Schedule

Five-strong vocal ensemble amarcord is joined by an extra alto and two soprano voices for this unusual concert at Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church. As amarcordplus, the ensemble presents a program focused on the city of Leipzig, which includes sacred madrigals by Johann Hermann Schein, motets from Heinrich Schütz’s collection Geistliche Chor-Music, as well as two motets by the most famous Thomaskantor: Johann Sebastian Bach. Moreover, various sacred works by lesser-known contemporaries Philipp Heinrich Erlebach and mononymous composer Liebhold are performed, in addition to compositions by other members of the Bach family, including Johann Michael Bach and Johann Christoph Bach. This performance was recorded on May 1, 2020.

Europakonzert has been a tradition of the Berlin Philharmonic since 1991. Every year, the musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding (May 1st, 1882). and celebrate their heritage from the Old World. The Europakonzert of 1997 took place at the Royal Opera of Versailles. Featuring Daniel Barenboim, both as conductor and as soloist. This concert is completed with Maurice Ravel’s suite for piano Le tombeau de Couperin, which was composed in honour of Ravel’s friends who died during WWI.

Bass-baritone Matthias Hoffmann (Austria, 1991) and pianist Lisa Ochsendorf (Germany, 1991) perform ‘A. Very pleasant’ from Charles Ives’s song ‘Memories’; ‘Nachtwanderer’ from Hans Erich Pfitzner’s Fünf Lieder, Op. 7; ‘Nachts’ from Hans Sommer’s Zehn Lieder, Op. 9; ‘Da unten im Tale’ from Johannes Brahms’s Deutsche Volkslieder, WoO. 33; Henri Duparc’s Chanson triste; Bart Visman’s Vermeer's gold; ‘La maîtresse volage’ from Francis Poulenc’s Chansons gaillardes, FP 42; Franz Schubert’s Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, Op. 24, No. 1, D. 583; ‘Na smert’ chizhika’ (On the death of a linnet) from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Twelve Romances, Op. 21; and ‘Sprich, Scheherazade’ from Moritz Eggert’s Neue Dichter Lieben, during the semi-finals of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Het Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

At St. Bartholomew Church in Dornheim, Germany, where composer Johann Sebastian Bach married his first wife Maria Barbara, renowned Dutch cellist Anner Bijlsma performs the composer's Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011. It is likely Bach wrote his collection of six Suites for unaccompanied cello during the years 1717-1723. His cello suites are an essential part of the cello repertoire, highlighting the instrument's manifold polyphonic possibilities. As customary in a Baroque suite, each movement is based on a dance type. Bach's Suite No. 5 opens with a prelude, and is followed by six dance movements, divided over five sections: an allemande, a courante, a sarabande, two gavottes, and a final gigue.

Gioacchino Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle was written in 1863, "the last", the composer called it, of my "péchés de vieillesse" (sins of old age). For its first performance (1864) Rossini arranged the work with only two pianos and harmonium. Partly for fear that it would be done anyway after his death, Rossini discreetly orchestrated the Petite Messe Solennelle during 1866-67, without losing its candor and subtlety. The resulting version had its first public performance on 28 February 1869, three months after the composer's death. "Mr Chailly's genius for the Rossini style has ripened with the years. His performance has daring and velocity”. Chailly conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Gewandhauschor and the Choir of the Leipzig Opera in an orchestral version from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 2008.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances perform Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Brahms completed his last symphony in 1885. He conducted the successful premiere of the piece in the German city of Meiningen in October of the same year. The symphony’s finale movement is a chaconne, a variation form that reflects the composer’s fascination with Baroque music. In this movement, Brahms borrowed an 8-measure theme from J. S. Bach’s cantata ‘Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich’, BWV 150. The movement opens with the theme and then presents a set of variations all set over the same repeated theme in the bass. This performance was recorded at Opéra de Dijon, France, in 2014.

Pianist Arisa Onoda (Japan, 1996) performs Ferruccio Busoni’s transcription of J. S. Bach’s ‘Chaconne’ from Partita No. 2 for violin, BWV 1004; Frédéric Chopin’s Barcarolle in F-sharp, Op. 60; and ‘Noctuelles’ and ‘Alborada del gracioso’ from Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs, 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.

