Schedule

The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in the Seventh Symphony by Gustav Mahler, recorded at The Berliner Filharmonie in 1993. This symphony for a big orchestra premiered in 1908 in Prague under Mahler himself. In a few weeks, the composition was already performed in the Netherlands and Germany, but the audience did not immediately love it. The symphony, consisting of five movements, has a more complicated tonal scheme than Mahler’s earlier symphonies. Two first parts of the symphony, called ‘Nachtmusik,’ are inspired by the night and Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ painting. The finale of the symphony is the most outrageously exuberant of Mahler's symphonies and ends in a strange but beautiful way.

Claudio Abbado leads the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in a performance of Arnold Schönberg’s symphonic poem 'Pelleas und Melisande', Op. 5. With the encouragement of Richard Strauss, Schönberg composed the work during 1902-1903. The piece is inspired by a play about a doomed love by Belgian writer Maurice Maeterlinck. Written in the key of D minor, Pelleas und Melisande is one of the composer’s early tonal works in the late Romantic style. The work is scored for a large orchestra and is in one continuous movement that lasts approximately 38 minutes. This performance was recorded at the Musikverein Vienna, Austria, in 2006.

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. As part of this concert, Argerich and violinist Maxim Vengerov perform César Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano in A major. This performance was recorded on June 12, 2021.

The Italian-Swiss ensemble Trio des Alpes, consisting of Hana Kotková (violin), Claude Hauri (cello), and Corrado Greco (piano), and the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova join forces in this performance of the Concertino for Piano Trio and String Orchestra, H. 232 by Czech composer Bohuslav Martin (1890-1959). Martin was a prolific composer, creating an oeuvre of almost 400 works. The four-movement Concertino was completed in 1933 and saw its first performance in 1936, by the Basler Kammerorchester under the baton of Paul Sacher. During the years 1931-1943, Martin wrote multiple concertante compositions. Many of these works were more or less influenced by the Baroque ‘concerto grosso’ form, in which a group of solo instruments is set against a large ensemble, a principle that appealed to the composer. This performance was recorded at Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Italy, on January 21, 2016.

Pianist Antonio Chen Guang (China, 1994) joins the CMIM ensemble, consisting of three principal strings players of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of the first movement, Sostenuto assai – Allegro ma non troppo, of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47. 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.

Maurizio Pollini and the Lucerne Festival play under the baton of maestro Claudio Abbado. At the yearly Lucerne Festival in Switzerland they perform the beautiful Piano Concerto No 4 by Ludwig van Beethoven. This Piano Concerto was composed between 1805 and 1806 and Beethoven himself played the solo when the concerto premiered in December 1808. In this concert the solo is played by the Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini, well known for his interpretations of works by Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin. This concert was recorded at the Lucerne Festival in 2004.

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.

The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) won his first praise on his interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto from the composer himself. When Rachmaninoff heard the young Kiev-born pianist play his work shortly after Horowitz's arrival in New York in 1928, he exclaimed: "He swallowed it whole." Fifty years later, on September 24, 1978, Horowitz electrified his audience once again with this monumental work. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, he gave a special performance of this work as part of the celebrations honoring his U.S. debut 50 years earlier. His unforgettable account was recorded live on video and broadcast simultaneously throughout the United States. It was the last time Horowitz played the Third in his lifetime. The work itself, reverently called "Rach 3" by pianists brave enough to tackle its monstrous technical challenges, achieved international celebrity of a different kind in recent years.

Pianist Elias Ackerley (United Kingdom/South Korea, 2001) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 6 in F major, Op. 10 No. 2; Franz Liszt’s Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata; and Alfred Grünfeld’s Soirée de Vienne, Op. 56 (concert paraphrase on waltz motives from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus), during the first round of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). This performance was recorded at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5 (KV. 283) and four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert. The performance ends with Chopin's technically demanding Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.

