Schedule

Frédéric Chaslin (1963) leads the Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège in a performance of Léo Delibes’s tragic opera Lakmé (1883). Written to a libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille, the opera is set in nineteenth-century British India and tells the story of Lakmé, who falls in love with Gérald, a British officer. However, Lakmé’s father, the Brahmin priest Nilakantha, vows revenge after he discovers that Gérald has trespassed on their sacred ground. Like many of his contemporaries, Delibes was fond of exoticism, evoking foreign lands and cultures in the tradition of Georges Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de perles (1863) and Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila (1877). Delibes’s opera features the celebrated “Flower Duet,” sung by Lakmé and her servant Mallika as they gather flowers by the river, and also the wonderful coloratura aria “Bell Song” (Air des Clochettes). Among the soloists are Jodie Devos, Philippe Talbot, Lionel Lhote, Pierre Doyen, and Marion Lebègue. This production was recorded at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, in 2022.

Europakonzert 2004 was held in Athens, Greece. This concert featured the Berliner Philharmoniker performing live at the ancient Herodes Atticus Theatre along with an interesting combination of conductor and soloist - Sir Simon Rattle wielding the baton as pianist Daniel Barenboim plays Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 and Arnold Schoenberg's arrangement of Brahms' Piano Quartet No 1. The Athens concert marked a double première: it was the first Europakonzert under the direction of the new chief conductor, as well as the first time Rattle and Barenboim appeared together. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus, an amphitheatre built in 161 AD in memory of Herodes Atticus’ wife, is situated on the slope of the Acropolis. With a seating capacity of at least 5,000 spectators, it was reputed to be the finest theatre in all of Greece.

Conducted by Andreas Spering, the South Netherlands Philharmonic performs Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony. Ludwig van Beethoven painted in his symphony the rustic idylls of a peasants’ picnic in the countryside, rife with murmuring brooks and a frightful thunderstorm. It was destined to become one of his most regularly performed symphonies. In this work too, Beethoven composed with a revolutionary and innovative verve. An excellent opportunity to listen to music with late eighteenth and early nineteenth century ears.

Manfred Honeck conducts Yo-Yo Ma and the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Schumann's Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 from the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden 2016.

In this splendid concert, exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a program for two pianos comprising works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Anton Arensky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Nikolai Kapustin. Both pianists, laureates of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994, have received international recognition. They perform regularly in a duo. On the program: Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448/375 A; Ravel’s La Valse (arr. for two pianos); Arensky’s Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 15; and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 (Fantasy) for two pianos, Op. 5. As an encore, the duo performs ‘Romance’ from Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, followed by ‘Overture’ from Nikolai Kapustin’s Sinfonietta, Op. 49. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.

Italian pianist Costantino Catena performs Franz Liszt’s transcription of ‘Isoldens Liebestod’ from Richard Wagner’s opera ‘Tristan und Isolde’. This performance was recorded at the Church of the Jesuit College in Trapani, Italy.

Set in the magnificent Cistercian Monastery Schulpforte near Naumburg, Germany, Sounds like Christmas combines festive music with the spontaneity and freshness of jazz. This Christmas program is the musical encounter between soprano Angelika Kirchschlager and jazz trumpeter Tomasz Stańko. Interpreting popular and lesser-known Christmas songs, the soloists are accompanied by the outstanding Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Leipzig a cappella ensemble Amarcord, consisting of former members of St. Thomas Boys Choir. The artists' different backgrounds and stylistic preferences create a suspenseful, varied musical experience. The origins of the monastery date back to the Benedictine convent founded in Schmölln in 1127. Concert footage is juxtaposed with snowy mountain landscapes and cities decorated for Christmas.

Italian cellist and conductor Enrico Bronzi leads the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia in this intimate concert at the magnificent Basilica di San Pietro in the Italian city of Perugia, recorded on September 27, 2021. Opening the program is a cello performance by Bronzi with the Orchestra da Camera di Peruglia: the Andante cantabile from Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 13 in D major, Hob. I:13. Then, Italian pianists Linda Di Carlo and Marco Scolastra join the orchestra for a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E-flat major, K. 365. Next up is Mozart’s concert aria "Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene", K. 505, sung by Italian mezzosoprano Marina Comparato. Accompanied by Linda Di Carlo on piano, she closes the concert with the aria “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Camille Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson and Delilah.

Maestro Herbert Blomstedt makes his debut with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra at 2020’s Lucerne Festival conducting Ludwig van Beethoven’s celebrated Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica”. The sprightly Swedish conductor celebrated his 93rd birthday just one month before this performance. This remarkable performance was recorded at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Center (KKL), Switzerland, in August 2020.

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.

Bernhard Haitink conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. Directed by Barry Gavin, this concert took place at the Berliner Philharmonie in 1992. Mahler was inspired by Jean Paul’s novel Titan, in which an artistically gifted young man, driven by his failure to find his way in society, eventually commits suicide in despair. The genesis of this work was not easy for Mahler: he composed it between 1887 and 1888, at the time when he was conductor of the Leipzig opera. The first version of the work first took the form of a two-part symphonic poem and premiered in Budapest in 1898. However, the work was poorly received by the public and critics, which forced Mahler to revise it. The new version resulted in the wonderful Symphony No. 1 that we know today, an incredible achievement for such a young composer.