Schedule

Omer Meir Wellber leads the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro La Fenice in a performance of Vincenzo Bellini's tragic opera 'I Capuleti e i Montecchi'. Felice Romani's libretto is not based on William Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' but on Luigi Scevola's 1818 play 'Giulietta e Romeo'. Teatro La Fenice commissioned Vincenzo Bellini's opera for the Venetian Carnival of 1830. Bellini composed 'I Capuleti e i Montecchi' in just a month and a half, recycling material from his previous opera 'Zaira', which enjoyed little popular success. In this production, English-born soprano Jessica Pratt performs the role of Giulietta, and Italian mezzo-soprano Sonia Ganassi performs the role of Romeo. Among the other soloists are Rubén Amoretti, Shalva Mukeria, and Luca Dall'Amico. This performance was recorded at Teatro la Fenice di Venezia in Venice, Italy, on January 18, 2015.

The Waldbühne in Berlin is one of the most attractive outdoor amphitheatres in Europe and home to the Berliner Philharmoniker's summer concerts. With a 20, 000-seat capacity, these events are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. In 2003, Seiji Ozawa and the Berliner Philharmoniker perform works by George Gershwin with the jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and his Trio as special guests. Their album “Gershwin For Lovers” stayed in the Top 10 on Billboard’s jazz chart for half a year. Together they created a magical fusion of classical music and jazz bringing an imaginative mix of styles into the swing of Gershwin’s music.

Italian cellist and conductor Enrico Bronzi leads the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia in this intimate concert at the magnificent Basilica di San Pietro in the Italian city of Perugia, recorded on September 27, 2021. Opening the program is a cello performance by Bronzi with the Orchestra da Camera di Peruglia: the Andante cantabile from Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 13 in D major, Hob. I:13. Then, Italian pianists Linda Di Carlo and Marco Scolastra join the orchestra for a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E-flat major, K. 365. Next up is Mozart’s concert aria "Ch'io mi scordi di te? ... Non temer, amato bene", K. 505, sung by Italian mezzosoprano Marina Comparato. Accompanied by Linda Di Carlo on piano, she closes the concert with the aria “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Camille Saint-Saëns’s opera Samson and Delilah.

The Italian-Swiss ensemble Trio des Alpes, consisting of Hana Kotková (violin), Claude Hauri (cello), and Corrado Greco (piano), and the Orchestra da Camera di Mantova join forces in this performance of the Concertino for Piano Trio and String Orchestra, H. 232 by Czech composer Bohuslav Martin (1890-1959). Martin was a prolific composer, creating an oeuvre of almost 400 works. The four-movement Concertino was completed in 1933 and saw its first performance in 1936, by the Basler Kammerorchester under the baton of Paul Sacher. During the years 1931-1943, Martin wrote multiple concertante compositions. Many of these works were more or less influenced by the Baroque ‘concerto grosso’ form, in which a group of solo instruments is set against a large ensemble, a principle that appealed to the composer. This performance was recorded at Teatro Bibiena in Mantua, Italy, on January 21, 2016.

At St. Bartholomew Church in Dornheim, Germany, where composer Johann Sebastian Bach married his first wife Maria Barbara, renowned Dutch cellist Anner Bijlsma performs the composer's Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011. It is likely Bach wrote his collection of six Suites for unaccompanied cello during the years 1717-1723. His cello suites are an essential part of the cello repertoire, highlighting the instrument's manifold polyphonic possibilities. As customary in a Baroque suite, each movement is based on a dance type. Bach's Suite No. 5 opens with a prelude, and is followed by six dance movements, divided over five sections: an allemande, a courante, a sarabande, two gavottes, and a final gigue.

Venezuelan-born superstar pianist Gabriela Montero has been called the "queen of improvisation." Her visionary interpretations and unique improvisational gifts have won her a rapidly expanding and devoted following around the world. Ms. Montero, who often invites her audience to participate by asking for a melody for improvisations, will present a recital of classical masterpieces as well as present her artistry through her trademark improvisations.

On January 27, 2006, Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang celebrated WA Mozart's birthday with a performance of the Piano Concerto No. 24 in the Forbidden City Concert Hall of Beijing with the China Philharmonic Orchestram directed by Long Yu. The concert hall is located inside the walls of the Forbidden City, in the beautifully maintained gardens of Zhongshan Park, directly adjacent to Tiananmen Square. The program of the concert also includes the opening of Cosi fan tutte, Symphony No. 25, KV 183, "Hai gia came the causa!" from Le Nozze di Figaro, "Finch'han dal vino" from Don Giovannia, and Piano Sonata No. 10, K. 330.

Pianist Itamar Prag (Israel, 1994) performs Claude Debussy’s Estampes; Frédéric Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52; and Guido Agosti’s transcription of Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (Danse infernale, Berceuse, and Finale), 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.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester was founded in 1986 at the initiative of Claudio Abbado and has since become the world’s best youth orchestra. Named after the great composer, the programme is marked by the special relationship between the maestro and the young orchestra, as well as their special relationship to Gustav Mahler. Claudio Abbado is undeniably the supreme Mahler conductor of our time and his long-time association with this repertoire culminates in this stirring performance of Mahler’s last Symphony, written shortly before the composer’s untimely death. Recorded at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome 2004, the film vividly shows the joy, talent, and professionalism of the young musicians drawn from all over Europe and their devotion to Claudio Abbado. A wonderful homage to orchestra, conductor, composer and to a triumphant master work - Gustav Mahler’s magnificent 9th symphony.

In this splendid concert, exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a program for two pianos comprising works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Anton Arensky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Nikolai Kapustin. Both pianists, laureates of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994, have received international recognition. They perform regularly in a duo. On the program: Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448/375 A; Ravel’s La Valse (arr. for two pianos); Arensky’s Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 15; and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 (Fantasy) for two pianos, Op. 5. As an encore, the duo performs ‘Romance’ from Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, followed by ‘Overture’ from Nikolai Kapustin’s Sinfonietta, Op. 49. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.

Throughout the centuries, the Italian city of Naples has proved to have a remarkably favorable climate for artistic innovation. The presence of the royal or vice royal courts, the practice of music in churches, fraternities, and charitable institutions, financial support from well-to-do citizens, and the popularity of song and dance in public life made for an extraordinarily diverse musical landscape.

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.