'). To round off the period of Lent leading up to Easter, the congregation sings these Lamentations of Jeremiah in church. With each psalm, one of the candles is extinguished until complete darkness and silence ensues. Whatever one's faith, this tradition is a unique spiritual experience. French baroque composer Michel-Richard de Lalande, an important composer of 'grands' motets of unprecedented length, was one of many who wrote music for this religious practice. This performance was recorded at Chapelle Corneille in Rouen, France in 2016.

The meeting between the French composer Hector Berlioz and the handsome actress Harriet Smithson sparked the inspiration for one of Berlioz’ most famous pieces. When Berlioz had seen Smithson perform a work by Shakespeare, he was instantly smitten with her. He sent her countless love letters, but she never reciprocated. Berlioz’ heart was broken, prompting him to compose his ‘Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties’ (‘Fantastical Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts’). The work tells the story of a young artist in the depths of despair, who attempts suicide because of an unrequited love. His attempt fails: the poison does not kill him; instead, it brings on hallucinations. This story is brought to life in Berlioz’ music performed by a large orchestra – which includes four harps and a bell – making it a revolutionary piece. Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique is performed here by the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (deFilharmonie), conducted by Jaap van Zweden. This 2008 performance was recorded in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium.

Pianist Derek Wang (USA, 1998) performs Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, during the final round of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). Wang is accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Xian Zhang. This performance was recorded at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

The documentary 'Heavenly Voices – The Legacy of Farinelli' (2012) tells us the story of the castrato in music – male singers who were castrated at a young age in order to preserve their high vocal range, a cruel practice that was in place mainly in the 17th and 18th centuries. For two centuries, castrati's performances held European audiences spellbound, with successful castrati such as Farinelli ranking among the most influential and highest-earning musicians of those days. Today, roles originally written for castrati are often performed by countertenors. In this documentary, countertenors Max Emanuel Cenčić, Philippe Jaroussky, Andreas Scholl, Franco Fagioli, and Jochen Kowalski discuss Baroque-era operatic entertainment. 'Heavenly Voices' is a film by Gino Pennacchi (writer) and Alessandro Scillitani (director).

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.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216. Leading violinist Grimal features as the soloist. With the exception of the first violin concerto, Mozart composed his other four violin concertos in 1775 at a time when he was concertmaster at the Salzburg court. Violin Concerto No. 3 opens with a theme the composer borrowed from the aria ‘Aer tranquillo’ of his then recent opera Il re pastore. In the beautiful Adagio, the strings are muted and the oboes make way for the flutes, which only sound in the second movement. The finale movement has a dance-like character. This performance was recorded at Cité de la Musique, France, in 2014.

Mezzo-soprano Esther Valentin (Germany, 1993) and pianist Anastasia Grishutina (Russia, 1988) perform Henri Duparc’s L’invitation au voyage; Aleksandr Borodin’s ‘Dlya beregov otchizni dal’noy’ (For the shores of thy far native land); ‘Fleur jetée’ from Gabriel Fauré’s Quatre melodies, Op. 39; Franz Schubert’s Die Liebe hat gelogen, Op. 23 No. 1 (D. 751); ‘Begegnung’ and ‘Der Feuerreiter’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder; Brechtje van Dijk’s ‘Endangered’; and, ‘The crucifixion’ from Samuel Barber’s Hermit songs, Op. 29, during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2019 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Theater aan de Parade in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

At the behest of Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich, several classical music stars took part in this concert in aid of the Erasmus Fund for medical research in intensive care, recorded at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium, on October 21, 2023. The concert pays tribute to the renowned cellist Aleksandr Khramouchin (1979) who suddenly passed away on May 13, 2023. As part of this concert, violinist Alissa Margulis, cellist Mischa Maisky, and pianist Lily Maisky perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor.