Schedule

In front of a cheering audience, Mariss Jansons conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker and violinist Vadim Repin as part of an evening devoted to the most popular recalls at the Walbühne in Berlin. One of the most impressive outdoor scenes in Europe, the Walbühne hosts the Berliner Philharmoniker each summer, performing in front of an audience of some 20,000 people. The 2002 edition of this annual concert celebrates the reminders frequently performed by major orchestras and ensembles. The Berliner Philharmoniker performs for the occasion with Russian-born Belgian violinist Vadim Repin, the youngest laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels, played under the direction of many renowned conductors, including Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev and Mariss Jansons. The evening's program moves from de Wagner to Tchaikovsky, from Sibelius to John Williams, and ends with the ultimate reminder: Paul Lincke's Berliner Luft!

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.

J. S. Bach’s six Brandenburg Concerto’s belong to his best-known works. The composer wrote these concertos between 1711 and 1720 and dedicated them in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. In celebration of the pieces’ 300th anniversary, Czech harpsichordist and conductor Václav Luks and the renowned Baroque ensemble Collegium 1704 recorded all six Brandenburg Concertos on historical instruments in 2021. The concertos are based on the Italian concerto grosso form, in which a group of solo instruments is set against a large ensemble. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos feature remarkable combinations of solo instruments and virtuoso solos. In this performance at the Hall of Mirrors in the Köthen Castle, Germany, Luks and his Collegium 1704 present Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046. This concerto was written for strings, woodwinds, and brass, and features solos from each instrument group.

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.

The German Brass is one of the most original and distinctive brass ensembles in the world. This group of talented musicians performs classical arrangements, dance versions of standards, and popular tunes that reflect an exceptional musical spirit. Inspired by an animated show presented by the ensemble, Hunting Brass: A Musical Joke paints a colorful portrait of the German Brass: during a rehearsal, his musicians are suddenly confronted with doubles who steal their instruments and form their wild orchestra!

Gidon Kremer’s return to J. S. Bach’s partitas is a major event. Kremer’s first recording of these works was released almost a quarter of a century ago. In this recording from 2006, Kremer once again takes on the greatest challenge for any violinist: Bach’s magnificent “Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin” (BWV 1001-1006), which Kremer himself calls the “Himalayas” of violin music. With these pieces, Bach firmly established the technical capability of the violin as a solo instrument. The partitas served as archetypes for solo violin pieces by later generations of composers. This rendition of the collection displays Kremer’s very personal sense of spontaneity and a readiness to take risks. Yet it is also marked by the structural awareness of an exceptional musician who, in a unique way, does justice both to the polyphonic wealth of the compositions and to their juxtaposition of dance elements and reflective profoundness.

Today’s Brussels Philharmonic concert focuses on the diverse musical styles that characterized the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the impressionism of Claude Debussy's Jeux (1913), conductor Michel Tabachnik's ensemble focuses on one of the leading composers of modern music: Igor Stravinsky. His first ballet music, Firebird (1910), is a highlight of the concert. The concert opens with Anton Webern’s Five Pieces for Orchestra Op. 10 (1913). These five, ultra-short pieces are not thematically connected, nor do they include traditional formal plans or tonal relationships - prepare for a listening challenge!

Pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko (Canada, 1999) performs Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83, during the final round of the Piano Edition of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 (CMIM). Izik-Dzurko is accompanied by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under the baton of Xian Zhang. This performance was recorded at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

Every year in late August, the renowned Early Music Festival takes place in the Dutch city of Utrecht. It is the world's largest festival focused on early music, attracting an audience of over 70 thousand visitors. Due to the corona pandemic, the 2020 edition of the festival took place in an alternative form, offering an alternative program that included live concerts as well as daily livestreams of concerts and archive recordings. As part of this festival edition, forte pianist Artem Belogurov and cellist Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde present a program devoted to works by Ludwig van Beethoven. The duo met in Amsterdam in 2015, performing many recitals at several European and North American festivals and in concert halls. On the program are Beethoven's Variations for cello and forte piano on ‘Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen’ from W. A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, WoO 46, Rondo in C major for fortepiano, Op. 51 no. 1, Rondo in G major for fortepiano, Op. 51 no. 2, and Sonata in F major for cello and fortepiano, Op. 5 no. 1. This concert was recorded at St. Gertrude's Chapel in Utrecht on August 27, 2020.

