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G00:44:002022HD

Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma brings lyricism and fire to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s virtuosic Violin Concerto, joining conductor Gianandrea Noseda and the London Symphony Orchestra. Tchaikovsky wrote the piece in 1878 on the shores of Lake Geneva, collaborating closely with his former student and lover, violinist Iosif Kotek. The composer initially intended to dedicate the piece to the young Kotek, but eventually dedicated it to another violinist, Leopold Auer, as he was afraid of the gossip the dedication would cause. This performance was recorded at the Barbican Hall in London, UK, on April 10, 2022.

G01:21:002024HD

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of Gabriel Fauré's death. He is considered one of the most important and influential composers, having been the teacher of Maurice Ravel, Georges Enescu, Nadia Boulanger and many others. The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and The Philharmonic Chorus of Tokyo, with Florian Sempey as soloist, perform Gabriel Fauré's Requiem in the Basilique de Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, the largest surviving Romanesque church in France and one of the most important buildings in Romanesque architecture. This extraordinary concert is conducted by Kazuki Yamada, who is currently one of the most exciting young maestros. In spring 2023, he was appointed Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and is also Artistic and Musical Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

G00:55:002017HD

The documentary “Clara Haskil - Le mystère de l’interprète” (2017) tells the remarkable life story of Romanian pianist Clara Haskil (1895-1960). Born in Bucharest into a Jewish family, she began her career as a child prodigy, entering the Bucharest Conservatory at a very young age. She continued her music studies in Vienna and Paris. Haskil suffered from chronic health issues and lived through two world wars, which held back her career. Only after WWII, Haskil’s fame began to take off and she finally enjoyed international recognition. She performed as a soloist over the world with the foremost orchestras, and collaborated with acclaimed musicians including Eugène Ysaÿe, George Enescu, and Pablo Casals.

03:00
Puccini - Madama Butterfly
14A02:14:002021HD
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.

G00:36:002017HD

Julijana Sarac performs the first/third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 (“Waldstein”). The work was completed in 1804 and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest and most technically challenging piano sonatas.

G00:08:002024HD

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.

G01:24:002012HD

Mahler's Symphony No. 10 is an unfinished work left by the composer at his death, representing his ultimate emotional journey from torment and heartbreak to an unreserved acceptance of life and human love. The symphony, built on the composer's personal anguish and existential explorations, is characterized by its deep emotional range, intricate orchestration, and epic scale, culminating in a powerful affirmation of human connection in the face of mortality. Deryck Cook completed a version of the work with the help of materials provided by Mahler's widow.

G01:21:002020HD

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester take us on a musical journey to the Czech Republic in this 2020 concert from Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. The program opens with Bohemian composer Jan Václav Hugo Voríšek’s Symphony in D major, Op. 23 (1821). Although the composition – Voríšek’s only symphony – was never performed during the composer’s lifetime, it has become one of his most-performed works today. Also on the program is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504. This work, which premiered while Mozart was visiting Prague in 1787, is often referred to as the ‘Prague Symphony’.

G00:36:002020HD

Celebrated German violinist Isabelle Faust performs J. S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor (BWV 1004). The work is part of the composer’s well-known Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006). Partita No. 2 is made up of four dance movements, concluded by its famous Chaconne, a monumental piece within the violin repertoire. In this Chaconne, Bach develops a series of continuous variations from a theme, exploring a complex range of harmonic possibilities. This performance was recorded at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020.

G00:39:002016HD

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.

G00:30:002020HD

This documentary by Mark Perna shows the training and professional growth actions for opera singers, the promotion and enhancement of the cultural offer of the city and province of Modena and the maintenance and development of the Modenese musical tradition in the field of opera.

G01:44:002012HD

Mahler's Third Symphony, composed between 1895 and 1896, is an expansive, programmatic work that explores themes of nature, humanity, and spiritual ascent. It features a massive orchestra, a female choir, a children's choir, and a mezzo-soprano soloist, creating a vast soundscape depicting everything from nature's beauty to deeper philosophical questions about existence. The symphony is structured in six movements, moving from the "awakening of nature" to a spiritual conclusion, inspired by Nietzsche and folk poetry.

G00:42:002021HD

American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in an energetic performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's folk-infused Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17. Written in 1872, the work is nicknamed 'Little Russian' as the composer used several folk tunes from Ukraine, then known as ‘Little Russia’. This performance was recorded at LSO St Luke's, London, on May 31, 2021.

