Schedule

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 1998 was held in a unique location: The Vasa museum in Stockholm which displays a 17th-century ship that capsized and sank during its maiden voyage in 1628. The ship measures 69 meters in length, 12 meters in width, and 1.210 tons in weight. It offers the perfect backdrop for the Berlin Philharmonic. Under the baton of Claudio Abbado, they perform melodies in tune with the maritime surroundings, such as the Overture to Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's symphonic fantasia The Tempest. The program also features Claude Debussy's Nocturnes. For the concert's main piece, discover a memorable and powerful impression of Giuseppe Verdi’s Quattro pezzi sacri. The orchestra is joined by the Swedish Radio Choir and the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir.

Austrian Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm in World War I. Disastrous for any man, but doubly so for one who was a pianist by profession. Wittgenstein did not intend to quit his trade and encouraged several composers to come up with a piano concerto for the left hand. Maurice Ravel honoured his request and wrote the ‘Concerto pour la main gauche’ for him. Wittgenstein was not too pleased with the piece, however: during the premiere in 1932 the pianist changed some passages because he thought they would benefit the piece, to the composer’s great displeasure. Sergey Prokofiev, by the way, also wrote Wittgenstein a concerto that he did not think good enough. He wrote to Prokofiev: ,,I thank you for the Concerto – I didn't understand a single note of it and shall not be playing it.” Wittgenstein stayed true to his word: he only performed Ravel’s piano concerto, never Prokofiev’s.

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.

German conductor Wolfgang Gönnenwein leads the Orchester der Ludwigsburger Schloßfestspiele and the Süddeutscher Madrigalchor Stuttgart in a performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms (1930). The composer included verses from Psalms 38, 39, and 150 from the Vulgate bible in Latin in his work, which was written for mixed chorus and orchestra. The three movements of the symphony are performed without break. Remarkable is the work’s unique orchestration, which leaves out violins, violas, and clarinets, as Stravinsky wanted to avoid a Romantic orchestral sound. This performance was recorded at the 1988 Ludwigsburger Schloßfestspiele.

Current holder of “Great Organ of the Notre Dame,” Olivier Latry began his musical career when he enrolled in Gaston Litaize’s organ class at the Academy of Saint-Maur at the age of 16. In 1985, at 23 years of age, Latry was awarded the post of one of four “titulaires des grands orgues” of Notre Dame, Paris. Besides enriching the musical world as an organist, improvisor and composer, Olivier Latry also works as a Professor of Organ at the Conservatoire de Paris. This performance of his, showcasing pieces of Bach, Vierne and Daquin, was recorded in 2015, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

During the New Year’s Gala 2010, the Berlin Philharmonic perform under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, whose infectious energy and exceptional artistry have made him one of the most sought-after conductors by orchestras and opera companies around the world. They welcome mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, who has become one of the world’s most famous singers within just a few years. On the program are various works by French composers, like Berlioz’ Le Carnival Romain, Overture, Op. 9 and D’Amour l’ardente flamme’ from La Damnation de Faust (Op. 24), Saint-Saëns’ ‘Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix’ and ‘Danse Bacchanale’ from his opera Samson et Dalila and the ‘Habanera’, ‘Seguidilla’ and ‘Chanson Bohème’ from Bizet’s Carmen. The concert concludes with de Falla’s Suite No. 2 from the ballet ‘El sombrero de tres picos’.

Pianist Anthony Ratinov (USA, 1997) performs Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, and Franz Schubert’s Fantasy in C major, Op. 15 D. 760 (Wandererfantasie), during the first 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.

Every year in late August, the renowned Early Music Festival takes place in the Dutch city of Utrecht. It is the world's largest festival focused on early music, attracting an audience of over 70 thousand visitors. Due to the corona pandemic, the 2020 edition of the festival took place in an alternative form, offering an alternative program that included live concerts as well as daily livestreams of concerts and archive recordings. As part of this festival edition, Lucie Horsch (recorder) and Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya (harpsichord) perform several suites and sonatas. On the program are Charles François Dieupart’s Suite V in F, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata, BWV 1035, a selection of preludes from Jacques Hotteterre’s L’art de Préluder, François Couperin’s Concert Royal IV, and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier’s Sonata in e, Op. 91 nr. 4. This concert was recorded at St. Gertrude's Chapel in Utrecht on August 31, 2020.

Claudio Abbado: The Silence that Follows the Music offers a unique insight into the dedication of one of the world's greatest conductors: Claudio Abbado. Through the eyes of musicians, singers, soloists, and opera producers from several orchestras, this film conveys an intensely moving view of this highly gifted musician and committed conductor. The program includes footage of rehearsals and performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, as well as statements from friends and colleagues including Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, and Maximilian Schell.