American conductor Leonard Slatkin leads the Orchestre National de Lyon in a concert recorded at the Auditorium de Lyon in 2014. The concert opens with William Bolcom´s Circus Ouverture, which was specially composed for Slatkin's 70th birthday. The concert continues with a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto in C, Op. 56 performed by three female soloists: Olga Kern (piano), Baibe Skride (violin) and Sol Gabetta (cello). The work is the only concerto which Beethoven ever completed for more than one solo instrument. The concert closes with Ravel's beloved orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester was founded in 1986 at the initiative of Claudio Abbado and has since become the world’s best youth orchestra. Named after the great composer, the programme is marked by the special relationship between the maestro and the young orchestra, as well as their special relationship to Gustav Mahler. Claudio Abbado is undeniably the supreme Mahler conductor of our time and his long-time association with this repertoire culminates in this stirring performance of Mahler’s last Symphony, written shortly before the composer’s untimely death. Recorded at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome 2004, the film vividly shows the joy, talent, and professionalism of the young musicians drawn from all over Europe and their devotion to Claudio Abbado. A wonderful homage to orchestra, conductor, composer and to a triumphant master work - Gustav Mahler’s magnificent 9th symphony.

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, trumpetist Sergei Nakariakov and pianist Maria Meerovitch perform Lensky’s aria from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Europe was set alight by a shocking new dance craze: the waltz. The story of the waltz is inseparable from the story of the Strauss family. This docudrama, entertainingly presented by Lesley Garrett, tells their story. Composers Strauss Sr. and Strauss Jr., who both held the public title of "The Waltz King", were uneasy rivals in their private life. Strauss Sr., born in 1804, was a hugely popular composer, who transformed the waltz from a simple dance into a Viennese cultural phenomenon. Yet his reputation was entirely eclipsed by his eldest son, who took the waltz to a whole new musical level, writing The Blue Danube and several other pieces. However, in his own mind, Strauss Jr. never quite escaped the shadow of his father. Lesley Garrett explores the origins of the waltz - the music, the dance steps, the ballrooms, and the costumes, while narrating the bitter conflict between a father and a son. This rich and compelling story is lavishly illustrated with the music and dancing of the time, recreated at Vienna's sumptuous Hofburg Palace.

Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in this powerful performance taken from the 150th Anniversary celebrations of Denmark’s national composer, Carl Nielsen. Alongside Nielsen’s inscrutably ironic Symphony No. 6, this performance features world-renowned French pianist Lise de la Salle as soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 4. This lesser-known concerto saw three separate iterations throughout the composer’s life and is characterized by bold chromaticism and a distinctly Jazz-like quality. Luisi and de la Salle have prior experience with this piece, having previously performed and recorded it together. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.

Conductor Jan Latham-Koenig leads the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. French pianist Pascal Amoyel features as the soloist. Grieg composed the work in 1868, drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk music. It is the composer’s only concerto. The work premiered on April 3, 1869 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Edmund Neupert as the soloist, and was received enthusiastically. The Norwegian premiere followed a few months later. This performance was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, on April 21, 2016.

In this splendid concert, exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a program for two pianos comprising works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Anton Arensky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Nikolai Kapustin. Both pianists, laureates of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994, have received international recognition. They perform regularly in a duo. On the program: Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448/375 A; Ravel’s La Valse (arr. for two pianos); Arensky’s Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 15; and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 (Fantasy) for two pianos, Op. 5. As an encore, the duo performs ‘Romance’ from Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, followed by ‘Overture’ from Nikolai Kapustin’s Sinfonietta, Op. 49. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.

Recorded live in Tel Aviv in 2006, this concert honours the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra on its 70th anniversary. With conductor Zubin Mehta and soloists Pinchas Zukerman and Daniel Barenboim, the celebratory concert encompassed artistry far beyond the usual scope of music performance as it presented the brilliant work of many of the musicians most responsible for, and most appreciative of, the orchestra’s rich history. The pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim maintains a close relationship with the IPO and appears with the orchestra almost every year. Pinchas Zukerman made his debut with the IPO in 1968 and has since continued to appear with the orchestra on a regular basis as a violinist and conductor. On the program are Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 and the Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 as well as Ravel’s Valse, popular and at the same time demanding repertoire – just perfect for a celebration of one of the world’s foremost orchestras!