Can we get into Beethoven’s creative mind, especially in the last phase of his life, when he was coping with severe hearing loss? Tom Beghin’s new recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas Opus 109, 110, and 111 is an artistic exploration of how Beethoven’s musicking was shaped by the work environment he created with the help of colleagues and friends. Not only does pianist Tom Beghin perform Beethoven’s trilogy of pianistic masterpieces on a magnificent new replica of Beethoven’s Broadwood piano, he uses a reconstruction of the Gehörmaschine that was mounted on the composer’s piano so he could continue to create music as his hearing declined. ‘You do hear better when you bring your head under this machine, don’t you?’ André Stein asked Beethoven. Two centuries later, we too can bring our heads under the machine and wonder: Do we hear Beethoven differently? Beghin draws us inside the hearing machine, where we feel as well as hear the essence of Beethoven’s rambunctious and irresistibly poetic musical vibrations. Inside the Hearing Machine invites us into the multisensory playground of a deaf composer for whom the machine was more than a hearing aid and who interacted with his instrument through much more than sound.

The Boy with the Wig - Kids on Mozart explores children’s fascination with the composer. The 30-minute film by Claus Wischmann features boys and girls aged between eight and eleven recounting his life through humour and serious interpretations of Mozart’s biography. Discover Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart through the eyes of children.

The extraordinarily talented pianist Elena Bashkirova has been president of the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Foundation in Leipzig since October 2020, succeeding legendary conductor Kurt Masur. In this concert at the Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, Bashkirova is joined by soprano Juliane Banse, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, cellist Claudio Bohórquez, clarinettist Karl-Heinz Steffens, and pianist Ohad Ben-Ari in a chamber music program dedicated to the music of Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Hensel. The program opens with Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 49. This is followed by a selection of songs: Mendelssohn’s Schilflied ‘Auf dem Teich, dem regungslosen’, Op. 71 No. 4, and Reiselied ‘Der Herbstwind rüttelt die Bäume’, Op. 34 No. 6; Hensel’s Vorwurf, Op. 10 No. 2; Verlust, Op. 9 No. 10; and Sehnsucht, Op. 9 No. 7; Mendelssohn’s ‘Allnächtlich im Traume seh ich dich’, Op. 86 No. 4; ‘Die Liebende schreibt’, Op. 86 No. 3; and Nachtlied ‘Vergangen ist der lichte Tag’, Op. 71 No. 6. The program continues with Mendelssohn’s Seven Songs without Words, for piano four-hands (Op. 62 Nos. 1-6, and Op. 67 No. 1), and comes to a close with Mendelssohn’s Three pieces for clarinet, violoncello and piano (arr. Ernst Naumann), comprising Prelude, Op. 35 No. 4, Songs without Words, Op. 53 No. 2, and Duet, Op. 38 No. 6. This performance was recorded in November 2020.

Enjoy a sparkling performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano Concerto No. 1, by the incredible piano virtuoso Russian Daniil Trifonov, with Kent Nagano conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, to prove once more how majestic and incredible classical music can be when it’s done right! The concert opens with the famous Air from Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3. Also on the program are Berlioz' Le Corsaire and Bizet's Symphony in C major. Recorded at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium, Tel Aviv, in 2014.

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Romantic repertoire, Francesco Attesti (*1975) gave his first recital at age 11 and by the time he was 23, had earned the highest honours in piano from Florence’s Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini. In this recording of his 2016 Deeply Mozart concert tour, Attesti performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos KV 449 and KV 488 with the Italian OIDA Orchestra and conductor Paolo Belloli.

Soprano Harriet Burns (United Kingdom, 1989) and pianist Ian Tindale (United Kingdom, 1990) perform Franz Schubert’s Verklärung, D. 59; Clara Schumann’s Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen, Op. 12, No. 2; ‘L’heure exquise’ from Reynaldo Hahn’s Chansons grises, and ‘Le printemps’ from Hahn’s Douze rondels; ‘Herzeleid’ from Robert Schumann’s Sechs Gesänge, Op. 107; ‘Le corbeau et le renard’ from André Caplet’s Trois fables; Alphons Diepenbrock’s Die Liebende schreibt, RC 20; ‘Seranilla de la zarzuela’ from Judith Weir’s A Spanish liederbooklet; Muriel Herbert’s Renouncement; and ‘Waldmädchen’ from Hugo Wolf’s Eichendorff-Lieder, during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2019 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Theater aan de Parade in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Every year, the Europakonzert is hosted by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a notorious concert hall or on a special location. This years concert is performed at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London. The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink starts with Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture from "Roméo et Juliette". The second piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is his famous Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K. 216 played by the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. During his career he played with a lot of famous orchestras and conductors such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons. He has a great passion for chamber music and plays a lot of recitals with the Italian pianist Enrico Pace. The concert closes with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which he wrote in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The première caused a lot of sensation and near-riot in the audience because of the avant-garde nature, music and choreography of the piece. The Rite of Spring is now considered as one of the masterpieces of classical music history and has influenced many 20th-century music composers. The encore is Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz from the Nutcracker.