For over six decades, Pierre Boulez had a greater influence on the development of contemporary music than anyone else. Already in his younger days, he gained a reputation as a doughty champion of the avant-garde. With his compositions, interpretations and ideas, he indelibly shaped the international music scene – not only as a composer and conductor, but also as a music philosopher and teacher. This documentary by Gunter Atteln and Angelika Stiehler pays tribute to him on the occasion of his 85th birthday on March 26, 2010. For the previous five summers, Pierre Boulez and highly gifted young musicians from all over the world had converged for intensive rehearsal weeks. Over this period, they learned from the maestro and one another, discussing and playing selected compositions. Subsequently, they presented the fruits of their labour in a number of outstanding concerts. To convey the fascination for contemporary music, this documentary captures the perspectives of Pierre Boulez and the young conductors, composers, and musicians involved. Their infectious enthusiasm gives viewers an emotional access to the world of new music.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, maestro Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program featuring Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, ‘Titan’. Mahler completed his first symphony in 1888. Originally a five-movement piece, the composer discarded the second movement ‘Blumine’ some years later, resulting in the final four-movement version we know today. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Lithuanian pianist Vadim Chaimovich (*1978) has won several prizes at international piano competitions, such as the Schubert Competition in Dortmund, the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland, and the 29th Masterplayers International Music Competition in Lugano. Moreover, the pianist has performed in several European countries, Japan, and the USA , and has played at many international music festivals. In the current recital, Chaimovich performs piano works by Anton Bruckner. On the program are Klavierstück in E-flat major, WAB 119, Erinnerung in A-flat major, WAB 117, Lancier-Quadrille Nos. 1, 2, 3 & 4 in C major, WAB 120, Steiermärker in G major, WAB 122, Stille Betrachtung an einem Herbstabend ('Quiet meditation on an autumn evening') in F-sharp minor, WAB 123, Fantasie in G major, WAB 118, and Piano sonata in G minor, WAB 243.

Tenor Zhuohan Sun (China, 1993) and pianist Sara Pavlovic (Serbia, 1996) perform ‘Wanderlied’ from Robert Schumann’s Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35; ‘Der Abend kommt gezogen’ from Alphons Diepenbrock’s Drie ballades, Op. 1; Gabriel Fauré’s Prison, Op. 83, No. 1; ‘Ganymed’ from Hugo Wolf’s Goethe-Lieder; Franz Schubert’s Nacht und Träume, D. 827; Zaiyi Lu’s The bridge in my homeland; ‘Mit Myrten und Rosen’ from Schumann’s Liederkreis, Op. 24; ‘C’ from Francis Poulenc’s Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP 122; and ‘Scheiden und Meiden’ from Gustav Mahler’s Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2021 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at De Verkadefabriek in ’s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

Die Walküre is the second opera in Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle. This rendition (2003) features the Staatsoper Stuttgart under the baton of conductor Lothar Zagrosek. Tonight’s soloists are Robert Gambill, Attila Jun, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Angela Denoke, Renate Behle, Tchina Vaughn, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Wiebke Göetjes. Die Walküre continues the story of the Rhinedaughters' gold, the ring of power forged from it, and the curse which falls on its owner. The action moves to earth - where Siegmund and Sieglinde, the mortal children of Wotan, are introduced - and follows the downfall of Wotan's hopes that Siegmund will prove to be the hero who saves the gods. Brünnhilde, the Valkyrie (warrior maiden) who gives the opera its title, becomes inextricably bound up with Wotan's pursuit of his vision.

Venezuelan-born conductor Giovanni Guzzo leads the Camerata Fundación EDP of the Reina Sofía School of Music in a spirited concert. The program opens with the ethereal ‘Danza degli spiriti beati’ (Dance of the Blessed Spirits) from Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera Orfeo ed Euridice, featuring flutist Matthew Raymond Origel. The concert continues with vocal masterworks, including J.S. Bach’s brilliant cantata aria ‘Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen!’, BWV 51, featuring soprano Marlin González Zúñiga and trumpeter Marc Ferrando Pelegrí, and W.A. Mozart’s joyous motet Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165, sung by soprano Carla Isabel Gómez del Pulgar. The concert concludes with one of the great classical works: Mozart’s dramatic Symphony No. 40 in G minor. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Sony of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain, on December 18, 2024.

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.

Over the course of 19 days, the best youth orchestras in the world led by great conductors, and flanked by virtuoso soloists, guaranteed exciting and inspiring concert performances at the Young Euro Classical 2017. The festival is known to be the most important platform for international young orchestra musicians in the European classical music tradition, and for its development. This highlight version is a collection of infectiously energizing and outstanding performances by musicians from across the globe. Their repertoire includes renowned classical works as well as local composers. On the program: Verdi - La forza del destino, Beethoven - Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1, Tchaikovsky - Six Romances, Kohji - Georgian, Mingrelian Songs, Weinberg - Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes Op. 47 and Wong - As the Heart Soars.

