Schedule

Frédéric Chaslin leads the Orchestre Symphonique Région Centre-Val de Loire/Tours and the Choir of Opéra de Tours in a performance of Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera Don Pasquale (1842). Featuring a cast of the most famous singers of the day, Don Pasquale premiered at the Parisian Salle Ventadour in 1843. It was an immediate success, being performed in the great opera houses of Europe within a year after its premiere. The work’s libretto is largely written by Giovanni Ruffini, as well as by the composer himself. It tells the hilarious story of the old, wealthy bachelor Don Pasquale, who is outraged when hearing his nephew Ernesto wishes to marry the impoverished widow Norina. Consequently, Pasquale decides to disinherit his nephew by marrying himself. His friend Malatesta and Norina, however, make up a plan to thwart the old bachelor, arranging a mock marriage. Among the soloists are Laurent Naouri (Don Pasquale), Florian Sempey (Malatesta), Sébastien Droy (Ernesto), Anne-Catherine Gillet (Norina), and François Bazola (notary). This performance was recorded at Opéra de Tours, in 2021.

The 1997 edition of the Waldbühne concert is dedicated to Russian composers. The Berliner Philharmoniker, directed by Zubin Mehta, kicks off the evening with the opening of Mikhail Glinka's opera Ruslan and Ludmila, after which Daniel Barenboim takes center stage to perform Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Chopin's Waltz in D flat major, op. 64 No. 1. The evening then pays homage to Mussorgsky with the prelude Khovanshchina and Gopak, taken from The Fair at Sorotchinsky. The orchestra also interprets Flight of the Bumblebee and Capriccio Espagnol, op. 34 from Rimsky-Korsakov. As is tradition, the Berliner Philharmoniker closes this Waldbühne concert with Paul Lincke's Berliner Luft.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 2 in G major, Op. 18, No. 2; String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135; and String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. This concert was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on December 16, 2020.

The Quarteto Radamés Gnattali performs Heitor Villa-Lobos' String Quartet No. 13. The quartet, existing of Carla Rincón (violin), Francisco Roa (violin), Fernando Thebaldi (viola) and Hugo Pilger (cello), was founded in 2006 and is specialised in Brazilian music and educational activities. Their recording of the complete set of Villa-Lobos string quartets is a major achievement and was very well received by the international music press. Except for the Bachianas Brasileiros Heitor Villa-Lobos is little known outside Latin America. Not only a composer but also a highly regarded conductor and educationist in his native Brazil, Villa-Lobos has operas, symphonies, concertos, piano and choral music as well as 17 String Quartets to his credit. Recorded at the Theatro Municipal, Rio de Janiero, Brasil.

Jeffrey Tate conducts the English Chamber Orchestra in a performance of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony No. 41 (K. 551). This symphony is the last of a set of three that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. The symphony is known for its humour, exuberant energy and grand scale for a symphony of this period, hence its nickname “Jupiter”. Generally, Mozart composed from commissions, but scholars have found no indication of this for the 41st Symphony. It could well be Mozart composed the work in the hopes of selling them or presenting them in a concert in Vienna. Directed by János Darvos.

Violinist Kristof Barati and Pianist Lucas Debargue pair for the first time in a duo concert at the 25th anniversary edition of the Swiss Verbier Festival in 2018. Although this was their inaugural collaboration, the two young artists found a perfect understanding around this romantic programme. The two featured works were written very few years apart from one another (Brahms’ first sonata for violin and piano in 1879 and Franck’s sonata in A in 1886). The Brahms sonata was recorded by Kristof Barati a few years ago, while Franck’s is known to be a favourite of Lucas Debargue. The virtuoso piano part suits his gigantic hands and the fantasy of the third movement his love for improvisation. The cyclic form and the many echoes between the piano and violin parts unite the two artists, like accomplices in possession of the best assets to bring in all the emotion these romantic works have to offer. The listener is suddenly in a position to re-discover the scores and cannot but join the admiration marks that escape from the audience in between the movements. A very moving performance which deserves its benchmark status.

The legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989) won his first praise on his interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto from the composer himself. When Rachmaninoff heard the young Kiev-born pianist play his work shortly after Horowitz's arrival in New York in 1928, he exclaimed: "He swallowed it whole." Fifty years later, on September 24, 1978, Horowitz electrified his audience once again with this monumental work. Accompanied by the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, he gave a special performance of this work as part of the celebrations honoring his U.S. debut 50 years earlier. His unforgettable account was recorded live on video and broadcast simultaneously throughout the United States. It was the last time Horowitz played the Third in his lifetime. The work itself, reverently called "Rach 3" by pianists brave enough to tackle its monstrous technical challenges, achieved international celebrity of a different kind in recent years.

Pianist Derek Wang (USA, 1998) performs Francis Poulenc’s Improvisation No. 1 in B minor, Nocturne No. 4 in C minor (Bal fantôme), and Improvisation No. 6 in B-flat major; Barbara Assiginaak’s Mzizaakok Miiniwaa Mzizaakoonsak (Horseflies and Deerflies); and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106 (Hammerklavier), during the solo recital of the two-part semi-final 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.

The Lucerne Festival Orchestra performs Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 under the direction of Claudio Abbado. This unique orchestra was formed as part of the annual festival in Lucerne, Switzerland.

This chamber music concert is part of the ‘Solistas del Siglo XXI’ concert series of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid. First, Quinteto Zéphyros performs Leoš Janáček’s Mládí (‘Youth’) for wind sextet. This is followed by French flautist Paul Taffanel’s Wind Quintet in G minor, performed by Quinteto Scarlatti de Casa de la Moneda. The program closes with Sergei Prokofiev’s Quintet in G minor, Op. 39, played by Quinteto Cosan. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Sony of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain, on May 11, 2024.

Directed in 2012 by Enrique Sánchez Lansch, the documentary The 12 Cellists follows the 12 cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1972, this group is a staple of the international musical universe. Whether they play classical music, jazz, tango or avant-garde music, these talented musicians invariably enthrall audiences with the wide range of unique and bewitching sounds they produce with their cellos. Their combination of seriousness and humor, depth, and lightness promises to captivate listeners of all ages.

Soprano Sophia Burgos (USA, 1991) and pianist Daniel Gerzenberg (Germany, 1991) perform ‘Ich esse nun mein Brod nicht trocken mehr’, ‘Wer rief dich den?’, ‘Schweig’ einmal still, du garst’ger Schwätzer dort!’, and ‘Wenn du, mein Liebster, steigst zum Himmel auf’ from Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch; ‘El paño moruno’ and ‘Nana’ from Manuel de Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas; ‘D’Anne jouant de l’espinette’ from Maurice Ravel’s Deux epigrammes de Clément Marot, M. 10; Igor Stravinsky’s The owl and the pussy-cat; ‘Agnes’ from Gerrit Isaac van Eijken’s Fünf Gedichte, Op. 11; ‘Die tote Braut’ from Joseph Marx’s Italienisches Liederbuch; ‘Herzeleid’ from Robert Schumann’s Sechs Gesänge, Op. 107; ‘Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant’ from Francis Poulenc’s Fiançailles pour rire, FP 101; and ‘Pause of the clock’ from George Crumb’s The yellow moon of Andalusia (Spanish songbook III), during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at De Verkadefabriek in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Director Carlus Padrissa created an astonishing avant-garde production of Joseph Haydn’s oratorio The Creation (Die Schöpfung), Hob. XXI:2 with internationally acclaimed Catalan theatre group La Fura dels Baus. This multimedia production presents the viewer with a continuous stream of imagery, text and spectacle, transforming the composer’s masterpiece into an immersive theatrical experience. The show utilizes huge helium-filled balloons, a stage crane, and singers submerged in an aquarium. In this performance, French conductor Laurence Equilbey leads her own insula orchestra and choir accentus. Vocal soloists are soprano Mari Eriksmoen, baritone Daniel Schmutzhard, and tenor Martin Mitterrutzner. This performance was recorded at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France, on May 12, 2017.