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. Schumann composed his Fantasie in C, Op. 17 in 1836, revising it prior to publication in 1839. Bearing a dedication to Franz Liszt, it is one of Schumann's greatest works for solo piano, and a central work of the early Romantic period. Written in a loose sonata form, the first movement is rhapsodic and passionate, the middle movement is a grandiose rondo, and the finale is slow and meditative. 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.

Dance featured prominently in the work of French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), painter of Parisian nightlife, entertainment, circuses, and balls. With his ballet ‘Toulouse-Lautrec’, Kader Belarbi, choreographer and director of dance of the Théâtre du Capitole of Toulouse, uses the work of the French artist to craft a new dialogue between painting and dance, impressively reviving the artist and his works. The fine and melodious music of the ballet, written by film composer Bruno Coulais, is performed by accordionist Sergio Tomassi and pianist Raúl Rodríguez Bey. This production features star dancer Ramiro Gómez Samón, who is on stage for the whole duration of the two-hour ballet, as Toulouse-Lautrec. Among the performers of the Ballet du Capitole are Alexandra Surodeeva, Natalia de Froberville, Marlen Fuerte Castro, and Solène Monnereau. This performance was recorded at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, France, in October 2021.

The beautiful Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg formed the background for the 1996 edition of the annual Europakonzert of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In honour of the Russian hosts, the concert opened with highlights from Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet', followed by the Cavatina from Rachmaninoff's opera 'Aleko'. After the intermission, Kolja Blacher featured in the two 'Violin Romances' by Beethoven, followed by a performance of his 'Seventh Symphony'. The orchestra is led by maestro Claudio Abbado.

For twenty years, the Berlin Philharmonic has celebrated its 1882 founding with a concert at a major European venue, and the 2011 event takes place at the magnificent Teatro Real in Madrid. Under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, the renowned orchestra performs Joaquín Rodrigo’s beloved Concierto de Aranjuez, Emmanuel Chabrier’s exuberant España, and Sergey Rachmaninov’s dramatic Second Symphony. For the first piece, the orchestra is joined by famous flamenco guitarist Cañizares, whose virtuosity and sensitivity are on full display in this multi-faceted and subtle work. The soloist's virtuosity, his technique, harmony, strength and sensitivity have distinguished Cañizares as a unique artist, considered one of the great flamenco musicians of the turn of the century. Above anything else, however, Cañizares praises simplicity and purity of sound, transmitting a message with a high emotional impact, as is proven in this splendid concert.

In the summer of 2019, the Utrecht Early Music Festival explored the musical legacy of Naples: a cultural metropolis of contradiction and solidarity. In the documentary 'Napoli – Music’s Forgotten Capital', festival co-curator Thomas Höft unearths riveting tales from this multi-faceted city.

Italian cellist Silvia Chiesa and Italian pianist Maurizio Baglini perform a wonderful recital of works by Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. On the program are Busoni’s Kultaselle – 10 variations on a Finnish folksong; Liszt’s Two Elegies for cello and piano; Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3; and Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G minor for cello and piano, Op. 19. As an encore, the duo plays Leonard Bernstein’s iconic composition ‘Tonight’ from the musical West Side Story. This performance was recorded at Sala Verdi of the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Italy, on November 4, 2024.

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra takes us on a spectacular symphonic space journey in an out-of-this-world concert program of film music. Under the direction of Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, the orchestra guides us through the musical universe, performing a selection of music from iconic sci-fi movies, such as Avatar, Gravity, Interstellar, and Star Wars, written by major composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and James Horner. Featured soloists in this concert are Tuva Semmingsen, Christine Nonbo Andersen, Steffen Bruun, and David Bateson. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2021.

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.

Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst leads his Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 2 in D major, KV 131, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31, recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA. In addition, Welser-Möst takes a walk through ‘his’ Vienna, enlightening us on this musical capital that was home to both Mozart and Schoenberg. He contrasts the Divertimento No. 2, written by 16-year-old Mozart, with Variations for Orchestra, by the mature Schoenberg.