00:00
Gluck - Iphigénie en Tauride
Iphigénie en Tauride (1779) is a four-act tragic opera by German-born composer Christoph Willibald Gluck. Written for the French stage, the work’s premiere in 1779 at the Parisian Royal Academy of Music was a great success. Iphigénie en Tauride is one of the composer’s ‘reform operas’, meaning that the music was to follow the drama and its expression. Nicolas-François Guillard’s libretto is based on Claude Guimond de La Touche’s play of the same name, but ultimately it derives from Euripides’s famous ancient Greek drama. Set shortly after the Trojan War, Iphigénie, who was to be sacrificed by her father Agamemnon, is saved and carried off by the goddess Diana to Tauris, where Iphigénie becomes Diana’s high priestess. Diego Fasolis conducts the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and the Chœur d’Angers Nantes Opéra in this production. Among the soloists are Marie-Adeline Henry (Iphigénie), Charles Rice (Oreste), Sébastien Droy (Pylade), Jean-Luc Ballestra (Thoas), and Élodie Hache (Diane). This performance was recorded at the Grand Théâtre d’Angers, France, in 2020.
01:50
Waldbühne 2000 - Rhythm and Dance
The annual summer concert given by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra at the Waldbühne is a legendary event. The Millenium concert, recorded live on June 25, 2000, brought together more than 22,000 spectators in one of Europe's most beautiful outdoor amphitheaters. Directed by Maestro Kent Nagano, this edition, titled Rhythm and Dance, focuses on the rather unusual popular music of the twentieth century, offering an inspiring combination of classical plays, show tunes, and Far Eastern music. Rightly rated as one of the most exciting programs ever presented at the Waldbühne, the evening's program features Gershwin classics (Lady, Be Good!, Strike Up the Band, A Damsel in Distress, Oh, Kay!, Porgy and Bess, and Girl Crazy) brilliantly performed by American mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, as well as Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2, and the soundtrack of the Chinese film Farewell My Concubine.
03:59
Modena - City of Belcanto
This documentary by Mark Perna shows the training and professional growth actions for opera singers, the promotion and enhancement of the cultural offer of the city and province of Modena and the maintenance and development of the Modenese musical tradition in the field of opera.
04:24
Shostakovich - Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 77
In May 2019, the new principal conductor of the Gewandhaus, Andris Nelsons, presented Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 with his orchestra in combination with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with outstanding violinist Baiba Skride as the soloist. In this composition, the violin does not allow itself a break, continually tells its dark story and gets into a vicious circle of ostinato Passacaglia bass lines again and again falls into beguilingly beautiful singing. Tchaikovsky initially thought his 'Symphony of Fate' was a failure and believed himself to be at the end of his creative powers. It was probably the composer's nature, plagued by self-doubt, that made it almost impossible for him to develop a self-confident attitude to his own creative power. Between this two works, Skride performs Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Violin.
05:08
IVC 2019 - Final: Schubert, Wolf et al.
Soprano Erika Baikoff (United States, 1994) and pianist Gary Beecher (Ireland, 1993) perform Franz Schubert’s ‘Suleika I, Was bedeutet die Bewegung’, Op. 14, No. 1 (D. 720); Die Blumensprache, Op. 173, No. 5 (D. 519); and, Die Gebüsche, D. 646; ‘Lied vom Winde’ and ‘Der Knabe und das Immlein’ from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder; ‘Fleur jetée’ from Gabriel Fauré’s Quatre melodies, Op. 39; ‘C’ from Francis Poulenc’s Deux poèmes de Louis Aragon, FP 122; ‘Les lilas qui avaient fleuri’ from Lili Boulanger’s Clairières dans le ciel; Johanna Bordewijk-Roepman’s ‘Oranje may-lied’; and, ‘Eti letniye nochi’ (These summer nights) from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Twelve romances, Op. 14, during the final round of the International Vocal Competition 2019 – Lied Duo. This performance was recorded at Theater aan de Parade in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.
05:38
Liszt - Bénédiciton de Dieu dans la solitude S.173
Works: Andante lagrimoso, S.173/9, Étude d'exécution transcendante No. 12, S.139/12, Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, S.173/3. Pianist Peter Klimo studied with Nelita True at the Eastman School of Music in New York and with Peter Frankl at the Yale School of Music in New Haven. He continued his studies with Tamás Ungár at Texas Christian University (TCU). Aside from playing recitals, Peter Klimo enjoys performing as a lied accompanist and with chamber music ensembles. His performance during a masterclass given by Graham Johnson enabled him to take private lessons in lied accompaniment and chamber music with Jean Barr. In 2011, he won First Prize at the Eastman Piano Concerto Competition; a year later he won Second Prize for pianist accompanists at the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition, which is held annually at Eastman. He has performed in venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and at festivals such as the Dakota Sky International Piano Festival.