G01:01:002020HD

Baritone Matthias Goerne teams up with violinist Vilde Frang, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, flutist Stathis Karapanos, and harpsichordist Michaela Hasselt in this program dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach. They perform baritone arias from Bach’s most beautiful cantatas, as well as solo pieces and duets. On the program are Sonata No. 3 in C major for violin solo, BWV 1005; arias ‘Hier, in meines Vaters Stätte’, BWV 32 and ‘Die Welt mit allen Königreichen’, BWV 59; Suite No. 5 in C minor for cello solo, BWV 1011; ‘Wenn Trost und Hülf ermangeln muß’, BWV 117; ‘Ja, ja, ich halte Jesum fest’, BWV 157; Invention No. 7 in E minor, BWV 778; Invention in A major, BWV 783; and ‘Welt ade, ich bin dein müde’, BWV 158. This performance was recorded at St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

14A02:22:002021HD

Riccardo Frizza leads the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s tragic opera Rigoletto (1851). In 1850, Teatro La Fenice commissioned Verdi to compose a new opera. Verdi proposed Victor Hugo’s controversial play Le Roi s'amuse to his librettist Francesco Maria Piave. This play, which premiered in 1832 but was banned after only one performance, portrayed the monarchy in its worst vices. However, Verdi was determined to adapt the play to opera and reached a compromise with the censor. The opera revolves around Rigoletto, a hunchbacked jester at the court of the licentious Duke of Mantua. Rigoletto’s life is turned upside down when his latest wisecrack starts a vendetta that is far from amusing, leaving him cursed. In this 2021 production, Italian director Davide Livermore follows the story as we know it, but places it in a contemporary setting. Among the soloists are Javier Camarena (Duke of Mantua), Luca Salsi (Rigoletto), Enkeleda Kamani (Gilda), Alessio Cacciamani (Sparafucile), Caterina Piva (Maddalena), and Valentina Corò (Giovanna). This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

G01:31:002003HD

"It would be hard to find anything greater, more significant or more moving anywhere in musical life today: total harmony of mind and heart, poetry and outcry, fear and consolation, knowing and feeling," declared the Berne paper Der Bund after this stunning performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony in August 2003 by the newly founded Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Claudio Abbado had formed this ensemble from famous instrumentalists, celebrated chamber-musicians and experienced soloists from the world's best orchestras, and the event was sold out months in advance. In this performance, the magnificent soloists Eteri Gvazava (soprano) and Anna Larsson (mezzo-soprano) are accompanied by Orfeón Donostiarra choir.

G01:41:002022HD

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda leads the combined forces of the Music Academy KestonMAX fellows and London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56, and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14. Beethoven's Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, commonly known as the Triple Concerto, was composed from 1803 to 1804. The choice of the three solo instruments effectively makes this a concerto for piano trio, and it is the only concerto Beethoven ever completed for more than one solo instrument. Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (‘Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections’) is a programmatic symphony written in 1830, telling the story of a gifted artist who, in the depths of hopelessness and despair because of his unrequited love for a woman, has poisoned himself with opium. This concert was recorded at LSO St. Luke’s in London, UK, on November 20, 2022.

G01:22:002019HD

Conrad van Alphen conducts Sinfonia Rotterdam and the Nationaal Vrouwen Jeugdkoor in a performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, Op. 32, recorded at De Doelen, Rotterdam, in 2019. Van Alphen founded Sinfonia Rotterdam in 2000. Under his passionate leadership, this orchestra has developed into one of the Netherland’s best-known orchestras. Holst worked on his orchestral suite The Planets, as an expression of his interest in astrology, from 1914 to 1916. The Planets consists of seven movements, each one named after the planet known at that time (excluding Earth), and its corresponding astrological character: “Mars: the Bringer of War”, “Venus: the Bringer of Peace”, “Mercury: the Winged Messenger”, “Jupiter: the Bringer of Jollity”, “Saturn: the Bringer of Old Age”, “Uranus: the Magician”, and “Neptune: the Mystic”. The middle section of Jupiter features a glorious melody that has become widely known. Holst adapted this melody when he set the poem “I Vow to thee to thy Country” to music. The last movement of The Planets includes a women’s choir, lending the music its mysterious, celestial atmosphere.

PG02:26:002021HD

Italian conductor Speranza Scappucci leads the Philharmonia Zürich and the Chorus of the Opernhaus Zürich in a performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s tragic opera ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’ (1835). Salvatore Cammarano based his libretto on Sir Walter Scott’s novel ‘The Bride of Lammermoor’ (1819). Set in 17th century Scotland, the opera tells the story of Lucia, who falls in love with Edgardo, her family’s arch enemy. Lucia’s brother Enrico, however, forces her to marry a man she does not love instead, driving the young woman insane. Highpoint of the opera is Lucia’s famous ‘mad scene’, in which the technically demanding aria ‘Il dolce suono’ is heard. In this scene, Lucia’s voice is accompanied by a glass harmonica, adding to its eeriness. Among the soloists are Irina Lungu (Lucia), Massimo Cavalletti (Enrico Ashton), Piotr Beczała (Edgardo di Ravenswood), Andrew Owens (Lord Arturo Bucklaw), Oleg Tsibulko (Raimondo Bidebent), Roswitha Christina Müller (Alisa), and Iain Milne (Normanno). This performance was recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich, Switzerland, in 2021.

G00:21:002021HD

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. In this performance at the Hall of Mirrors in the Köthen Castle, Germany, Luks and his Collegium 1704 present Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050. Remarkably, the harpsichord appears as a solo instrument here, along with the flute and violin, rather than as an accompanying instrument. The piece is therefore considered one of Bach’s very first keyboard concertos.

G00:11:002006HD

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.