Schedule

The dramatic events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, in which approximately 3000 Protestants were murdered by Catholics, forms the setting for this historical ‘grand opera’ by Giacomo Meyerbeer. Protestant Raoul is in love with Catholic Valentine: an impossible love. Religion is not the only matter that keeps the two lovers apart, as Valentine has been promised to the Catholic Comte de Nevers, his enemy... This work enjoyed an incredible popularity after it premiered, but suffered oblivion shortly after. This production of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1991) marks a triumphant comeback for this timeless work, presented in a contemporary setting. Soloists: Angela Denning (Margarethe von Valois), Lucy Peacock (Valentine), Richard Leech (Raoul von Nangis), Hartmut Welker (Graf von Saint-Bris), Camille Capasso (Urban), Martin Blasius (Marcel). Conductor: Stefan Soltesz. Directed by John Dew.

Every year, the Europakonzert is hosted by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a notorious concert hall or on a special location. This years concert is performed at the magnificent Royal Albert Hall in London. The Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink starts with Tchaikovsky's Fantasy Overture from "Roméo et Juliette". The second piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is his famous Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major K. 216 played by the German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann. During his career he played with a lot of famous orchestras and conductors such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons. He has a great passion for chamber music and plays a lot of recitals with the Italian pianist Enrico Pace. The concert closes with Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which he wrote in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. The première caused a lot of sensation and near-riot in the audience because of the avant-garde nature, music and choreography of the piece. The Rite of Spring is now considered as one of the masterpieces of classical music history and has influenced many 20th-century music composers. The encore is Tchaikovsky's Flower Waltz from the Nutcracker.

French lutenist Thomas Dunford performs various works for lute by J. S. Bach in this intimate chamber music concert, recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, in 2017. On the program are Suite for lute in G minor, BWV 995; Suite for solo cello in G major (arr. for lute), BWV 1007; and Chaconne from Partita for solo violin in D minor (arr. lute), BWV 1004. Paris-born lutenist Thomas Dunford (*1988) discovered the lute at the age of nine. He studied at the Conservatory of Paris and the Schola Cantorum in Basel, and participated in masterclasses with lutenists such as Rolf Lislevand and Julian Bream. He has made various solo and ensemble appearances at Europe’s most prestigious festivals.

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.

Soloist Aleksander Madzar and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Andre Previn join forces in a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27, KV 595, recorded at Vienna's Schönbrunn palace. In 1791, with his life cruelly and rapidly ending, Mozart once again turned to the compositional style which reflected his personality: the concerto for piano and orchestra. His last piano concerto, which turned out to be an uplifting composition, regales its audience with a lyrical children's song, invoking the joys of youth and springtime.

The Messiah (HWV 56) by Georg Frederich Handel, also known as “A New Sacred Oratorio”, tells the life and suffering of Christ: a story of passion, fire, and sacrifice. This is one of Handel's best-known works, which took only three weeks to compose this oratorio and its famous "Hallelujah". The work has immense popularity since its premiere in Dublin in 1742, and is often presented at Easter. This performance of the Dutch ensemble Ribattuta Musica under the direction of conductor Dick Duijst was filmed in the grand church of the city of Ermelo, the Netherlands, in 2016. The soloists are Elvire Beekhuizen (soprano), Rosina Fabius (viola), Oscar Verhaar (counter-tenor) Satriya Krisna (tenor), and Hans Voschezang (bass). Ribattuta Musica is a professional ensemble that delivers authentic performances based on current musical practices at the time of the composers.

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.

Pianist Gabriele Strata (Italy, 1999) performs Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, during the final round of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). Strata is accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Xian Zhang. This performance was recorded at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

Russian pianist Nikolay Lugansky has received world-wide praise for his interpretations of the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. In this wonderful recital, the great pianist presents works by the Russian Romantic composer as well as Ludwig van Beethoven and Alexander Glazunov. Lugansky opens his concert with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, ‘Moonlight’, followed by Alexander Glazunov’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 75. Then Lugansky performs a selection of works by Rachmaninoff: Rachmaninoff’s piano transcription of J. S. Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E major; a selection of Études-Tableaux (Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 8, Op, 33, and Nos. 5 and 6, Op. 39); Lilac (Op. 21, No. 5); Prelude in C minor, Op. 23 No. 7; and Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Lullaby (Op. 16 No. 1). This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on June 4, 2021.

For this exceptional recital, recorded in 2019 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Camille (cello) and Julie Berthollet (violin) are accompanied by pianist Guillaume Vincent and the Ensemble Appassionato under the direction of Mathieu Herzog. The two musical sisters have chosen a repertoire which crosses genres and eras to explore the expressive palette of the violin and cello, from the baroque of Vivaldi to the jazzy notes of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grapelli. Among the works on the program are Brahms Hungarian Dances No. 5 and No. 6, Karl Jenkins' Palladio, 'Theme from Forrest Gump' by Alan Silvestri, Schumann's Piano Quintet, Op. 44, The Red Violin by Corigliano, Hungarian Rhapsody, op. 68 by Popper, Minor Swing by Reinhardt/Grappeli and Csárdás by Monti.

Concert recorded at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, Sony Auditorium in Madrid on March 15th, 2019. Béla Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17, Sz 67 BB 75 I. Moderato II. Allegro molto capriccioso III. Lento Gyldfeldt Quartett Gyldfeldt Magnusson, violin I Jonas Reinhold, violin II Sarah Rösel, viola Anna Herrmann, cello Johannes Brahms: String Quartet No. 3 in B flat major, Op. 67 I. Vivace II. Andante III. Agitato - Allegretto non troppo IV. Poco allegretto con variazioni Barbican Quartet Amarins Wierdsma, violin I Tim Crawford, violin II Christoph Slenczka, viola Yoanna Prodanova, cello Sergey Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92 'on Kabardinian themes' I. Allegro sostenuto II. Adagio III. Allegro Eliot Quartet Maryana Osipova, violin I Alexander Sachs, violin II Dmitry Khakhalin, viola Michael Preuss, cello Performers: Eliot Quartet, consisting of Maryana Osipova (violin I), Alexander Sachs, (violin II), Dmitry Khakhalin (viola) and Michael Preuss (cello)

Conrad van Alphen conducts Sinfonia Rotterdam, the Octopus Symphonic Choir, and four vocal soloists in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 at De Doelen, Rotterdam, in 2019. Van Alphen founded Sinfonia Rotterdam in 2000. Under his passionate leadership, this orchestra has developed into one of the Netherland's best-known orchestras. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is widely considered Beethoven’s greatest composition. He completed this symphony in 1824, when he was almost completely deaf. This symphony is unique, since Beethoven included a choir and vocal soloists in the last movement, in which he set parts of Friedrich Schiller's poem “Ode an die Freude” (“Ode to Joy”) to music. The symphony consists of four movements: Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso, Molto vivace, Adagio molto e cantabile, and Finale. The four vocal soloists are Gulnara Shafigullina (soprano), Claire Barnett-Jones (mezzosoprano), Matthew Newlin (tenor), and Frederik Bergman (baritone).