Schedule

Every year the Berliner Philharmoniker gives an outstanding concert at the Waldbühne. This amphitheatre in Berlin can host 22,000 people and is used for many events such as film showings, boxing matches and concerts. In 1993 the Berliner Philharmoniker, under the baton of the Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, performed a Russian program. The concert starts with Russian Easter Festival Overture, Op. 36 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, followed by Tchaikovsky' world-famous Nutcracker Suite, Overture 1812 and the Elegy from the Serenade for Strings. This is followed by Borodin’s Polovtsian Dance No. 17, Stravinsky’s Firebird and Aram Khachaturian’ Sabre Dance. The program closes with the Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Sr.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in this performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 4. This is the final of the composer's short selection of symphonic works. Described by music critic Malcolm Macdonald as one of the “supreme creative acts of the Romantic era,” Brahms' Fourth Symphony is endowed with a strong undercurrent of subdued melancholy. It seems to pine for an irretrievable past. The past lives on majestically in this work, particularly in the sighing theme of the first movement reminiscent of Baroque practice, and, above all, in the use of the Baroque form of the chaconne in the last movement, around which Brahms spins over 30 variations on a solemn, stately theme. This performance was recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA, in 2014.

Under the direction of Conrad van Alphen, the Sinfonia Rotterdam Orchestra performs Haydn's Symphony No. 45 at the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in The Hague. This piece is nicknamed "Farewell" because of a funny anecdote. Haydn and his musicians stayed every year from May to October at the magnificent Esterháazy Palace, at the request of Prince Nicholas. In early November 1772, the prince announced his intention to remain at the palace for two more months. The musicians then told Kapellmeister Haydn their disagreement with this forced extension of their stay. The solution proposed by Haydn was to compose a piece delivering a clear message: at the end of the last movement of the Symphony, the musicians were called to blow the candles on their lectern and leave the room one after the other. Prince Nicholas understood the message; the next day a car was waiting for the musicians to take them home.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances perform Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Brahms completed his last symphony in 1885. He conducted the successful premiere of the piece in the German city of Meiningen in October of the same year. The symphony’s finale movement is a chaconne, a variation form that reflects the composer’s fascination with Baroque music. In this movement, Brahms borrowed an 8-measure theme from J. S. Bach’s cantata ‘Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich’, BWV 150. The movement opens with the theme and then presents a set of variations all set over the same repeated theme in the bass. This performance was recorded at Opéra de Dijon, France, in 2014.

The Kuijken Ensemble is made up of the three Belgian Kuijken brothers on flute, violin, and viola da gamba, as well as harpsichordist Robert Kohnen. The brothers don’t look alike, but their shared musical heritage is evident. Together, The Kuijken Ensemble are among the most distinguished present-day early-music specialists. Though each has branched out into conducting and other far-reaching ways of propagating authentic Baroque style, they are each masters of a different set of instruments. Their occasional reunions for concerts are legendary. With J. S. Bach's The Musical Offering, played here in a shorter score, they show off their stylish flair and extensive experience. Bach’s late masterpiece, The Musical Offering (1747) is a homage to King Frederick the Great of Prussia in Potsdam. Recorded in the beautiful setting of the historical Old Town Hall in Leipzig during the Bach year of 2000, the film captures some of the essence of the composer’s era.

The pianist Evgeni Koroliov interprets J. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) as part of the Leipzig Bachfest. This work was originally composed for the harpsichord, and includes an aria and 30 variations. Published for the first time in 1741, the Goldberg Variations are considered one of the most important examples of the "theme with variations" form. Koroliov's performance of Bach's work is generally a source of great excitement, and his interpretation of the Goldberg Variations is no exception. This concert was recorded at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in June 2008.

On March 23, 1783, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart gave a successful concert at Vienna’s Burgtheater that he dedicated to two sopranos: Aloysia and Josepha Weber, the sisters of his wife Constanze. The concert’s program would be considered odd by today’s standards. The composer’s Symphony No. 35 was broken up and interspersed with other compositions, such as concertos, arias, and works for solo piano. Nearly two and a half centuries later, French soprano Sabine Devieilhe, conductor Raphaël Pichon and his Ensemble Pygmalion bring a wonderful concert inspired by that remarkable event. The program includes: ‘Allegro con spirito’ of Symphony No. 35, also known as the Haffner Symphony; ‘Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio’, KV 418; ‘Schon lacht der holde Frühling’, KV 580; Trio of ‘Die Schlittenfahrt’ No. 3, KV 605; Deutscher Tanz No. 6, KV 571; ‘Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen’ from Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte; ‘Finale: Presto’ of Symphony No. 35; ‘Nehmt meinen Dank’, KV 383; and ‘Dans un bois solitaire et sombre’, KV 308. This performance was recorded at Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, in Compiègne, France.

This documentary by Christoph Keller follows various participants and teachers participating in the International Summer Piano Academy.

In 1419 Philip the Good inherits a realm stretching from Dijon to deep into the Netherlands. In 1430, he founds his Order of the Golden Fleece, which enables him to give form to and to maintain both his knightly ideals and his political relations. This legendary brotherhood provided Marnix De Cat and his singers with the inspiration for this programme: trumpets announce the arrival of the Duke and his retinue, and love’s praises are sung in refined chansons.

This episode of the series 'In the Artist's Workshop' features a masterclass by French classical pianist Philippe Cassard in the works of Claude Debussy.

