00:00
Thomas - Hamlet
Hamlet is a grand opera in five acts by the French composer Ambroise Thomas (1811-1896), with a libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. It is based on a French adaptation by Alexandre Dumas and Paul Meurice of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Thomas’ operas Mignon (1866) and Hamlet (1868) were largely neglected during the 20th century but experienced somewhat of a revival over the last decades. In this performance, staged by Serge van Veggel, The New European Ensemble is led by conductor Hernán Schvartzman. Main soloists are Quirijn de Lang (Hamlet), Lucie Chartin (Ophélie), Martijn Sanders (Claudius), Martina Prins (Gertrude), Jan-Willem Schaafsma (Laertes), and Patrick Pranger (Horatio). This performance was recorded at the Royal Theatre in The Hague, in April 2018.
02:21
Sir Neville Marriner - Mozart Concert from Lugano
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.
03:32
Mozart Symphony No. 34 & Dvořák Symphony No. 7
Maestro Iván Fischer leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a remarkable concert program of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonín Dvořák. Mozart’s Symphony No. 34 in C major, K. 338 opens the program. Completed in the summer of 1780, this was the last symphony Mozart wrote in Salzburg, where he worked as a court musician. The three-movement symphony features two vibrant outer movements with fanfares and rousing themes, while the quieter second movement is scored for strings alone, deviating from the typical four-movement structure of the time. Next on the program is Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, completed in March 1885 and premiered one month later in London conducted by the composer himself. With its dramatic and dark style, this symphony stands in stark contrast to the predominantly optimistic tone of Dvořák’s broader oeuvre. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, on January 29, 2021.
04:37
Tchaikovsky - Overture-Fantasy Romeo and Juliet
Conrad van Alphen conducts Sinfonia Rotterdam in a performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Overture-Fantasy “Romeo and Juliet”. Van Alphen founded Sinfonia Rotterdam in 2000. Under his passionate leadership, this orchestra has developed into one of the Netherland’s best-known orchestras. Tchaikovsky based his composition on Shakespeare’s famous play “Romeo and Juliet”. After finishing a first version of Romeo and Juliet in 1870, Tchaikovsky rewrote sections of the composition twice, completing the third and final version ten years later. The Overture-Fantasy opens with a slow introduction, primarily led by the clarinets and bassoons. The composition is dominated by its famous love theme, representing the love between Romeo and Juliet. This beautiful theme is introduced in the first half of the piece, played by the English horn and violas, and recurs in different sections of the composition. At the end, the love theme is heard in minor mode, which emphasized the tragic element of the story of the two lovers.
06:00
De Falla - El sombrero de tres picos
Spanish conductor Garcia Navarro leads the Radio Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart in a performance of Manuel de Falla’s El sombrero de tres picos (‘The three-cornered hat’). Originally a ballet score, De Falla composed the piece in 1916 and 1917. The ballet was commissioned by Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes, and saw its premiere at the London Alhambra Theatre in 1919. As De Falla was interested in traditional Spanish folk music, he included elements of this music in his score. The mezzo-soprano’s parts are examples of cante jondo, a vocal style in flamenco. In this performance, recorded in 1988, mezzo-soprano Paloma Pérez Iñigo handles those vocal parts with conviction.
06:48
Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
For this truly unique, historic occasion, Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins conducts The World Orchestra for Peace and around 2,000 singers from nearly 30 countries to Sing for Peace at the Berlin's Mercedes Benz Arena on November 2, 2018. Soloists are vocalists Leah-Marian Jones, Yumeji Matsufuji, Pauline Rathmann, Amir Aziz, violinist Krzysztof Wisniewski and cellist Valentino Worlitzsch. The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is the most performed work by any living composer. This performance is the largest ever staged, and was uniquely performed in synchronization with a specially commissioned war-archive film that reinforces the narrative of the work – the build up to war, war itself, and the consequences of war. Projected on to five giant screens, the film delivers a poignant backdrop to the moving musical narration providing the audience with a powerful and emotional multimedia experience.
