Schedule

Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks performs Frederic Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61. Recorded at the Nicols Concert Hall, Evanston, IL, USA. Faliks has established herself as one of the most communicative, and poetic artists of her generation. The Polonaise-Fantaise was dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, composed and published in 1846

Gerd Albrecht conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in a performance of W. A. Mozart’s “Prague” Symphony No. 38 (K. 504). The work was composed by Mozart in late 1786 and premiered in January 1787, during the composer’s first visit to Prague, hence the nickname “Prague”. An unusual feature of the symphony is that it consists of only three movements, making it the only major symphonic work from the Classical period without a minuet or scherzo movement. The symphony opens with an Adagio introduction followed by a hugely powerful Allegro, with dramatic qualities that foreshadow Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. Directed by János Darvas.

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.

Baritone Matthias Goerne teams up with violinist Vilde Frang, cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, flutist Stathis Karapanos, and harpsichordist Michaela Hasselt in this program dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach. They perform baritone arias from Bach’s most beautiful cantatas, as well as solo pieces and duets. On the program are Sonata No. 3 in C major for violin solo, BWV 1005; arias ‘Hier, in meines Vaters Stätte’, BWV 32 and ‘Die Welt mit allen Königreichen’, BWV 59; Suite No. 5 in C minor for cello solo, BWV 1011; ‘Wenn Trost und Hülf ermangeln muß’, BWV 117; ‘Ja, ja, ich halte Jesum fest’, BWV 157; Invention No. 7 in E minor, BWV 778; Invention in A major, BWV 783; and ‘Welt ade, ich bin dein müde’, BWV 158. This performance was recorded at St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Yoichiro Chiba (Japan, 1997) performs J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826, and Franz Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, S. 178, during the semi-finals of the 2021 Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). This performance was recorded at Yumeria Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, maestro Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program featuring Johannes Brahms’s Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81, and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, ‘Titan’. Brahms composed his concert overture during the summer of 1880. With its dark and tumultuous character, it could be regarded as the serious counterpart of his more joyful Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. Mahler completed his first symphony eight years later, in 1888. Originally a five-movement piece, the composer discarded the second movement ‘Blumine’ some years later, resulting in the final four-movement version we know today. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Celebrated German violinist Isabelle Faust performs two of J. S. Bach’s incredible works for solo violin: Partita No. 2 in D minor (BWV 1004), and Sonata No. 3 in C major (BWV 1005). Both works are 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. 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 pieces. This performance was recorded at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020.

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.

Baritone Arvid Fagerfjäll (Sweden, 1991) performs ‘Chanson à boire’ from Édouard Lalo’s Chansons pour voix et piano, Op. 17; ‘Was in der Schenke waren Heute’ from Hugo Wolf’s Goethe-Lieder; ‘Geselle, woll’n wir uns in Kutten hüllen’ from Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch, Vol. I; ‘And I have sat’ and ‘Yea, for this love of mine’ from Aribert Reimann’s song cycle Shine and Dark; ‘Martus’ (Stormclouds) from Gustav Holst’s Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 24; ‘Und hat der Tag all seine Qual’ from Alexander von Zemlinsky’s 4 Gesänge, Op. 8; ‘Le cygne’ from Maurice Ravel’s Histoires naturelles; ‘La fleur qui va sur l’eau’ from Gabriel Fauré’s 3 Mélodies, Op. 85; and ‘Mit Myrten und Rosen’ Robert Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 24, during the semi-finals of the Art Song division of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2022 (CMIM). This performance was recorded at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Acclaimed classical music talent scout Antonio Mormone (1930-2017) lives on as the name-giver of the Premio Internazionale Antonio Mormone (PIAM), awarded to the winner of the Italian music competition of the same name. The first edition of this competition, which was held in various venues in Milan from 2019 to 2021, was dedicated to the piano. As part of this competition, Josef Edoardo Mossali (Italy, 2001) performs Franz Liszt’s Après une Lecture de Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata; Maurice Ravel’s Toccata from Le tombeau de Couperin; and Etude No. 3 “La Campanella” from Liszt’s Six Grandes études de Paganini. This performance was recorded at Teatro EDI Barrio’s in Milan, in February 2020.