Renowned French string quartet Quatuor Ébène marked the 250th birth anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) with a remarkable project: recording all of the great composer’s sixteen string quartets. For five years, violinists Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure, violist Marie Chilemme, and cellist Raphaël Merlin immersed themselves in Beethoven’s 650 pages of sheet music. Their efforts culminated in the performance of the composer’s complete repertoire for string quartet, which covers three decades of Beethoven's musical creativity, during six impressive concerts at Philharmonie de Paris in the autumn of 2020. Quatuor Ébène explored every facet of Beethoven's string quartet repertoire: from the youthful Opus 18 string quartets to the Razumovsky, Harp, and Serioso quartets (Opus 59, 74, and 95) from his middle period, and finally, the depth of his late quartets (Opus 127 to 135). This program features Quatuor Ébène performing Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18 No. 6; and String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132. This concert performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on November 24, 2020.

Soprano Alisa Fedorenko (Russia, 1999) and pianist Evgenii Sergeev (Russia, 1986) perform ‘Mandoline’ and ‘À Clymène’ from Gabriel Fauré’s Cinq melodies “de Venise”, Op. 58; ‘Lied der Delphine’ from Franz Schubert’s Zwei Szenen aus dem Schauspiel ‘Lacrimas’, D. 857; ‘Son’ (A dream) from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Six Romances, Op. 38; ‘Elfenlied’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder; ‘Staccato’ from Rodion Shchedrin’s Three solfege exercises; and Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold, 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.

In a 2019 performance from the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven, Hartmut Haenchen conducts the philharmonie zuidnederland for this performance of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The German-born conductor, who became a Dutch citizen through naturalisation, was chief conductor at the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra before he was finally knighted for his services to the Dutch music landscape. The majestic opening theme of the first movement of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 foreshadows a momentous work, lasting over 20 minutes. The doubt and turmoil felt throughout the Adagio, the second movement, are supposedly Bruckner's response to the news of the death of his idol, Richard Wagner. Bruckner's use of Wagner tubas and double bass tubas creates an even more solemn and grandiose air within the Adagio. Trumpet signals refer to crowing cockerels as they interrupt the grim and clamorous Scherzo. In the Finale, Bruckner employs a persistent rhythmic pulse that starts softly yet builds up towards the explosive final bars.

Conductor Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester take us on a musical journey to the Czech Republic in this 2020 concert from Leipzig’s Gewandhaus. The program opens with Bohemian composer Jan Václav Hugo Voríšek’s Symphony in D major, Op. 23 (1821). Although the composition – Voríšek’s only symphony – was never performed during the composer’s lifetime, it has become one of his most-performed works today. Also on the program is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504. This work, which premiered while Mozart was visiting Prague in 1787, is often referred to as the ‘Prague Symphony’.

After recording all 32 Ludwig van Beethoven piano sonatas to celebrate the composer's 250th birth anniversary, celebrated Italian pianist Riccardo Schwartz decided to record solo piano works by Robert Schumann. In this performance, Schwartz presents Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 12. Written in 1837, the work is a set of eight piano pieces with contrasting moods. The work’s title is derived from one of the composer’s favourite authors’ collection of novellas: E. T. A. Hoffmann’s Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier. Like Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, his Fantasiestücke are designed as a musical dialogue between Florestan and Eusebius, representing the duality of his own personality. The former represents the composer’s passionate side, and the latter depicts the dreamer in Schumann. Acclaimed pianist Riccardo Schwartz (1986) has performed as a soloist with many world-renowned conductors, including Gustav Kuhn and Yuri Temirkanov. His acclaimed performances include recitals and concertos for piano and orchestra in many prestigious concert halls.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances perform Johannes Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Brahms completed his last symphony in 1885. He conducted the successful premiere of the piece in the German city of Meiningen in October of the same year. The symphony’s finale movement is a chaconne, a variation form that reflects the composer’s fascination with Baroque music. In this movement, Brahms borrowed an 8-measure theme from J. S. Bach’s cantata ‘Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich’, BWV 150. The movement opens with the theme and then presents a set of variations all set over the same repeated theme in the bass. This performance was recorded at Opéra de Dijon, France, in 2014.

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.