Schedule

This unique production of Carl Maria von Weber’s ‘Der Freischütz’ was created to celebrate both the piece’s 200th premiere anniversary at Konzerthaus Berlin and the 200th anniversary of the famed concert hall itself. For this production, Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus – internationally acclaimed for its avant-garde opera – created a virtual forest in the Konzerthaus’ Great Hall, delivering a thrilling new interpretation of Von Weber’s Romantic opera. Stage director Carlus Padrissa calls this 2021 production a “journey to the roots of opera, where myth, history and the current reality of the forest meet”. Christoph Eschenbach conducts Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Rundfunkchor Berlin. Among the soloists are Jeanine De Bique (Agathe), Anna Prohaska (Ännchen), Benjamin Bruns (Max), Falk Struckmann (Kaspar), Franz Hawlata (Kuno), and Viktor Rud (Kilian). This performance was recorded on June 18, 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.

Conductor Eduard Topchjan leads the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37. Russian-born pianist Maya Oganyan (*2005) makes her solo debut with the orchestra. Beethoven composed this concerto in 1800 and played the piano part himself at the piece’s premiere in 1803. Like two of his other major works –Symphony No. 5 and Piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Pathétique’ – this piano concerto is written in the key of C minor, which contributes to the work’s stormy character. As an encore, Oganyan performs Der Bote (‘The Messenger’) by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. This performance was recorded at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, Armenia, in 2021.

This Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1 BWV 1014 is the fourth out of the set of sonatas Johann Sebastian Bach composed before 1725, probably 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.

Andreas Spering conducts Philharmonie Zuidnederland in a performance of "Overture Rosamunde" (D. 644), by Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Recorded in Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 2015. Schubert initially composed the Overture for Georg Ernst von hofmann's play 'Die Zauberharfe' ('The Magic Harp'), which premiered on August 19, 1820. Three years later, the overture was used again, this time for Helmina von Chézy's play Rosemunde. Chézy's (1783-1856) librettos enjoyed little succes, and it is said that Schubert's contribution to Rosamunde saved the production.

Sir Simon Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and Chorus in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. The soloists are Iwona Sobotka (soprano), Anna Stephany (mezzo-soprano), Robert Murray (tenor), and Florian Boesch (baritone). Engineered with unmatched symphonic finesse, Beethoven set aside ruminations on fate and heroism to compose his utterly musical and wholly satisfying Ninth Symphony. It is a monumental work, renowned for its innovative use of a chorus and vocal soloists in the final movement, singing a setting of Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy". Premiered in 1824, it remains one of the most performed and recognizable pieces of classical music. This performance was recorded at Barbican Hall in London, on February 16, 2020.

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.

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.

After recording all 32 Ludwig van Beethoven piano sonatas to celebrate the composer's 250th birth anniversary, celebrated Italian pianist Riccardo Schwartz decided to record solo piano works by Robert Schumann. In this performance, Schwartz presents Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 12. Written in 1837, the work is a set of eight piano pieces with contrasting moods. The work’s title is derived from one of the composer’s favourite authors’ collection of novellas: E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier. Like Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, his Fantasiestücke are designed as a musical dialogue between Florestan and Eusebius, representing the duality of his own personality. The former represents the composer’s passionate side, and the latter depicts the dreamer in Schumann. Acclaimed pianist Riccardo Schwartz (1986) has performed as a soloist with many world-renowned conductors, including Gustav Kuhn and Yuri Temirkanov. His acclaimed performances include recitals and concertos for piano and orchestra in many prestigious concert halls.

J. S. Bach’s six Brandenburg Concerto’s belong to his best-known works. The composer wrote these concertos between 1711 and 1720 and dedicated them in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. In celebration of the pieces’ 300th anniversary, Czech harpsichordist and conductor Václav Luks and the renowned Baroque ensemble Collegium 1704 recorded all six Brandenburg Concertos on historical instruments in 2021. The concertos are based on the Italian concerto grosso form, in which a group of solo instruments is set against a large ensemble. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos feature remarkable combinations of solo instruments and virtuoso solos. This performance was recorded at the Hall of Mirrors in the Köthen Castle, Germany.

Pianist Arisa Onoda (Japan, 1996) joins the CMIM ensemble, consisting of three principal strings players of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of the first movement, Allegro molto moderato, of Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15. This performance took place during the chamber music round of the two-part semi-final of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). It was recorded at Bourgie Hall in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Misha Mengelberg, the forgetting has begun. He is waiting for a taxi he didn’t call to go to a performance that won’t take place. Dutch composer/pianist and grand duke of jazz Misha Mengelberg (1935) has been submerged in the shadow of dementia, ending his life as a musician. At the London jazz club Vortex in 2013 he impressively says his goodbyes to the international stage. It’s also his last major performance with his band, the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra. The musicians find it hard to let him go, but Misha’s decline is constant, and he slowly fades away from their midst. A film about exceptional loyalty, dilemmas, respect and dedication. And about music, the music of Misha Mengelberg.

Antoni Wit conducts the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra in performance of Frédéric Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21. Evgeny Kissin features as the soloist. 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.