Schedule

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.

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.

Television plays a crucial role in popularizing classical music. Not only has it preserved precious moments of music making, but it also helps shape the future of music. The Vienna-based IMZ International Music + Media Centre, a global association for all those involved in any aspect of classical and contemporary music, world music, jazz, and dance, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. To commemorate this, renowned film maker Reiner E. Moritz produced the documentary 'Music in the air' to shed light on the history of classical music on television. The film dives into television's archives to demonstrate what the medium has done for the dissemination of music. It features rare footage of Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra in one of the first televised concerts, and captivating fragments from Leonard Bernstein’s Young People Concerts. Moreover, the film contains excerpts of great performances from the past, including those by Glenn Gould, Herbert von Karajan, Igor Stravinsky, and Pierre Boulez.

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.

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 presents Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Composed between 1834-37, the work began as a theme and a set of sixteen variations. The theme had been composed by Baron von Fricken, an amateur musician and father of Ernestine von Fricken, to whom Schumann was engaged in 1834. The work was first published in 1837, containing the theme and twelve etudes (only nine of them were indicated ‘variations’). Fifteen years later, in 1852, Schumann published a second edition of the work, eliminating two etudes and making some revisions to the piano writing. 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.

Pianist Carter Johnson (Canada, 1996) 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 the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Celebrated German violinist Isabelle Faust performs J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C major (BWV 1005). The work is part of the composer’s well-known Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006). Sonata No. 3 includes an extensive fugue in which Bach employs many contrapuntal techniques. In this wonderful performance, Faust shows her mastery of Bach’s technically challenging piece. This performance was recorded at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020.

Chinese pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei performs J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) at the Leipzig Bach Festival. This June 2014 concert was recorded at St. Thomas Church, where Bach spent most time of his career as 'Thomaskantor', the musical director of the Thomanerchor church choir. The Goldberg Variations consist of one aria and a set of 30 variations. The work was first published in 1741 and was named after harpsichordist Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. In contrast to melodic variations on a theme, the Goldberg Variations do not follow the melody, but rather use the aria's bass line and chord progression. Every third variation in the series of 30 is a canon that follows an ascending pattern. The Goldberg Variations are among Bach's most celebrated works, which gained an even larger audience thanks to Glenn Gould's legendary recordings of the work in 1955 and 1981.

In this 2018 concert, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra is lead by Canadian conductor and pianist Yannick Nézet-Séguin in a performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 4 in C minor, Op. 43. Born in 1975 in Montréal, Québec, the charismatic young musician was awarded the role of the 11th Principal Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006. For 12 years, he played a leading role in the orchestra's performances, before returning to North America to take on multiple key positions at the Orchestre Métropolitain (Montréal), the Metropolitan Opera, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Next to having been awarded 8 acclaimed classical prizes, Nézet-Séguin is also an honorary member and guest conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Latvian maestro Mariss Jansons (1943-2019) was one of the world’s leading conductors. He served as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic from 1979 to 2000, during which time he transformed the orchestra into a front-rank ensemble. Under his leadership, the orchestra toured extensively and became a favorite at major festivals worldwide. The Oslo Philharmonic was celebrated for its fresh, open sound and for Jansons’s passionate interpretations of works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Béla Bartók. In this episode of ‘In Rehearsal,’ Jansons guides the orchestra through the powerful Suite from Bartók’s pantomime ballet The Miraculous Mandarin, culminating in a performance at the Oslo Concert Hall.

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.

This chamber music concert is part of ‘Preludio’ concert series of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid. The program opens with Joseph Haydn’s Concerto in D major for cello and orchestra, H VIIb: 2 (cello and piano reduction), performed by cellist Alejandro Gómez Pareja and pianist Miguel Ángel Ortega Chavaldas. Next, violinist Cecilia Novella Genovés and pianist Alina Artemyeva present Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, followed by Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe’s Sonata for solo violin in D minor, Op. 27, No. 3, played by Genovés. Next on the program is Henry Vieuxtemps’s Capriccio, Op. 55, ‘Hommage à Paganini’, presented by violist Mario Carpintero Martín. Bassist Ramsés Martínez Millán and pianist Marharyta Kozlovska close the program with a performance of Johannes Sperger’s Sonata for double bass and viola in D major (in an arrangement for double bass and piano). This performance was recorded at Auditorio Sony of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain, on April 30, 2024.

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.

Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto leads the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería in a performance of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite. Originally commissioned as a ballet for the legendary dancer Martha Graham, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring (1944) has since become an American classic. While first scored for a thirteen-piece ensemble, Copland later arranged the work for a full orchestra. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, in 2021.

Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) in a concert program dedicated to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. The program opens with the composer’s Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21. Afterward, Fischer conducts Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, in which Richard Goode features as the soloist. The acclaimed American pianist (1943) is known for his interpretations of the Beethoven repertoire. Goode recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the BFO and Fischer, earning him exceptional critical acclaim and a Grammy Award nomination. As an encore, Goode performs the Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Partita in B-flat major, BWV 825. The program closes with Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on January 29, 2017.

Conductor Eduard Topchjan leads the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. Berlioz wrote the piece of program music in 1830 while still a conservatory student. Inspired on the composer’s unrequited love for Irish actress Harriet Smithson, the five-movement piece portrays the dreams of a young artist who has taken an overdose of opium in the aftermath of a failed love affair. Berlioz used one melody in each movement of the work representing the artist’s beloved, an ‘idée fixe’ (a fixed idea or obsession). The work is scored for a large orchestra and features an astonishing array of instrumental colors, including church bells, an off-stage oboe, and strings playing col legno (using the wood of their bow). This performance was recorded at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Yerevan, Armenia, in 2021.

The film Jaroussky sings Bach & Telemann is a portrait of a very special vocalist, and of two exceptional composers. When Philippe Jaroussky - whose angelic voice seems almost timeless, not belonging to any one epoque or decade - sings works by Telemann and Bach, it becomes abundantly clear that the sheer emotional force and the purifying power of their music have not diminished over the centuries. The works performed in this film are Telemann's Jesus liegt in letzten Zügen and Sinfonia from Brockes-Passion; Der am Ölberg zagende Jesus, and Bach's Sinfonia from Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis and Ich habe genug.

The 2019 documentary ‘Approaching the Maelström’ follows the process leading up to a recording of American composer Philip Glass’s composition ‘A Descent into the Maelström’. The work is based on American writer Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story of two fishermen caught in torrents raging between the mountainous islands of Lofoten, Norway. Glass’s work, originally a choral piece for the Australian Dance Theatre, was only ever performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1986. Over thirty years later, in 2019, Beacon Isle Films recorded a symphonic arrangement of Glass’s work, performed by the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Tim Weiss with soprano Berit Norbakken Solset as the soloist. Their recording was made against the backdrop of Lofoten’s spectacular landscape: the very surroundings that inspired Poe’s story. Moreover, this inspiring documentary features a rare interview with Glass.