Schedule

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda leads the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, famously known as the ‘Emperor’ Concerto. Italian pianist Beatrice Rana features as the soloist here. The New York Times describes her as ‘one of the most insightful and prodigiously gifted artists of the new generation’. Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto opens with a grand, majestic chord followed by a brilliant flourish from the piano, setting the tone for one of the most celebrated works in the piano repertoire. Composed between 1809 and 1811, it reflects Beethoven’s heroic spirit during a turbulent period in European history and is admired for its boldness, lyricism, and virtuosic demands. This concert was recorded at London’s Barbican Hall, UK, on February 2, 2022.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program that includes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17, ‘Little Russian’, and Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, better known as the Enigma Variations. Written in 1872, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 bears the nickname ‘Little Russian’, as the composer used folk tunes in his work from Ukraine, then known as ‘Little Russia’. Completed in 1899, Elgar’s Enigma Variations is an orchestral work comprising a theme and fourteen variations, each variation being a musical sketch of one of the composer’s friends. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

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.

French composer Guillaume Connesson (*1970) is building an impressive musical oeuvre, to which he has recently added an opera: 'Les bains macabres'. For this romantic contemporary thriller opera he worked closely with librettist Olivier Bleys (*1970), a successful French author with dozens of novels to his credit. The result is an enigmatic narrative with a film noir soundtrack about the macabre 'Bains Terminus': ailing patrons who come to take the waters here never leave. When the Pool police investigates their mysterious deaths, the realms of life and death turn out to be not as separate as expected... In this February 2020 production, directed by Florent Siaud, soprano Sandrine Buendia plays the part of Célia and baritone Romain Dayez plays Mathéo. Conductor Arie van Beek conducts the Orchestre des Frivolités Parisiennes.

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.

Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in a performance of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Completed in 1936, Barber arranged the piece for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Adagio for Strings is one of the most recognizable pieces of classical music. The work’s emotional weight has led to its frequent use in film, often to evoke scenes of sorrow or tragedy. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, in 2021.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in a concert performing Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen (A Study for 23 Solo Strings) and Mozart's Requiem, K. 626. Soloists are Siobhan Stagg (soprano), Avery Amereau (contralto), Ben Bliss (tenor) and Anthony Robin Schneider (bass). Recorded at Severance Hall, Cleveland in March 2023.

Young Venezuelan conductor Glass Marcano is a rising star. Having played in various local youth and symphony orchestras as a violinist, her first experience conducting an ensemble followed in 2012. In September 2020, she won the Orchestra Prize at La Maestra Competition – the first orchestra direction contest for women – held in Paris. In this concert, recorded at Opéra de Tours in February 2021, Marcano leads the Orchestre Symphonique Région Centre-Val de Loire/Tours in performances of two Romantic masterpieces. The program opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, featuring Stéphanie-Marie Degand as the soloist. This piece is one of the most important works in its genre. The program concludes with Georges Bizet’s 1855 Symphony in C major, written when the composer was only 17 years old.

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, Jordan conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 36. Completed in 1802, the work saw its first performance at the Theater an der Wien on April 5, 1803. That same concert also included the premieres of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and his only oratorio, Christ on the Mount of Olives, as well as a reprise performance of his Symphony No. 1. Instead of the traditional minuet, Beethoven wrote a lively scherzo as the third movement of his Symphony No 2. The overall mood of the work is optimistic. Jordan’s performance was recorded at Palais Garnier in Paris, France, in 2014.

On the occasion of her 80th birthday, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich explored chamber music repertoire 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 pianist Iddo Bar-Shaï perform Franz Schubert’s Rondo in A major, D. 951.

Sir Simon Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra in Gustav Mahler’s poignant song cycle ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ (The Song of the Earth). Joining him are two of today's leading vocalists: mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená and tenor Andrew Staples. Written in the final years of his life, Mahler’s masterpiece contemplates the beauty of life and the sorrow of parting through some of his most personal and beautiful symphonic writing. Written in the final years of his life and following the tragic death of his daughter, Mahler wrestles with the transience of life, contrasting moments of vivacity and happiness with introspection and melancholy. This performance was recorded at the Barbican Hall in London, UK, on May 9, 2021.

