Schedule

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 2004, Claudio Abbado founded the Orchestra Mozart in Bologna, Italy. The orchestra collects the best classical music performers of the world by gathering promising young talents and well-established artists. Among them are Johani Gonzales, a young double bass player from one of Caracas’ worst quarters, and the famous German trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich. The documentary follows the orchestra's European tour of 2012-2013, offering a unique glance at Maestro Abbado's work, as well as on the work of today’s classical musicians. The film describes, both from a musical and a human point of view, the public and the private life of a group of musicians: Maria Francesca Latella, Federica Vignoni, Lucas Navarro, Alois Posch, Reinhold Friedrich, Alessio Allegrini, and Johane Gonzalez. The documentary includes a long and previously unreleased interview with Maestro Abbado, and concert and rehearsal footage from Bologna, Lucerne, Vienna, Madrid and Palermo.

For over two decades, the Berlin Philharmonic has celebrated its creation on May 1 with the annual Europakonzert, which in 2010 was held in Oxford. Led by Daniel Barenboim, the orchestra and the young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who has attracted widespread attention for her passionate yet precise musicianship, perform a breathtaking rendition of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Op. 85

In the impressive Jacobikerk, artist in residence Marco Mencoboni will make Francesco Durante’s magnificent Requiem shimmer, with orchestra, soloists, two choirs, and a pair of French horns in the main role. With the breathtaking vocal control of soprano Valentina Mastrangelo – rising star of bel canto – this concert will be a highlight of the Festival.

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.

Russian pianist Zlata Chochieva performed live at Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin on April 13, 2020. The program opens with a selection of Felix Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words: Op. 67, No. 5 and No. 2. Then she performs Frédéric Chopin's Etudes Op. 10, No. 3 and No. 5 and Opus 25, No. 2, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 10. The program continues with Franz Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No. 2, S. 515, and four pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff: his Canon in e minor, Prelude in F, Op. 2, 'Fragments', and 'Oriental Sketch'. The recital closes with Nikolai Medtner's Canzona Serenata in F minor, Op. 38 No. 6.

Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of two great works. Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1. is paired with Brahms’ dramatic symphonic debut, Symphony No.1. Paganini’s concerto dates from the mid-to-late 1810s, written as the composer was touring Italy with his remarkable violin technique. This piece is a quintessential expression of Paganini’s extraordinary skill and ability, demanding much from the soloist. It is also characterized by the notably operatic “bel canto” style adopted by many of the composer’s contemporaries, including Gioachino Rossini. This exceptional performance features the dazzling virtuosity of violinist In Mo Yang, winner of the 2015 Paganini Competition. It was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.

The six-part series Sons of Vienna explores stories through the eyes of musicians, professors and musicologists. It portrays extraordinary composers who were active in the cultural city of Vienna and deserve the label of genius. In episode no. 6, Life Against the Odds, we follow the life and work of Gustav Mahler. Antisemitism haunted the composer, but he did little to improve this situation. A womanizer, he fought enormous opposition from all sides when he married his wife Alma who, like Mahler, proved to be unfaithful. Reoccurring ill health may have led to his histrionics and lack of patience. As a conductor he was cordially loathed by musicians and patrons alike. Yet he still managed to bring a well-documented mastery that kept him steadily employed. Why were his compositions so unappreciated during his lifetime yet widely performed and praised today? Was it his reputation as a volatile conductor that forced his compositions into the shadows? Was it his antisocial behavior or simply antisemitism?

The German network ZDF called Scandale “classical music for the pop age,” a great way to describe the piano collaboration between German Alice Sara Ott and Francesco Tristano from Luxembourg. The program radiates energy and joy as these two artists go on stage to perform together. This recording of a performance at the Heidelberger Frühling of 2015 - a renowned festival for contemporary classical music - brings all that and more to the table. On the program are piano arrangements of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero and La Valse, “Nuages” and “Fêtes” from Debussy’s Trois Nocturnes and Igor Stravinsky’s famous ballet music from “Le sacre du printemps.” The duo also introduces a composition by Tristano himself, titled “A Soft Shell Groove Suite.”

Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in this performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 3. A late-romantic treasure, this work demonstrates the evolution of the composer's modest symphonic output, balancing the brightness of his Second Symphony with the monumentality of his Fourth Symphony. Strangely enough, even though the Third reaches several glorious outpourings of massed winds and strings, the work ends in pianissimo, leaving the listener taken aback, reflective rather than jubilant. This performance was recorded at the Vienna Musikverein, Austria, in 2014.

Marin Alsop conducts the Britten-Pears Orchestra in a performance of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. Recorded at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Snape Bridge in the UK, 2018.Saint-Saëns composed the work in a small Austrian town in 1886, following a disastrous concert tour. It is originally scored for two pianos, two violins, violas, cellos, double bass, flutes, piccolos, clarinets, glass harmonica, and xylophone. From the beginning, Saint-Saëns regarded the piece as an amusing work. It has become one of his best-known works and is played in various adaptions for different ensembles.