07:58
Walton's Viola Concerto & Brahms's Symphony No. 4
British conductor Robin Ticciati conducts the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in a performance of William Walton’s Viola Concerto and Johannes Brahms's Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. When the young Walton premiered his Viola Concerto in 1927, it caused a Europe-wide sensation: a composer in his twenties, taking a neglected instrument and writing for it with unprecedented imagination and power. Viola virtuoso Antoine Tamestit features as the soloist in this Concerto. Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 would be the composer’s last – but every note burns with creative fire. This concert, which unites youthful genius with music drawn from a profound engagement with life, was recorded at LSO St. Luke’s on Old Street in London, UK, on October 14, 2021.
09:19
CMIM Piano 2024 – First Round: Xiaoxuan Li
Pianist Xiaoxuan Li (China, 2001) performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Allegro in D major, K. 626b/16; Johannes Brahms’s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24; and Sarabande of George Frideric Handel’s Suite No. 7 in B-flat major, HWV 440, 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.
10:03
Penderecki - Symphony No. 7: 7 Gates of Jerusalem
The 2017 Prague Spring festival is brought to a powerful close as Krzysztof Penderecki conducts the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Slovak Philharmonic Choir in a performance of his monumental seventh symphony "Seven Gates of Jerusalem". This work bears witness to an introspective thought about faith, written in honour of the city of Jerusalem, for soloists, choir and orchestra, with libretto taken from Old Testament. For expressive purposes, Penderecki uses specific instruments: the tubaphone, percussive objects designed by the composer himself, and the shofar, an ancient Jewish liturgical instrument. Soloists for this performance include Iwona Hossa (soprano), Karolina Sikora (soprano), Anna Lubanska (mezzo-soprano), Adam Zdunikowsk (tenor), Piotr Nowacki (bass) and David Švehlík (speaker). Also featured in the programme is a rendition of the "Serenade for Orchestra" by Czech composer Isa Krejci. Recorded at Smetana Hall in Prague, Czech Republic.
11:35
Mosaïque Project - Canadian Piano Quartets
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.
12:39
Stingray Originals - Seljan Nasibli
Azerbaijan-born artist Seljan Nasibli moved to England at an early age, where she was encouraged to take up music. Although Nasibli chose to sing jazz, her Oxford teachers heard an operatic tendency in her voice and advised to train classically. Nasibli completed her studies at The Royal College of Music, where she graduated with a master's degree in Vocal Performance. In this episode of Stingray Originals, Nasibli performs three of Giacomo Puccini's most beautiful arias: 'Signore, ascolta!' and 'Tu, che di gel sei cinta' from the opera Turandot, and 'Quando m'en vo' (Musetta's Waltz) from the opera La bohème.
13:01
Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 23, KV 488
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.
13:30
Haydn - Symphony No. 45 'Farewell'
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.
14:05
Niccolò Jommelli - Requiem
In 1754, Jommelli took up the position of “Ober-Kapellmeister” at the ducal court of Stuttgart. There he wrote not only operas, serenatas and pastorales but also religious music for special occasions. One example is his Requiem, a musical farewell to the mother of Jommelli’s patron. Counterpoint German style, French ornamentation, and Italian drama come together in this unique blend, which clearly bears Naples’ signature.
14:56
Mahler - The Youth Wunderhorn
The Youth Wunderhorn songs are a set of 12 orchestral lieder by Mahler, based on folk poems from the collection by Arnim and Brentano, blending romanticism with folk elements and exploring human experience with authenticity and profound emotional depth. The songs draw from German folk traditions, incorporating themes of nature, love, and soldier life, often with a dramatic or poignant quality.
16:00
Mahler - Symphony No. 8
Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8. The work is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire and is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand." The work was composed at Mahler's Maiernigg villa in southern Austria in the summer of 1906 and is the last work which was premiered in Mahler's lifetime. Soloists include Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano), Sofia Fomini (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland (alto), Olesya Petrova (alto), Stefan Vinke (tenor), Russel Braun (baritone), and Günther Groissböck (bass). Among the participating choirs are the Danish National Concert Choir, MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. Recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.
17:35
Works for lute by J. S. Bach
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.
