00:00
Massenet - Don Quichot
You are watchting the opera Don Quichot by Jules Massenet by the choir and orchestra of La Monnaie, Brussels. The conductor is Marc Minskowski
01:54
Europakonzert 2007 - Berlin
The 2007 Europa-Konzert takes place in Berlin, on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Under the theme "The Year 1882", the acclaimed orchestra is lead by conductor Sir Simon Rattle as it interprets Brahms’ “Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra”, his Fourth Symphony and Wagners’ “Prelude to Act I” from Parsifal - the piece that marked the orchestra's first recorded work of September 1913 under the baton of Alfred Hertz. The soloists are Lisa Batiashvili (violin) and Truls Mørk (cello), established as sought-after young virtuosos and appearing regularly with leading orchestras and in recitals throughout the world. The “Kraftwerk und Kabelwerk Oberspree (power and cable factory)”, the remarkable venue of this concert, is one of the most impressive historical industrial building from the late 19th century in Berlin. As its impressive presence is infused with Brahms and Wagner, there is an air of total commitment, only enhanced further by the unusual surroundings. The collaboration of Lisa Batiashvili and Truls Mørk ensures a moving performance of Brahms’s last orchestral work, his Double Concerto. Following this, Rattle and the orchestra continue to demonstrate their outstanding musicianship, delivering Wagner's amazingly fresh and dynamic Fourth Symphony.
03:38
Monteverdi - Vespro della beata vergine
In ca. 1600, composer Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) wrote new works for choir and soloists. In this period, Monteverdi combined traditional styles with newer ones, such as the madrigal and liturgical compositions. These compositions became an enormous success, cementing the composer’s reputation as one of the important figures in Baroque music. His example set the standard for all significant religious Baroque music styles, such as the oratorio, the cantata, and the passion. Actively combining various styles was not only put into practice in religious music, but also in opera. A great example of combined styles is the work ‘Vespro della beata vergine’ (ca. 1610), also known as the ‘Vespers for the Blessed Virgin’. Vespers like these were performed mainly in Roman-Catholic churches.
Soloists: Dorothee Blotzki-Mields, Katharine Fuge, Mark Padmore, Jan Kobow, Furio Zanasi, Dominik Wörner.
05:04
Haydn - Symphony No. 94, Hob. I:94
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 94 in G major "Surprise". Berliner Philharmoniker; conductor: Mariss Jansons. The European Concert has been a tradition of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1991. The musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding on May 1st, 1882, playing in different European cities. This concert was recorded in the church "Hagia Eirene" in Istanbul, Turkey.
06:00
Mozart - String Quartet No. 19
From the Barockschloss in Rammenau the Gewandhaus-Quartett plays Mozart’s String Quartet No. 19 in C-major, KV. 465. This work is nicknamed "Dissonance" due to its unusual slow introduction with dissonant notes before the harmony resolving in the key of C-major, starting the bright Allegro section. It is perhaps the most famous of Mozart’s quartets and the last of a set of six quartets composed between 1782 and 1785 which the composer dedicated to colleague and friend Joseph Haydn. The Gewandhaus-Quartett is the longest established string quartet in the world. Founded in 1808, it can be seen as a remarkable part of the western history of music, having continued its concert activity uninterrupted from generation to generation with great success for almost 200 years. In this performance, it consists of Frank Michael Erben (1st violin), Conrad Suske (2nd violin), Volker Metz (viola), Jürnjakob Timm (cello) and Steffen Adelmann (doublebass).
06:32
J. S. Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV 232
In this concert, Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Kammerchor for the last time as the Gewandhaus Music Director at the Leipzig Bachfest 2005. After seven successful years in Leipzig, the maestro performs J. S. Bach's Mass in B minor (BWV 232), one of the greatest works of church music ever written. Soloists are Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Anna Larsson (alto), Christoph Genz (tenor), and Dietrich Henschel (bass). The mass is a musical setting of the complete Ordinary of the Latin Mass and is one of last compositions Bach completed, just one year before his death, in 1750. Blomstedt's reading of the work is conceived and executed on the highest level with the performance pulsating with life. Since 1999, the Leipzig Bachfest has been regarded as the world’s leading festival celebrating the music of Bach.
08:30
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3,Op 30
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.
09:25
CMIM Piano 2024 - Final: Anthony Ratinov
Pianist Anthony Ratinov (USA, 1997) performs Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26, during the final round of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). Ratinov is accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Xian Zhang. This performance was recorded at Maison symphonique de Montréal.
10:02
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14
Maestro Mariss Jansons conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Hector Berlioz' Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. This performance is part of the Europakonzert 2001, recorded at Hagia Irene in Istanbul, Turkey.
10:58
Works for violin and piano: Mozart, Beethoven a.o.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Italian violinist Laura Marzadori and Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti performed a wonderful concert at Teatro Sociale di Camogli, Italy. On the program are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata No. 18 in G major, K. 301; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24; Manuel de Falla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole (transcription by Paul Kochaniski); Camille Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; and ‘Méditation’ from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs. This performance was recorded on March 8, 2022.
12:12
Giovanni Sebastiano: The Italian Influence on Bach
Renowned soloists Nancy Argenta (soprano) and Guillemette Laurens (alto) perform music by J. S. Bach with the Baroque ensemble I Barocchisti under Diego Fasolis. Bach's arrangement of G. B. Pergolesi's Stabat Mater was recorded in Italy at the Villa Medici Giulini, built in 1643. The room, with its great acoustics, was named Zuccarelli Hall after Francesco Zuccarelli who made the frescos adorning the walls and depicting the beautiful local landscape in the late 18th century. In addition to the performance, this program includes a short documentary about the Italian influence on J. S. Bach's music.
13:09
Ravel - La Valse
The exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a performance of Maurice Ravel’s La Valse, in an arrangement for two pianos. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.
13:21
Glass - Double Concerto for Two Pianos
As part of a new collaboration with the famous composer of "music with repetitive structures" Philip Glass, French pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque perform the European premiere of Glass's Concerto for two pianos with the Orchester de Paris conducted by Jaap van Zweden, current music director of the New York Philharmonic.
14:03
Lucerne Festival - Abbado conducts Mahler No. 1
Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The principal motif of this symphony, “Like a cry of Nature”, gave the Lucerne Festival 2009 its central theme. To Mahler, nature and art are not opposed but are rather symbiotic, with one informing the other. Abbado and the orchestra are joined by a special guest for a spectacular début: twenty-two-year-old Chinese pianist Yuja Wang performs Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3. In her Lucerne performance, Wang steps into the spotlights to display the full range of her artistry - the piano concerto demands not only lyricism and intimacy, but also brilliancy and virtuosity.
15:38
Dvořák – Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 (Nos. 1–8)
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in Antonín Dvořák’s spirited Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 (Nos. 1-8). These 16 folk dances earned Dvořák, who was a relative newcomer when he wrote them, great success. Originally composed for piano four hands, the London Symphony Orchestra plays the orchestral version of these brilliant works. This performance was recorded at LSO St. Luke’s on Old Street in London, UK, on September 23, 2020.
