Friendship Day
July 30 and 31
July 30 is International Friendship Day, and the occasion for Stingray Classica to broadcast works by legendary composers who befriended one another. Though not well-documented, Joseph Haydn and W. A Mozart clearly felt a great affection for each other: the older Haydn acted as a mentor for the younger Mozart, who in return dedicated several string quartets to Haydn. At 14:00, Stingray Classica first broadcasts Haydn’s (‘father of the symphony’) Symphonies No. 83 and 84, followed by Mozart’s opera La clemenza di Tito. In the evening, Stingray Classica pays tribute to another friendship among composers. The compositions and piano skills of young Johannes Brahms were publicly praised by Robert Schumann, resulting in the former becoming a leading composer. Brahms visited Schumann regularly at his home, and after Schumann’s death, stayed close to his widow, pianist Clara Wieck. At 21:00, Schumann’s Piano Quartet, Op. 47 is followed by Brahms's magnum opus Ein deutsches Requiem. Stingray Classica extends the Friendship special to Saturday, July 31. Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss shared a professional and personal respect for each other, and were in many ways, even musically, quite similar. In the evening Stingray Classica first broadcasts Mahler’s Symphony no. 6 under the musical direction of Sir Simon Rattle, followed by a rendition of Richard Straus’ Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64.
Haydn - Symphony No. 83 & 84
Friday, 30 July | 14:05
Sir Roger Norrington conducts the Camerata Salzburg in a performance of Haydn's Symphony No. 83 in G minor, nicknamed La Poule ("The Hen") and Symphony No. 84 in E♭ major. The two works are part Haydn's famous Paris symphonies, a group of six symphonies written by Joseph Haydn and commissioned by the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, music director of the orchestra the Concert de la Loge Olympique. Recorded at the Haydn Festival Eisenstadt in 2000.
Mozart - La clemenza di Tito, K. 621
Friday, 30 July | 15:05
Commissioned for the coronation of Leopold II in Prague, Mozart's last opera, La clemenza di Tito, is a deep, humane reflection on relationships, power and forgiveness. With the composition of some of the most beautiful passages in his oeuvre, Mozart has succeeded in giving this opera seria both a noble sobriety and transparent instrumentation, to which this commanding production by the Hermann partnership does full justice on all levels. Susan Graham's most extraordinary Sesto and Christoph Prégardien's superb Tito set the standard for this riveting Opéra National de Paris performance, conducted by the outstanding Sylvain Cambreling. This 2005 performance of the opera at the Palais Garnier in Paris features the brilliant soloists Susan Graham, Catherine Naglestad, Lorenzo Regazzo, Hannah Esther Minutillo, Ekaterina Siurina, Roland Bracht and Christoph Pregardien.
Schumann - Piano Quartet, Op. 47
Friday, 30 July | 21:00
The Ébène Quartet, consisting of Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Lise Berthaud (viola), François Salque (cello), and Eric Le Sage (piano), performs Robert Schumann's Piano Quartet, Op. 47. The quartet was completed in 1842 and has been described as the "creative double" of Schumann's Piano Quintet, which is also in the key of E-flat major. It is perhaps the most frequently performed piano quartets in the repertoire. The work was composed during Schumann’s “Chamber Music Year,” in which he concentrated a whole year on the genre, writing three string quartets and a piano quintet in addition to this piano quartet. This performance is recorded at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark.
Brahms - A German Requiem, Op. 45
Friday, 30 July | 22:00
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.
Mahler - Symphony No. 6
Saturday, 31 July | 21:00
On November 14, 1987, a promising conductor made his Berlin Philharmonic debut with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6: Simon Rattle. In retrospect Rattle says, “I felt that I was finding my voice on that day.” Mahler’s multifaceted work is now again on the program when Sir Simon appears for the last time as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker in the Philharmonie in 2018. The wheel comes full circle. Mahler's Symphony No. 6 is often referred to by the nickname Tragische ("Tragic"). Mahler composed work during a happy time in his life, as he had married his wife Alma in 1902 and became father of his second daughter. This contrasts with the tragic and even nihilistic last movement of the symphony.
R. Strauss - An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64
Saturday, 31 July | 22:35
Andris Nelsons leads the Orchestre de Paris in a performance of Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, Op. 64.