Performed in the grandeur of Berlin's foremost opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Mozart Celebration is dedicated to the life's work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This one-time-only gala concert features exuberant Mozart pieces, performed by some of the world’s leading singers and musicians. Conductor Julien Salemkour leads these beautiful performances played by the Staatskapelle Berlin. The star solists are Nicolaj Znaider (violin), Thomas Quasthoff (baritone) and Sylvia Schwartz (soprano). The program features Ouverture from la Clemenza di Tito, 'Violin Concerto No. 5', the song 'Chi sa, chi sa, qual sia', Piano Concerto No. 23, the aria 'Per questa bella mano', Papageno's Aria from the Magic Flute, the duet 'Papageno-Papagena' from The Magic Flute, and Symphony No. 40.

For over two decades, the Berlin Philharmonic has celebrated its creation on May 1 with the annual Europakonzert, which in 2010 was held in Oxford. Led by Daniel Barenboim, the orchestra and the young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein, who has attracted widespread attention for her passionate yet precise musicianship, perform a breathtaking rendition of Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Op. 85

Renowned Mozart specialist Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016) conducts Orchestra della Svizzera italiana in this November 2005 live recording from the Palazzo di Congressi in Lugano, Switzerland. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Concerto for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, K.299 (1778) is one of the Austrian composer's most popular pieces, due to its cheerful, lighthearted mood. Soloists Patrick Gallois (flute) and Fabrice Pierre (harp) have worked on their joint interpretation, providing some discreet ornamentation to Mozart's effervescent solo lines. Mozart's Overture to The Magic Flute (1791) and his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major (1788), jewels from the composer's late period, crown this wonderful concert program recorded on the occasion of the Mozart Anniversary Year 2006.

Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt performs J. S. Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor for cello solo, BWV 1011. This performance was recorded at St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

On December 24, 2011, one of the world’s most renowned classical orchestras, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding. The film portrays the orchestra and its eventful history against the backdrop of Israel and the holocaust. Interwoven with individual biographies and archival footage, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s 75 years of history are brought back to life in concerts featuring Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman. We also get the opportunity to watch the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsals, concerts and on tour

Every year, the Berliner Philharmoniker commemorate their founding in 1883 with the Europa Konzert at a venue of cultural importance in a different European city. This year, the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton of internationally acclaimed conductor Gustavo Dudamel welcomes one of the world's leading young cellists, Gautier Capuçon. On the program are Johannes Brahms' Variations on a Theme by Haydn in B flat Major, Op. 56a; Joseph Haydn: Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in C Major Hob. VIIb: 1 and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. Filmed at the Spanische Hofreitschule, (Spanish Riding School), in Vienna, Austria.

Michelle Candotti (1996, Italy) 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.

Soprano Isabel Weller (Germany, 1994) and pianist Yuriko Watanabe (Japan, 1994) perform Claude Debussy’s Nuit d’étoiles, L. 2, and Mandoline, L. 43; Joseph Haydn’s Piercing eyes, Hob. XXVIa, No. 35; ‘Die Mainacht’ from Johannes Brahms’s Vier Gesänge, Op. 43; ‘Pietà’ from Paul Hindemith’s Das Marienleben, Op. 27; Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold; and ‘Lied vom Winde’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, 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.

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.

Bernard Haitink conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Easter Festival in Baden-Baden, 2015. On the program is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68. The composer wrote his Symphony No. 6 between 1802 and 1808. Nicknamed "Pastoral Symphony," this piece is one of the few examples of program music for the German composer. Unlike other Beethoven symphonies, this piece has not four, but five movements, each with a programmatic title.

Quarteto Radamés Gnattali performs Heitor Villa-Lobos's String Quartet No. 3 at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janiero, Brasil. The ensemble was founded in 2006 and consists of Carla Rincón and Francisco Roa (violins), Fernando Thebaldi (viola), and Hugo Pilger (cello). The quartet, which specializes in Brazilian music, focuses on educational activities. Their recording of all of Villa-Lobos string quartets is a major achievement and was very well received by international music critics. Except for his Bachianas brasileiras, the performance of many of the Brazilian's compositions is limited to Latin America. Highly regarded as a composer, conductor and educator in his native country, Villa-Lobos has operas, symphonies, concertos, piano repertoire, choral music, and seventeen string quartets to his credit.

In the series Weer-klank, Pianoparels, ten pianists play short recitals at Quatre Mains Klaviercentrum, Ghent, recorded in November 2020. As part of the series, Yanna Penson performs a selection of Pieces for Piano (Klavierstücke) by Brahms: Op. 119, No. 1 & 2, Op. 76, No. 1 & 2. This is followed by a selection of piano works by Rachmaninoff: Etudes-Tableaux Op. 33, No. 1 & 2 and Moments Musicaux Op. 10, No. 3 and 4.