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.

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 performs Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26 (Carnival Scenes from Vienna). Schumann composed most of the work during his stay in Vienna in 1839, where he wrote the first four movements, presenting pictures of lively carnival revelry. He completed the fifth, last movement on his return to Leipzig. This piano cycle is among the composer’s most popular. 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.

More than just a tribute to the Ballets Russes, this version of Sheherazade by Jean-Christophe Maillot, resonates as the reunion between choreography and the fictive or real beings which have nourished his artistic universe over his thirty year career. Amongst the characters inhabiting his memory, the beautiful Sheherazade will have often danced before the choreographer's eyes, but the real tête-à-tête with the princess from the Thousand and One Nights has been postponed for a long time. This performance is recorded at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 2010. Solists of the Ballets de Monte-Carlo are Bernice Coppieters, Gaëtan Morlotti, Leart Duraku, Olivier Lucea, Alexis Oliveira, Georges Oliveira.

In this exquisite 2016 concert from Moscow's Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Russian National Orchestra and star-pianist Boris Berezovsky are led by conductor Mikhail Pletnev in a performance of magnificent works by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Winner of the 1990 International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Berezovsky interprets the works of Rimsky-Korsakov with a virtuosic power. The programme features The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevroniya, suite for orchestra, as well as The Tale of Tsar Saltan, musical pictures for orchestra. It is produced by the Moscow Philharmonic Society, which Saint Petersburg-born composer Dmitri Shostakovich himself once described as playing a significant role "in the development of musical life [in Russia]. It is a kind of university which is attended by millions of music lovers and thousands of musicians.” The Moscow Philharmonic Society was founded in 1922 by then-Commissar for Culture, Anatoly Lunacharsky, and has over the years come to be Russia's leading concert organizing institution.

The Orchestra Mozart, founded in 2004, is supposed to give young, talented musicians a possibility to play in a world-class orchestra being conducted by one of the outstanding conductors of our time. Claudio Abbado, the artistic director, is responsible for its profile, inviting musicians and chamber ensembles of international reputation. The Orchestra Mozart, conducted by Claudio Abbado, with their leader Giuliano Carmignola is playing Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. Recorded at the Teatro Municipale Valli, Reggio Emilia. "Does the world need another set of Brandenburgs? Yes, when they are as freshly minted and as adventurously sonorous as this marvellous set from Abbado's young period-style Orchestra Mozart" (The Observer).

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

Yonghwan Jeong (1991, South Korea) performs Epithalam zu Eduard Reményis Vermählungsfeier (S129) and Grand Duo concertant sur la Romance de 'Le Marin' (S128) during semi-final II (chamber music) of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht 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 since has built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

Fidelio (originally titled "Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe," which translates to "Leonore, or the Triumph of Marital Love"), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. This 2018 opera film from the Swiss Theater St. Gallen is based on Jan Schmidt-Garre's highly acclaimed stage production of Beethoven's Fidelio. Otto Tausk conducts the Sinfonieorchester and choir of St. Gallen, as well as many wonderful soloists in a beautifully designed set by Nikolaus Webern. The producers carefully filmed and edited several performances, and by using additional footage of starring soloist Jacquelyn Wagner as Leonore, the captivating stage production is enhanced and transformed into a unique cinematic experience.

Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67. Written in 1936, Peter and the Wolf is a short, narrated orchestral suite, telling the story of a brave boy named Peter, who lives with his grandfather on the edge of a forest. With the help of his animal friends, Peter outsmarts a villainous wolf and captures it, eventually leading it to the zoo. Maestro Prieto gives an introduction to the different parts of the suite. In each part, each character is represented by a different instrument or instrument section, offering a vivid introduction to the orchestra's instrumental families. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, in 2021.

Soprano Vassia Alati (the Netherlands/Greece, 1992) and pianist Yuto Kiguchi (Japan, 1989) perform ‘C’est l’extase langoureuse’ from Claude Debussy’s Arriettes oubliées, L. 63, and ‘Fantoches’ from Debussy’s Fêtes galantes, L. 86; Bart Visman’s Het goud van Vermeer; ‘Lerchengesang’ from Johannes Brahms’s Vier Gesänge, Op. 70; Franz Schubert’s Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, Op. 24, No. 1, D. 583; ‘Now the leaves are falling fast’ from Benjamin Britten’s On this island, Op. 11; and ‘I gria zoi’ (Old mother life) from Manolis Kalomiris’s Mayovotana (Magic herbs), during the semi-finals of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Het Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.