Schedule

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.

This Christmas concert, recorded at the Berlin Schauspielhaus on the Gendarmeriemarkt, was one of the first joint musical productions of reunited Germany. Beautiful visuals of landscapes and other locations in snow and ice turn the concert into a romantic winter storybook. On the program are works by J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel and Prätorius. The Tölz Boys' Choir is led by Gerhard Schmidt-Garden, the Zagorsk Monastery Choir by Matfej Mormyl and the Staatskapelle Dresden by Ferdinand Leitner. Soloists are Maria Graf, Doris Soffel, Siegfried Jerusalem, Jochen Kowalski and Hermann Prey. Recorded in 1990 and directed by Bob Rooyens.

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.

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, he performs in one of W.A. Mozart’s less frequently performed Viennese concertos: Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415.

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.

Discover the soloist Heidrun Holtmann as she performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 1, KV 37 and Piano Concerto No. 4, KV 41, accompanied by the Orchestra della Radiotelevisione della Svizzera. Conducted by Marc Andreae, the performance took place at the historic Teatro Bibiena in Mantua.

This gala concert at Prague's beautiful Estates Theatre is one of the highlights of Mozart Year 2006. Conducted by Manfred Honeck, the Czech Philharmonic performs W. A. Mozart's finest compositions connected to the city of Prague in general or to the Estates Theatre in particular. Among them is Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which premiered in Prague in 1791. This 2006 recording features clarinettist Sharon Kam. Mozart's Prague Symphony is invariably on the program. The Overture to Don Giovanni is also associated with the Estates Theatre, which is where Mozart conducted it in 1787.

On Saturday, August 27, 2016, OVG and Sinfonia Rotterdam presented a new Veerhavenconcert under the direction of Conrad van Alphen. As part of this annual event presented in the port of Rotterdam, the musicians perform on a floating stage, and audiences watch the show on the dock and on boats. This fantastic concert features soloists Maria Warenberg (mezzo-soprano) and Melle de Vries (cello), who perform works by Mendelssohn, Mozart, Haydn, Rossini, Beethoven, and Fauré.

Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (Canada, 1999) performs Barbara Assiginaak’s Mzizaakok Miiniwaa Mzizaakoonsak (Horseflies and Deerflies); Ludwig van Beethoven’s Andante favori in F major, WoO 57; and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28, during the solo recital of the two-part semi-final 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.

In Geneva, the Swiss city where she has spent most of her life, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich invites her lifelong music partner, the cellist Mischa Maisky, to play chamber music. Between the pieces, Martha opens up to her daughter Annie Dutoit in an intimate interview that addresses both their relationship and the music. On the program are Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7 variations after "The Magic Flute"; Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73; Frédéric Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3; ‘Lerchengesang’ (No. 2) from Johannes Brahms’s 4 Gesänge, Op. 70; and ‘Largo’ from Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65. This broadcast was recorded on November 12 and 13, 2020, in Geneva, Switzerland.

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.

British conductor John Eliot Gardiner performs all of Johann Sebastian Bach's cantatas in a concert series. Several of these concerts take place in Saxony and Thuringia, where Bach lived. This offers Gardiner the opportunity to discover Bach, his life and work in his own, very personal way. Bach Revisited follows Gardiner to Eisenach, Arnstadt, Pomßen and Leipzig. The British conductor visits the old church at Pomßen, discovers that Martin Luther and J.S. Bach attended the same school, and discusses the new Bach organ in St Thomas's Church in Leipzig with the local organist.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18 No. 6; and String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132. This concert performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on November 24, 2020.

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.

Soprano Sophia Burgos (USA, 1991) and pianist Daniel Gerzenberg (Germany, 1991) perform Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold; ‘Nixe Binsefuss’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, and ‘Die Bekehrte’ from Goethe-Lieder; ‘C’est l’extase langoureuse’ from Claude Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées; ‘Crépuscule’ from Gabriel Fauré’s La chanson d'Ève; ‘Asturiana’ from Manuel de Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas; and ‘The night in silence under many a star’ from George Crumb’s Apparition, 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.

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.

One of the first Christmas carols ever written is Perotin the Great’s Salvatoris Hodie. This brilliant 12th century composition, one of the first works ever written for four voices, opens First Snow: the atmospheric Christmas concert by the Brussels Philharmonic. Straying from ‘ars antiqua’, the program also features a performance of two contemporary melodies penned by conductor Bo Holten based on texts by the Icelandic poet Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975). As an added bonus, a hand-picked selection of various Polish and French Christmas songs rounds off this enjoyable yuletide program.

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’.

In 2006, Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich set out on tour performing solos and duets by Bartók und Schumann. The last of the concert series at the Berliner Philharmonie has been recorded for this film, featuring a rare solo performance by Martha Argerich. A concert film with personal and moving commentary by Gidon Kremer. Program: Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 10, Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 121; Kinderszenen, Op. 15; Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1 Sz 75; Violin sonata No. 2 Sz 76.

This Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1 BWV 1014 is the fourth out of the set of sonatas Johann Sebastian Bach composed before 1725, probably during his time as chapel master in Köthen. Presumably, he wrote these sonatas for Prince Leopold and later adapted them for further use in Leipzig. Maybe this is why these pieces are well playable for amateurs, while every sonata still has the finesse that can offer a challenge to professional musicians. The different pieces are meant to be a set, just like the Brandenburg concertos.

Azerbaijan-born artist Seljan Nasibli moved to England at an early age, where she was encouraged to take up music. Although Nasibli chose to sing jazz, her Oxford teachers heard an operatic tendency in her voice and advised to train classically. Nasibli completed her studies at The Royal College of Music, where she graduated with a master's degree in Vocal Performance. In this episode of Stingray Originals, Nasibli performs three of Giacomo Puccini's most beautiful arias: 'Signore, ascolta!' and 'Tu, che di gel sei cinta' from the opera Turandot, and 'Quando m'en vo' (Musetta's Waltz) from the opera La bohème.

On August 19, 2000, the Teatro Colón was filled to the brim with spectators longing to hear Daniel Barenboim play the piano. Barenboim, who is currently best known as a conductor, started his career half a century ago as a child prodigy, playing his first piano recital at age 7. This concert celebrates the maestro's on-stage career. Only after the maestro had performed for a full three hours, including no less than 13 encores, the audience was willing to let him leave the stage: a special evening if ever there was one! The concert included Ludwig van Beethoven's Sonata No. 23 ‘Apassionata’, Frederic Chopin's Waltz in e minor, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Sonata in C major.

Jan Hugo (1991, South Africa) performs Die drei Zigeuner (S383), Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth (S382bis) and La lugubre gondola (S134bis) during semi-final II (chamber music) of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, in 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 has since built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

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.