Richard Danielpour (*1956) is one of the most beloved American composers of his generation due to his frequent referencing of and connection with the past, being inspired by American icons such as Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein. His lush musical language is often infused with swingy jazz rhythms just as is the music of Copland and Bernstein. Thus, he conveys an intense musical experience to the listener with his intuitive musical style, his exquisite melodic lines and accessible harmonic language. All this makes him to be a hugely popular composer with American orchestras. The initial idea for the composition of a song cycle “Elegies” came from the American mezzo soprano Frederica von Stade who was born in 1945, the same year in which her father was killed when the Jeep he was driving drove over a land mine. Charles von Stade is buried at the American cemetery in Margraten (South Netherlands). His daughter could thus only create a picture of him for herself via family stories and through his letters. These letters form the basis of the text of the songs, where father and daughter “meet” and communicate for the first time. The first movement Vigil, depicts the arrival of the daughter who hopes for a spiritual connection with her father. The second movement describes the intense sorrow of her father at the horrors of war and is as if his daughter is calling on him to return to her. In the third movement we hear the father give his unborn daughter his blessing, “Little soul, to where would you go from the darkness of the womb?” Movement four is the preparation for the reunion of the souls of father and daughter which takes place in movement five, Paradise. Here the daughter welcomes her father’s spiritual rest and sings, “Peace, the air which I breathe”. The philharmonie zuidnederland is conducted by Harmut Haenchen. The German born conductor who naturalized to become Dutch and was chief conductor of the Dutch Opera Amsterdam, the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch Chamber Orchestra from 1986 to 1996. He was knighted for his services to Dutch music. Harmut Haenchen is a regular guest conductor with the philharmonie zuidnederland. Conductor: Hartmut Haenchen Orchestra: philharmonie zuidnederland Soloists: Marina Prudenskaya (mezzo-soprano), Thomas Oliemans (baritone)

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.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218. Leading violinist Grimal features as the soloist. With the exception of the first violin concerto, Mozart composed his other four violin concertos in 1775 at a time when he was concertmaster at the Salzburg court. Among his five concertos, Violin Concerto No. 4 is one of the best-known. This performance was recorded at Cité de la Musique, France, in 2014.

As the son of one of Naples’ most prominent musical families, Gennaro Manna was blessed with a pen both versatile and skilled. And as an icon of the Neapolitan opera seria, with his lively and gallant style of music, he trod the path between baroque and pre-Classical. Abchordis Ensemble performs the world premiere of his finest arias, alternated with instrumental works by Durante, Porpora, and Santangelo.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra in a program recorded at Severance Music Center in Cleveland in March 2023. On the program are Louise Farrenc's Symphony No. 3, Ravel's Piano Concerto in G (featuring Vïkingur Ólafsson as soloist) and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (orchestration by Ravel).

In this concert recorded in November 2016 at the magnificent Baroque basilica of Saint Florian, Austria – once the home of Anton Bruckner – the Wiener Singverein, the Cleveland Orchestra and its principal conductor Franz Welser-Möst pare down all traces of bombast wherever emotions could easily run out of control. Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45, reaches out to comfort the living through religious texts not traditionally associated with the Requiem Mass. The result is a work of great intensity that speaks to people of all faiths, believers and non-believers alike. The program’s two soloists – Hanna-Elisabeth Müller and Simon Keenlyside – are already at home on the world’s stages. While the former has carved a career for herself not only as an opera singer but also as a concert artist, the London-born Keenlyside has been building his impressive career around the prestigious guest appearances he has made during the past ten years.

"What a Wonderful Town" was the motto of the traditional New Year's Eve Concert at the Berlin Philharmonie. The Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle along with some of the most sought-after singers in this field including Thomas Hampson, Kim Criswell, Simone Sauphanor and Karl Daymond perform Leonard Bernstein's 'Wonderful Town'. 'Wonderful Town' was the second of Bernstein's trio of 'New York' musicals begun in 1944 with 'On The Town' and completed with 1957's 'West Side Story' and is a love letter to New York in the '30's. Bernstein's score combines witty pastiches of various popular musical styles of the 30s - Conga!, Swing! - and some of his most winning ballads. The program also includes George Gershwin’s songs ‘My Man’s Gone Now’, ‘Ask Me Again’ and ‘Fascinatin’ Rhythm’.

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.

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. 4 in G major, BWV 1049. This concerto features solos from two recorders and a violin. The recorders play a prominent role in the concerto’s second movement, while the violin dominates the fast first and third movements.

Mariss Jansons conducts the chorus and instrumental ensemble of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass (1926) at the Lucerne Easter Festival of 2012. The work is divided into eight sections that give the greatest prominence to the chorus while also containing impressive solos, especially for soprano and tenor. Completely unexpected is the startlingly wild and furious organ solo (Iveta Apklana at the organ) that follows the Ordinary of the Mass and precedes the final movement. Janáček, who achieved worldwide celebrity late in life, wanted to emphasize the common bonds between the Slavic nations by writing the text in Old Church Slavonic, which used an alphabet devised by Saints Cyril and Methodius called ‘Glagolitic’. The choice of this ancient language also reflects the Moravian composer’s sympathies with the Slavic nations that were under the yoke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony, written between 1888 and 1894, is a colossal five-movement work exploring themes of death and resurrection. It was one of Mahler's most popular and acclaimed works during his lifetime, famously culminating in a powerful choral finale. The symphony features immense orchestral forces, including offstage brass and a large choir, which combine to create overwhelming sonic experiences that depict profound spiritual and emotional narratives. The grand scale and dramatic structure represent the triumph of life over death.

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.

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.