00:00
Les Bains Macabres
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.
02:05
Boulez conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 2
Pierre Boulez conducts the orchestra and choirs of the Berlin State Opera and the orchestra of the Staatskapelle Berlin in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. This concert is part of a series of events celebrating the French conductor and composer's 80th birthday. With his uncompromising approach to the score, Boulez's Mahler readings have long fascinated critics and audiences alike. Vocalists Diana Damrau and Petra Lang join forces to bring Boulez’s vision of this gargantuan piece to life. This concert was recorded at the Staatskapelle Berlin in 2005.
03:35
Martha Argerich – A Birthday Celebration - II
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, including pianists Evgeny Kissin, Theodosia Ntokou, and Cristina Marton-Argerich, and violinist Maxim Vengerov. On the program are Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concertino for two pianos, Op. 94; Frédéric Chopin’s Impromptu No. 3, Op. 51, Polonaise No. 6, Op. 53 “Heroic”, and Waltz No. 6, Op. 64 No. 1; Camille Saint-Saëns’s Polonaise for two pianos, Op. 77; César Franck’s Sonata for violin and piano in A major; and Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid and Schön Rosmarin. This performance was recorded on June 12, 2021.
04:49
Rimsky-Korsakov - The Tale of Tsar Saltan Suite
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.
05:10
Liszt - Due Poemi Sinfonici
Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) composed 13 symphonic poems, largely inspired by literary texts. The composer himself wrote piano duet arrangements for these pieces, showcasing his incredible ability of imitating a full orchestra on the piano. Liszt, one of the 19th century’s most important piano virtuosos, strongly influenced the further development of piano music. The Romantic period was the era of the virtuoso pianists: the piano was the instrument of choice for countless musicians and listeners alike. No house of standing could do without a piano: it was a status symbol. Piano music was played in concert halls, palaces, salons, churches and public houses alike. Liszt’s symphonic poem no. 4, ‘Orpheus’, breathes a meditative atmosphere. No. 3, ‘Les Préludes’, is best known in its symphonic version – the piano version presented here is rarely heard. The work dates back to the period 1848 – 1854 and was initially meant to serve as introduction to a choral cycle to be based on the texts of the poet Joseph Autran, ‘Les quatre éléments’: earth, air, water and fire. In this broadcast, the Italian piano duo of Marco Sollini and Salvatore Barbatano performs these Liszt piano works. These recordings were made at the beautiful 12th century church of San Marco in the small but picturesque village of Ponzano di Fermo, as part of the 2015 edition of the annual, itinerant festival ‘Armonie della sera’ in the Italian province of Le Marche.
06:00
Bach - Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
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.
06:25
Von Biber - Missa Salisburgensis
In commemoration of the end of World War I, France and Czech Republic offered the Pope a concert at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on October 25, 2018. Czech musicologist Václav Luks conducts the choir and orchestra of his own Collegium 1704 in sacred vocal works by several 17th-century baroque composers. On the program are Jean-Baptiste Lully's (1632-1687) Te Deum, followed by Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber's (1644-1704) Missa Salisburgensis. During his lifetime, Von Biber, one of greatest composers for solo violin, was known and imitated throughout Europe. He did not limit himself to the violin and was a prolific composer of sacred vocal works as well, of which this Missa Salisburgensis is a prime example.
07:55
Mosaïque Project - Canadian Piano Quartets
This very special concert event celebrates the diversity and richness of Canada through the eyes and ears of its people. Ensemble Made in Canada’s Mosaique Project features a commissioned suite of piano quartets by 14 Canadian composers, each inspired by a region of our vast country. Their album release and two-year National tour culminate in St. Catharines’ stunning Partridge Hall! The ensemble consists of Elissa Lee (violin) Sharon Wei (viola), Rachel Mercer (cello) and Angela Park (piano) and is rapidly gaining recognition as Canada’s premier piano quartet.
08:59
CMIM Piano 2024 – First Round: Adam Kałduński
Pianist Adam Kałduński (Poland, 1996) performs Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonata in B minor, K. 87, Sonata in D major, K. 96, and Sonata in D minor, K. 517; Franz Liszt’s Ballade No. 2 in B minor, S. 171; and Marc-André Hamelin’s Étude No. 3 in B minor ‘after Paganini-Liszt’, 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.
10:01
Beethoven - Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55
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. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, ‘Eroica’. Composed in 1803 and 1804, this symphony is regarded as a major turning point in Beethoven’s oeuvre as well as Western music history. Symphony No. 3 is longer in duration than any previous symphony. The customary long introduction is replaced by two powerful chords, followed by the introduction of the main theme by the lower strings. The slow second movement is a Funeral March, followed by a quick Scherzo. The fourth and final movement is dominated by a theme from Beethoven’s ballet music for ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’. This performance was recorded at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, in 2014.