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 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op. 36. The composer wrote the symphony between 1877 and 1878, and dedicated it to Nadezhda von Meck – an exceptionally wealthy widow and great admirer of Tchaikovsky’s music, whom the composer described as ‘my best friend’. Tchaikovsky explained in his letters that the symphony is characterization of the nature of fate. The work opens with a powerful motif in the horns and bassoons representing fate. The second movement expresses melancholy, whereas the third presents ‘fleeting images that pass through the imagination when one has begun to drink a little wine’. Although the ‘fate’ motif reappears toward the end of the final movement, the movement has a festive character. This performance was recorded at La Cité de la musique in Paris in 2016.

Mikhail Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) in a performance of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 with Lucas Debargue as the soloist. The concert opens with a selection of music by Georges Bizet based on Alphonse Daudet's play 'L'Arlésienne'. The music is compiled by Mikhail Pletnev. The first movement of Ravel's Piano Concerto No. 1 contains five distinctive themes, of which three are reminiscent of jazz. Debargue's performance of Ravel's concerto is followed by Gabriel Fauré's Barcarolle No. 4. The performance was recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow as part of the Ninth RNO Grand Festival.

Over the course of eleven days in August 2020, the French town of Rocamadour hosted the fifteenth edition of Festival de Rocamadour, a music festival dedicated to sacred music from the classical, baroque, and romantic periods. On August 25, the French soprano Laetitia Corcelle led her vocal ensemble La Sportelle for a performance of sacred music and motets at the atmospheric medieval Basilique Saint-Sauveur. Mezzo soprano Anne Bertin-Hugault opens the concert with solo performances of a selection of one-thousand-year-old works by Hildegard von Bingen: O Pastor Animarum, O nobilissima viriditas, Spiritus Sanctus, O Splendidissima Gemma, Caritas, Rex Noster, and lastly Alleluia! O virga mediatrix. Then Bertin-Hugault is joined by Cédric Baillergau (bass), Steve Zheng (tenor), and soprano Laetitia Corcelle for more modern and even contemporary material: Northern Lights and Ubi caritas by the Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo, Ubi caritas by the French composer Christoper Gibert, and Adoro te by the French composer Mel Bonis stem from our own day and age. The program continues with Anton Bruckner's Christus factus est, Gioachino Rossini's O salutaris hostia, Charles Gounod's Les Sept Paroles de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ sur la Croix, and then comes to an end with Johannes Brahms's O Heiland, Reiß.

Hartmut Haenchen conducts the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Dutch National Opera in a production of Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold, the first opera of the four-part cycle 'Der Ring des Nibelungen'. Richard Wagner, perhaps the greatest innovator of the opera genre in the nineteenth century, aimed for the creation of a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ in which theatre, music and words are united. The opera cycle was composed between 1853 and 1874, and consists of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Noteworthy about Wagner's operas is his use of the so-called ‘Leitmotiv’, a recurrent melodic motif that stands for a certain idea or character. Moreover, Wagner uses unconventional harmonies and very extensive orchestral instrumentation. The entire cycle is still performed annually at the Bayreuth Festival, where it premiered in 1876. This 2014 performance was recorded at Het Muziektheater Amsterdam under the artistic direction of Pierre Audi. Among the soloists are Thomas Johannes Mayer, Vladimir Baykov, Marcel Reijans, Stefan Margita, and Werner van Mechelen.

We live in a "renaissance of the piano”, as the New York Times has recently put it. With virtuosic flair and an eagerness to expand the repertoire, a new generation of pianists has revitalized the instrument’s appeal. In addition to the usual classics, they perform formerly scorned works or discover neglected composers. Legato is a series dedicated to presenting some of this new movement's most fascinating pianists – their individual approaches, their fresh ideas and their music. Each episode portrays an artist and shows an aspect of the world of the piano. The sum of these portraits provides viewers with an overall picture of the art of the pianist. Montréal native Marc-André Hamelin is internationally renowned for his musical virtuosity and refined pianism. The Times described one of his performances as “ultimate perfection”. He plays works by Haydn (Piano sonata in E major), Chopin (Piano sonata No. 3), Debussy (‘Préludes’, book two), Hamelin (Etude No. 7), as well as two short pieces by Gershwin (‘Do, Do, Do’ and ‘Liza’).

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. 8 in F major, Op. 93. Beethoven wrote the work in 1812 upon completion of his Symphony No. 7. The composer conducted the February 27, 1814 première at a concert in Vienna that also included a reprise performance of his Symphony No. 7 and his 15-minute orchestral piece Wellington’s Victory, Op. 91. The shortest of Beethoven’s nine symphonies, Symphony No. 8 lacks a truly slow movement. Instead it has a second movement, Allegretto scherzando, that features a steady ‘ticking’ rhythm maintained by the woodwinds throughout the movement. This is thought to be an imitation of the Andante movement of Joseph Haydn’s ‘Clock’ Symphony. Jordan’s performance was recorded at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, in 2015.