Péter Csaba leads the Spanish Orquesta Sinfónica Freixenet del Encuentro in this inaugural concert of the Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santander. The program opens with Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the left hand in D major, featuring Uzbekistani-born American pianist Stanislav Ioudenitch as the soloist. Composed between 1929 and 1930, the work was commissioned by Paul Wittgenstein, an Austrian concert pianist who continued his career after losing his right arm during the First World War. The program closes with Ravel’s famous Boléro. One of the world’s most popular classical pieces, the Boléro is characterized by a prominent, unchanging rhythm played on the snare drum, which continues throughout the piece. This performance was recorded at Sala Argenta of the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in Santander, Spain, on July 7, 2023.

Olivier Latry is the current holder of the Great Organ of Notre Dame. Between its original religious function and the interest of composers of all times, the great organ Cavaillé-Coll reveals its absolute modernity. Latry is considered one of the greatest organists of his generation, both in France and internationally. He sees himself as an ambassador of French music from the 17th through the 20th centuries as well as an advocate for the art of improvisation. Pieces played in the film are: Pierre Cochereau’s Boléro, Louis Vierne’s Carillon of Westminster and Scherzo from Symphony No. 2, Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata No. 1, Charles-Marie Widor’s Gothic Symphony, Marcel Dupre’s Cortège, Litanie and J. S. Bach’s Passacaille & Fugue.

Colombian principal conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada took the Spanish Orquesta Sinfónica Freixenet on the road to perform at some of Europe’s greatest music centers in celebration of Madrid’s Reina Sofía School of Music’s 30th anniversary. This concert features a wonderful performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88. It was recorded at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary on October 20, 2021.

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

Italian conductor Beatrice Venezi leads the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est and the Choeur de l'Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole in a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s tragic opera Madama Butterfly (1904). The story revolves around Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese geisha ‘Butterfly’ who marries the visiting American officer Pinkerton. Faithfully awaiting his return, she cannot accept that Pinkerton has abandoned her. Stage director Giovanna Spinelli’s 2021 production sets the story 35 years after the events of Puccini's original opera. It opens in a hospital room where an ailing Pinkerton, consumed by remorse, lies on his deathbed. Watched over by his American wife, Kate, and their son, Dolore, Pinkerton reveals the long-held secret of his son's birth mother. As he recounts the past, the room comes alive with its ghosts, presenting the story across two timelines at once. By shifting the narrative perspective, Spinelli delivers a gripping and moving new interpretation of this classic work. Among the soloists are Francesca Tiburzi, Thomas Bettinger, Vikena Kamenica, Jean-Luc Ballestra, Daegweon Choi, and Aurore Weiss. This performance was recorded at Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole, France, in 2021.

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.

On 22 April 2016, Yehudi Menuhin would have celebrated his 100th birthday. One of his most famous students - and one of his best friends - is violinist Daniel Hope. For him, Yehudi Menuhin was the reason he become a violinist. At first, his mother became the secretary of Menuhin when Daniel Hoe and his parents moved to London. Hope grew up in Menuhin's house and learned not only to love music, but also to make the violin a part of his life. Playing the violin every day is like walking every day, or drinking and eating. He played with Menuhin some of Bartok's Duos which was, according to Hope, an introduction to Bartok’s extraordinary music. A piece of Bartok had to be part of this program as well as Ravel's Kaddish, the encore Daniel Hope choose when Menuhin conducted his last concert in Düsseldorf. But this concert starts with Elgar's Violin Concerto. Hope plays with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the baton of Iván Fischer.

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, Jordan conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60. Count Franz von Oppersdorff adored Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 and offered the composer a large sum to write a similar work. Beethoven obliged and completed his Symphony No. 4 in the autumn of 1806. Its first performance was at a private concert in Vienna in March 1807. With its lightweight and sunny character, Symphony No. 4 pales in comparison with its revolutionary predecessor and successor. Jordan’s concert was recorded at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, in 2014.

Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits leads the London Symphony Orchestra in a stunning performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. The soloist is soprano Lucy Crowe. Mahler’s Fourth Symphony opens with the sound of sleighbells and melodies of childlike innocence. But between this deceptively playful opening and the serene finale – a child’s vision of Heaven – lies a world of profound emotion and beauty. With soprano Lucy Crowe lending her vocal radiance to this extraordinary finale, the symphony’s journey to bliss is complete. This performance was recorded at the Barbican Hall in London, UK, on December 8, 2021.