Schedule

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.

In 1722, when Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Köthen, Germany, he published a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys. This collection became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, BWV 846–869. About two decades later, Bach compiled a second book in Leipzig, which became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book Two, BWV 870-893. Bach intended these pieces for the clavier, which includes the harpsichord, clavichord, and organ. Despite this unclarity, these pieces are regarded as some of the most important works in the history of Western classical music. In this broadcast, Angela Hewitt plays Preludes and Fugues Nos. 13 to 24 (BWV 882-893) from Book Two of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, recorded at Wartburg in Eisenach, Germany, in 2010.

Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst leads his Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 2 in D major, KV 131, and Arnold Schoenberg’s Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31, recorded at Severance Hall in Cleveland, USA. In addition, Welser-Möst takes a walk through ‘his’ Vienna, enlightening us on this musical capital that was home to both Mozart and Schoenberg. He contrasts the Divertimento No. 2, written by 16-year-old Mozart, with Variations for Orchestra, by the mature Schoenberg.

Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (Canada, 1999) performs Barbara Assiginaak’s Mzizaakok Miiniwaa Mzizaakoonsak (Horseflies and Deerflies); Ludwig van Beethoven’s Andante favori in F major, WoO 57; and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28, 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.

Watch the series ‘Discovering Masterpieces’, your audio-visual concert guide to the great masterpieces of classical music. The series brings you 20 half-hour documentaries on 20 classical masterpieces: acclaimed experts, famous soloists and outstanding conductors take you on a journey back to the time and place of composition. In today’s documentary, Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No. 5’ is discussed. The piece has the character of an appeal from the very start, when the four-note “fate” motif casts a spell on listeners. The German musicologist Armin Koch analyses the work, while the German Beethoven expert Wulf Konold illustrates the ingenious variations of the “fate” motif on piano, and also explains other features of this magnificent work.

The sheer number of recordings and monographs about Franz Schubert's song cycle ‘Winterreise’ alone testifies to its magnificence. Even so, specialists are still undecided whether this work truly constitutes a song cycle. Its 24 songs, settings of texts by the poet Wilhelm Müller, were published on two separate occasions: one in February 1827, and one in October 1827. However, the narrative of Müller's poems appears straightforward: a young man is rejected, and wanders off on an aimless journey in the midst of winter. The music's atmosphere is gloomy and downcast. In this performance, baritone Thomas Quasthoff performs Schubert’s song cycle accompanied by Daniel Barenboim on piano. This performance was recorded at the Philharmonie in Berlin, Germany.

Andreas Spering conducts Philharmonie Zuidnederland in a performance of "Overture Rosamunde" (D. 644), by Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Recorded in Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 2015. Schubert initially composed the Overture for Georg Ernst von hofmann's play 'Die Zauberharfe' ('The Magic Harp'), which premiered on August 19, 1820. Three years later, the overture was used again, this time for Helmina von Chézy's play Rosemunde. Chézy's (1783-1856) librettos enjoyed little succes, and it is said that Schubert's contribution to Rosamunde saved the production.

The 2017 Reate Festival in Rieti, Italy staged two short operas composed by Nino Rota. Known chiefly for his cinema soundtracks and his lifelong relationship with iconic directors such as Federico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppola and Luchino Visconti (to name but a few), Rota was a musical enfant prodige who composed sacred music as well as operas from a very young age. Endowed with a streak of freedom, creativity and imagination that allowed him to forge his own unique style, he succeeded in merging the great Italian operatic tradition of Rossini, Puccini and Verdi with a contemporary musical language, setting himself apart from his contemporaries in the process. I due timidi was broadcast by Milan’s RAI in 1950 and first staged in London in 1952. Based on a text by the Italian screen writer Suso Cecchi D’Amico, it’s a comedy of errors. Although it lacks the usual happy ending, the pace of the musical action and the skills of the young actor-singers make the performance most enjoyable. “The pace of the narration changes continuously: frenzied rhythms suddenly shift to broad vocal declamations à la Puccini, with interludes reminiscent of jazz and the buffo style. Despite the richness and heterogeneity of the musical material, the singers always manage to stay vocally balanced, showing great acting abilities, as well… Conductor Gabriele Bonolis and his orchestra received midperformance applause for an energetic, fresh and brilliant performance.” This version was performed by the Reate Festival Orchestra.

Henk de Graaf (clarinet), Daniël Wayenberg (piano), and Itamar Shimon (viola) perform Robert Schumann’s Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio, KV. 498. This performance was recorded at Franeker city hall, the Netherlands.

The Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the world’s finest orchestras, its fame stretching all the way to Japan. Unsurprisingly, this 2000 concert, recorded at Tokyo’s magnificent Suntory Hall, was a resounding success. Mariss Jansons conducts a beautiful program that includes Antonin Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8, Carl Maria von Weber’s Overture to Oberon, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto featuring star violinist Hilary Hahn (*1979)

Palestrina and Monteverdi were fans. The Gonzagas and the d’Estes were his employers. And the Marchioness of Padulla was his Neapolitan patroness. Thanks to his talents, Giaches De Wert moved from the region around Ghent where he was born to work in some of the most important Italian centres of Renaissance polyphony. He developed into an international star. The Belgian vocal ensemble Utopia sings his motets and Missa dominicalis.

