Schedule

This episode of the series 'In the Artist's Workshop' features a masterclass by French classical pianist Philippe Cassard in the works of Claude Debussy.

Canadian conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a wonderful performance of the symphonic poem Vltava (The Moldau) from Bedřich Smetana’s Má Vlast (My Country). This performance was part of the Waldbühne Concert 2016 in Berlin.

Daniel Barenboim performs Liszt's Aida (Parafrasi da opere di Guiseppe Verdi) at Milan's La Scala in 2007

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.

Riccardo Frizza conducts the Orchestra Gli Originali and the Coro Donizetti Opera in a performance of Geatano Donizetti’s comic opera L’elisir d’amore (‘The Elixer of Love’, 1832). L’elisir d’amore is perhaps the most famous work in Donizetti’s extensive repertoire. It tells the story of the poor peasant Nemorino who is in love with the beautiful landowner Adina. After hearing about the legend of Tristan and Isolde, the desperate Nemorino wonders if a love potion would help him to gain Adina’s love. He seeks help of the travelling quack Dr. Dulcamara, from whom he purchases a bottle of magic elixir. Directed by Frederic Wake-Walker, this 2021 production is unique as it features the complete, original score as reconstructed by Alberto Zedda based on Donizetti’s autographs. In addition, the orchestra plays on historical instruments to recreate the sound of Donizetti’s orchestra. Among the soloists are Caterina Sala (Adina), Javier Camarena (Nemorino), Florian Sempey (Belcore), Roberto Frontali (Dulcamara), Anaïs Mejías (Giannetta), and Manuel Ferreira (Master of ceremonies). This performance was part of the Donizetti Opera Festival, recorded at Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, Italy, in 2021.

Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan and the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris recorded all of Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonies in 2014-2015. In this program, maestro Jordan presents Beethoven’s final symphony: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. He conducts the Orchestre and Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris and four vocal soloists Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Daniela Sindram (mezzosoprano), Robert Dean Smith (tenor), and Günther Groissböck (bass). Beethoven composed his last Symphony when his hearing had all but gone, between 1822 and 1824. Symphony No. 9 is the longest and most ambitious of Beethoven’s symphonies. Most striking is the piece’s finale movement, which includes a choir and four vocal soloists singing a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem ‘An die Freude’ (Ode to Joy). This performance was recorded at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, in 2015.

Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra in an exciting concert program consisting of works by J. S. Bach, Béla Bartók, and Johannes Brahms. The program opens with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048. This is followed by one of Bartók’s best-known pieces: Music for strings, percussion and celesta. Remarkable is the work’s instrumentation: Bartók divided the strings into two groups that are placed on opposite sides of the stage, to create antiphonal effects. The program ends with Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on December 4, 2017.

Richard Danielpour (*1956) is one of the most beloved American composers of his generation due to his frequent referencing of and connection with the past, being inspired by American icons such as Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein. His lush musical language is often infused with swingy jazz rhythms just as is the music of Copland and Bernstein. Thus, he conveys an intense musical experience to the listener with his intuitive musical style, his exquisite melodic lines and accessible harmonic language. All this makes him to be a hugely popular composer with American orchestras. The initial idea for the composition of a song cycle “Elegies” came from the American mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade who was born in 1945, the same year in which her father was killed when the Jeep he was driving drove over a land mine. Charles von Stade is buried at the American cemetery in Margraten (South Netherlands). His daughter could thus only create a picture of him for herself via family stories and through his letters. These letters form the basis of the text of the songs, where father and daughter “meet” and communicate for the first time. The first movement Vigil, depicts the arrival of the daughter who hopes for a spiritual connection with her father. The second movement describes the intense sorrow of her father at the horrors of war and is as if his daughter is calling on him to return to her. In the third movement we hear the father give his unborn daughter his blessing, “Little soul, to where would you go from the darkness of the womb?” Movement four is the preparation for the reunion of the souls of father and daughter which takes place in movement five, Paradise. Here the daughter welcomes her father’s spiritual rest and sings, “Peace, the air which I breathe”. The philharmonie zuidnederland is conducted by Harmut Haenchen. The German born conductor who naturalized to become Dutch and was chief conductor of the Dutch Opera Amsterdam, the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch Chamber Orchestra from 1986 to 1996. He was knighted for his services to Dutch music. Harmut Haenchen is a regular guest conductor with the philharmonie zuidnederland. Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen Orchestra: philharmonie zuidnederland Soloists: Marina Prudenskaya (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Oliemans (baritone)

On December 24, 2011, one of the world’s most renowned classical orchestras, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. The film portrays the orchestra and its eventful history against the backdrop of Israel and the holocaust. Interwoven with individual biographies and archival footage, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75 years of history are brought back to life in concerts featuring Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman. We also get the opportunity to watch the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsals, concerts and on tour

This dance concert - performed in the languages of both music and movement - features, in addition to works by Liszt, some of the finest pieces of Hungary's national romanticism that served to inspire them, antecedents of sacred music reaching as far back as the Gregorian period and compositions by contemporaries who influenced Liszt: Paganini and Chopin. Liszt Mosaics is founded on three thematic pillars. Although all three directly evoke Liszt - with emblematic aspects of his life's work: Liszt the Hungarian, Liszt the priest and Liszt the virtuoso - they speak at least as much to us as people of the 21st century. The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble was established in 1951 and has traveled to over 40 countries, playing authentic folk music and folk dances.

Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony, written between 1888 and 1894, is a colossal five-movement work exploring themes of death and resurrection. It was one of Mahler's most popular and acclaimed works during his lifetime, famously culminating in a powerful choral finale. The symphony features immense orchestral forces, including offstage brass and a large choir, which combine to create overwhelming sonic experiences that depict profound spiritual and emotional narratives. The grand scale and dramatic structure represent the triumph of life over death.