Baritone Arvid Fagerfjäll (Sweden, 1991) and pianist Hikaru Kanki (Japan, 1993) perform ‘Lust der Sturmnacht’ from Robert Schumann’s Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35; ‘Le diable dans la nuit’ from Henriëtte Bosmans’ Dix mélodies; Franz Schubert’s Totengräbers Heimweh, D. 842; ‘Die Vöglein’ and ‘Vor dem Schloss in den Bäumen es rauschend weht’ from Aribert Reimann’s Nachtstück; ‘Den första kyssen’ (The first kiss) from Jean Sibelius’s Five songs, Op. 37; ‘Ganymed’ from Hugo Wolf’s Goethe-Lieder; ‘Marc Chagall’ from Francis Poulenc’s Le travail du peintre, FP 161; ‘Le loup et l’agneau’ from André Caplet’s Trois fables de Jean de la Fontaine; and ‘Ballade des femmes de Paris’ from Claude Debussy’s Trois ballades de François Villon, L. 126, during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at De Verkadefabriek in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Yoichiro Chiba (Japan, 1997) performs Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Op. 16, Allegro energico, Spring Thaw, and Off-beat Waltz from John Burge’s Twenty-Four Preludes, Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in B minor, K. 87, and Russian Dance, Petrushka’s Room, and The Shrovetide Fair from Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka, during the finals of the 2021 Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal (CMIM). This performance was recorded at Kioi Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Claudio Abbado conducts the Berlin Philharmonic and soloist Gil Shaham in this performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto recorded at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo in 2002. The virtuoso violinist Henryk Wieniawsi found the work unplayable. His colleague Pablo de Sarasate did not want to play it because he refused to listen to the oboe solo with his violin in his hand. Conductors Hans von Bülow and Joseph Hellmesberger reportedly said it was a "work against violin" rather than a "work for violin". Although never unanimous, Brahms' work is now part of the standard repertoire. Brahms composed it in 1878 for his friend Joseph Joachim, who performed it for the first time on New Year's Day 1879 in Leipzig.

The opera ‘Mariken in the Garden of Earthly Delights,’ to music by Calliope Tsoupaki, is based on the miracle play 'Mariken van Nieumeghen' (c. 1515). Over five centuries, this old story hasn’t lost a bit of its power and is unquestionably part of the canon of Dutch culture. In this opera, we follow the curious but vulnerable Mariken on a journey through a dark world. She encounters intriguing characters, such as a witchlike aunt, a seductive devil, and an inquisitorial pope. The ASKO|Schönberg and the Tetraktys Ensemble are under the musical direction of Hernán Schvartzman. Main soloists are Hannah Hoekstra (Mariken), Harry van der Kamp (Uncle), Jill Feldman (Aunt), Julian Podger (Moenen), and Michael Chance (Pope). Staged by Serge van Veggel, and directed by Sonia Herman Dolz. Recorded at the Royal Theater in The Hague, in 2015.

Mikhail Pletnev leads the Russian National Orchestra in a performance of Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2. The Suite No. 2 encompasses the third and final act of the ballet ‘Daphnis et Chloé’, which Ravel completed in 1912. The Suite consists of the sections ‘Lever du jour’, ‘Pantomime’, and ‘Danse générale’. This performance was recorded at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, in 2018.

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) composed 13 symphonic poems, largely inspired by literary texts. The composer himself wrote piano duet arrangements for these pieces, showcasing his incredible ability of imitating a full orchestra on the piano. Liszt, one of the 19th century’s most important piano virtuosos, strongly influenced the further development of piano music. The Romantic period was the era of the virtuoso pianists: the piano was the instrument of choice for countless musicians and listeners alike. No house of standing could do without a piano: it was a status symbol. Piano music was played in concert halls, palaces, salons, churches and public houses alike. Liszt’s symphonic poem no. 4, ‘Orpheus’, breathes a meditative atmosphere. No. 3, ‘Les Préludes’, is best known in its symphonic version – the piano version presented here is rarely heard. The work dates back to the period 1848 – 1854 and was initially meant to serve as introduction to a choral cycle to be based on the texts of the poet Joseph Autran, ‘Les quatre éléments’: earth, air, water and fire. In this broadcast, the Italian piano duo of Marco Sollini and Salvatore Barbatano performs these Liszt piano works. These recordings were made at the beautiful 12th century church of San Marco in the small but picturesque village of Ponzano di Fermo, as part of the 2015 edition of the annual, itinerant festival ‘Armonie della sera’ in the Italian province of Le Marche.