The meeting between the French composer Hector Berlioz and the handsome actress Harriet Smithson sparked the inspiration for one of Berlioz’ most famous pieces. When Berlioz had seen Smithson perform a work by Shakespeare, he was instantly smitten with her. He sent her countless love letters, but she never reciprocated. Berlioz’ heart was broken, prompting him to compose his ‘Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties’ (‘Fantastical Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts’). The work tells the story of a young artist in the depths of despair, who attempts suicide because of an unrequited love. His attempt fails: the poison does not kill him; instead, it brings on hallucinations. This story is brought to life in Berlioz’ music performed by a large orchestra – which includes four harps and a bell – making it a revolutionary piece. Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique is performed here by the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (deFilharmonie), conducted by Jaap van Zweden. This 2008 performance was recorded in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp, Belgium.

Sir Simon Rattle leads the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and Chorus in a performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. The soloists are Iwona Sobotka (soprano), Anna Stephany (mezzo-soprano), Robert Murray (tenor), and Florian Boesch (baritone). Engineered with unmatched symphonic finesse, Beethoven set aside ruminations on fate and heroism to compose his utterly musical and wholly satisfying Ninth Symphony. It is a monumental work, renowned for its innovative use of a chorus and vocal soloists in the final movement, singing a setting of Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy". Premiered in 1824, it remains one of the most performed and recognizable pieces of classical music. This performance was recorded at Barbican Hall in London, on February 16, 2020.

In May and June 2021, Argentinian star pianist Martha Argerich celebrated her 80th birthday performing at Château de Chantilly, France. In this concert, recorded at the festival Les Coups de Cœur de Chantilly, Argerich is joined by three musicians who are particularly close to her heart: cellist Mischa Maisky, violinist Maxim Vengerov, and pianist Iddo Bar-Shaï. They perform with the orchestra Les Siècles under the baton of Romanian-Austrian conductor Ion Marin. The concert opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56, with Argerich, Vengerov, and Maisky as soloists. Written in 1803, it is Beethoven’s only concerto for more than one solo instrument. This is followed by Camille Saint-Saëns’s musical suite The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux), featuring Argerich and Bar-Shaï as the pianists. This musical suite from 1886 consists of 14 movements, each depicting a different animal. The work was published posthumously in 1922, as Saint-Saëns was concerned that his animal miniatures, full of delightful jokes, might damage his reputation as a serious composer. This performance was recorded at Château de Chantilly, on May 4, 2021.

The Rina Sala Gallo International Piano Competition takes place every two years in the Italian city of Monza. Founded in 1947 by Monza-born pianist Rina Sala Gallo and Brescia-born pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, the competition is one of Monza’s most prestigious cultural events today. This broadcast featuring the three finalists’ best performances from the competition’s 26th edition, were recorded at the Villa Reale di Monza in October 2022. First, Young Sun Choi (South Korea, 1991) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 106. After, Seunghyuk Na (South Korea, 1997) plays ‘Oiseaux tristes’ and ‘Alborada del gracioso’ from Maurice Ravel’s five-movement suite Miroirs. Next, Ivan Bašić (Serbia, 1996) performs Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Lastly, Choi returns for a performance of Claude Debussy’s Images (Book I).

In this compilation of enchanting choreographies by George Balanchine, the New York City Ballet pays tribute to the man who founded the dance company in 1948 together with Lincoln Kirstein. Featured are "Walpurgisnacht Ballet", choreographed for a 1975 production of Faust by the Théâtre National de l’Opéra, "Sonatine", which was presented as the opening ballet of the New York City Ballet Ravel Festival during the 1975 Spring Season, "La Valse", created by Balanchine in 1951 to compositions by Maurice Ravel, and "Symphony in C (Le Palais de Christal)" to the music of George Bizet's rediscovered piece. For the latter, Balanchine required only two weeks to choreograph it for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947, where he was serving as a guest ballet master. This compilation, recorded 2016 marks the return of the New York City Ballet to the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, after eight years of absence.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra in a performance of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. The work occupies a singularly important place in the composer's output. It was with this piece that Bruckner finally achieved widespread recognition and it has remained one of his most popular works. The symphony adheres to the classical four-movement format. The heart of the work is a long and deeply felt Adagio, composed as a memorial to Wagner. The first movement begins with a soaring theme announced by cellos. The Scherzo relieves the somber atmosphere of the preceding Adagio and the Finale concludes the symphony on a note of unrestrained joy. Recorded in Severance Hall, Cleveland in 2008.

Soprano Heidi Baumgartner (Austria, 1998) and pianist Asuka Tagami (Japan, 1991) perform Franz Schubert’s Suleika I, Op. 14 No. 1, D. 720; ‘Er ist’s’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder; Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold; ‘Sua katselen’ (Looking at you) from Kaija Saariaho’s Leino-Laulut (Leino songs); and ‘Pantomime’ and ‘Apparition’ from Claude Debussy’s Quatre chansons de jeunesse, during the semi-finals of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Het Noordbrabants Museum in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Pianist Michelle Candotti (Italy, 1996) joins the CMIM ensemble, consisting of three principal strings players of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, in a performance of the first movement, Sostenuto assai – Allegro ma non troppo, of Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47. This performance took place during the chamber music round of the two-part semi-final of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). It was recorded at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.