One of the most famous Austrian composers of the Classical period is Joseph Haydn. During his career he composed over a hundred symphonies which gave him the title ‘Father of the Symphony’, but he has also been a key figure in the development chamber music such as the piano trio. Haydn is still very famous for his 68 string quartets that he wrote between 1762 and 1803. ‘Father of the String Quartet’ is therefore also a title that describes Haydn as a composer. The British String Quartet The Lindsays have recorded all substantial Haydn String Quartets during their active years, from 1965 to 2005. Besides Haydn, there are an extensive list of highly praised recordings such as Beethoven String Quartets, but also String Quartets by Mozart, Schubert and Dvorak. In 2004 they recorded six Haydn String Quartets for television at the Kuhmo Arts Centre in Finland. One of them is Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major Op. 33 No 3. Opus 33 consists of seven quartets that are most common under the name ‘The Russian Quartets’, because Haydn dedicated these quartets to Grand Duke Paul of Russia. The quartets premiered on Christmas Day in 1781 and the third quartet is nicknamed ‘The Bird’.

Conductor Paolo Arrivabeni leads the Orchestre et Choeurs de l’Opéra Royal de Wallonie in this performance of Aida. With 56 operas to his credit, this was his first time to conduct "Aida", although it is one of the most often performed operas around the world. Celebrated by both the public and critics, the Maestro enjoys a very successful international career. His wide repertoire revolves around the works of Italian composers of the 19th century. Aida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, based on the Italian libretto of Antonio Ghislanzoni. The plot is set in the so-called "Old Kingdom", presumably of Egypt. Aida revolves around intertwined story lines and love affairs complicated by political interference. Main characters Aida, an Ethiopian princess who has been enslaved by the Eqyptians, Egyptian military commander Radamès, whose feelings for her conflict with his political loyalty and the King's daughter Amneris, who is in love with Radamès. The opera was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and premiered there on 24 December 1871. Soloists of this interpretation, recorded 2014 in Liège, Belgium are Kristin Lewis, Massimiliano Pisapia, Nino Surgulazde, Mark Rucker, Luciano Montanaro, Roger Joakim, Chantal Glaude and Giovanni Iovino.

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.

Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra mark 150 years since the death of Hector Berlioz with his tempestuous oratorio, La damnation de Faust. La damnation de Faust is a work born of the composer’s obsession with Goethe’s legendary tale. Once a righteous scholar, Faust allows himself to be corrupted by the devil, and drags the innocent around him into desperation and death. It’s a fable that defies definition – both a tragedy and dark comedy, with a central character both wise and despicable, and a play and epic poem in one.

Canadian-Italian mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo (1994) performs 'Una voce poco fa' from Gioachino Rossini's opera Il barbiere di Siviglia, 'Must the winter come so soon?' from Samuel Barber's opera Vanessa, 'Cœur sans amour' from Jules Massenet's opera Cendrillon, and 'Sein wir wieder gut… Musik ist eine heilige Kunst' from Richard Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos, during the Aria division finals of the Concours musical international de Montréal, 2018.

Sergey Belyavskiy (1993, Russia) performs La notte (S377a) and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, (S379a) during semi-final II (chamber music) of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, in 2017. The competition actively presents, develops, and promotes piano talents from around the world. In doing so, it has become one of the prominent gateways to the international professional classical music scene for young musicians. The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition was founded in 1986 in the Netherlands and has since built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

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.

In honor of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería performed Beethoven’s symphonic cycle at the Academia de Música del Palacio de Minería in Mexico City in 2019. Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the orchestra in this performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68. Prieto has been serving as music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería since 2008, and is considered the foremost Mexican conductor of his generation. Beethoven composed his Symphony “Pastorale” immediately after his Symphony No. 5. Both symphonies were premiered at the Theater an der Wien, on December 22, 1808. Instead of four movements – a formal characteristic of symphonies written before Beethoven’s time – his Pastoral Symphony consists of five movements, each bearing a programmatic title that suggests a scene from life in the country. Beethoven loved spending time in nature, where he frequently composed music. In the Andante movement of his Pastoral Symphony ("Scene by the brook") the flute, oboe, and two clarinets play harmoniously when imitating the call of three birds: nightingale (flute), quail (oboe), and cuckoo (clarinets).

The Feeling of Going is a large-scale, visually stunning theatre production by choreographer Ben Wright, set to the mesmerizing album GO, by Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi. The songs are performed by singers from the Malmö Opera and internationally renowned solo artist, Moto Boy. The orchestrated score is performed by the Malmö Opera Orchestra. This ballet production received rave reviews from both critics and audiences. Join us on a journey into an extraordinary dream world where anything can happen. Recorded at Malmö Opera, Sweden in 2017.

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.