06:00
Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 9, K 271
In a Salzburg Festival performance, the Mozarteum Orchestra and pianist Mitsuko Uchida, under the baton of Jeffrey Tate, play Piano Concerto No. 9, K 271. This piece was nicknamed “Jeunehomme” but was composed for Victoire Jeramy, the daughter of Mozart’s friend, dancer and choreographer Jean-Georges Noverre.
06:35
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 3
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. 3 in G major, BWV 1048. This concerto was composed for three violins, three violas, three cellos, and basso continuo. Remarkable is the concerto’s form: the two fast movements are separated by an Adagio consisting of a single measure of just two chords.
06:46
Symphonies in D by Mozart and Voríšek
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’.
08:04
IVC 2021 - Final: Diepenbrock, Fauré a. o.
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.
08:33
Documentary: Gianandrea Noseda
Although the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi applied unsuccessfully to study at the Milan Conservatory, this renowned college of music was eventually named after him. Today, the ‘Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi’ counts numerous successful musicians among its alumni: from Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalani, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Luigi Einaudi and Daniele Gatti, to Gianandrea Noseda. The acclaimed conductor Noseda (*1964) is one of the most important conductors of his generation. Recently, he taught a conducting masterclass at his alma mater for promising students from all over the world. For three days, Noseda joined forces with a hand-picked group of students to work on a varied concert programme. This documentary shows you these young, talented musicians rehearse compositions by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky under the enthusiastic guidance of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda himself.
09:09
PIAM - Semi-final I: Chopin and Scriabin
Acclaimed classical music talent scout Antonio Mormone (1930-2017) lives on as the name-giver of the Premio Internazionale Antonio Mormone (PIAM), awarded to the winner of the Italian music competition of the same name. The first edition of this competition, which was held in various venues in Milan from 2019 to 2021, was dedicated to the piano. As part of this competition, Micah McLaurin (USA, 1994) performs Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2, and Barcarolle, Op. 60; and a selection of Alexander Scriabin’s Etudes: Op. 42 No. 5, and Op. 8 Nos. 11 and 12. This performance was recorded at Teatro EDI Barrio’s in Milan, in January 2020.
10:02
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.
11:33
Legato - The World of the Piano
Swedish pianist and composer Roland Peter Pöntinen performs Couperin’s Les Baricades mistérieuses, Rameau’s Gavotte in a minor, Busoni’s Albumblatt No. 1, Saariaho’s Prelude and Ballade, Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Albéniz’ Ibera (book 2, Nos. 1 and 3), Rachmaninov’s Sérénade in B flat minor and Ravel’s Oiseaux tristes (from Miroirs), recorded in July 2007, in the Folwang Hochschule in Essen.
12:49
Napoli - Music's forgotten capital -I
In the summer of 2019, the Utrecht Early Music Festival explored the musical legacy of Naples: a cultural metropolis of contradiction and solidarity. In the documentary 'Napoli – Music’s Forgotten Capital', festival co-curator Thomas Höft unearths riveting tales from this multi-faceted city.
13:11
Bach - Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt performs J. S. Bach's Suite No. 5 in C minor for cello solo, BWV 1011. This performance was recorded at St. Mary’s Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
13:32
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.
14:00
Galaxymphony Strikes Back
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra takes us on a spectacular symphonic space journey in an out-of-this-world concert program of film music. Under the direction of Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, the orchestra guides us through the musical universe, performing a selection of music from iconic sci-fi movies, such as Avatar, Gravity, Interstellar, and Star Wars, written by major composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and James Horner. Featured soloists in this concert are Tuva Semmingsen, Christine Nonbo Andersen, Steffen Bruun, and David Bateson. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2021.
15:28
Schumann - Violin Concerto & Symphony No. 1
German conductor Christian Zacharias leads the Orchestre national de Lille in a concert program dedicated to Robert Schumann. The concert opens with the ‘Genoveva’ Overture, Op. 81. Although Schumann’s only opera Genoveva is not often performed, its overture established itself as an autonomous work in concert halls. After, the composer’s Violin Concerto in D minor, WoO 23, is performed, featuring Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keulen as the soloist. Written in 1853, it is Schumann’s only violin concerto. The concert ends with a performance of Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 38, also known as the ‘Spring Symphony’. This optimistic work is written in 1841 and is the most performed of Schumann’s four symphonies. This concert was recorded at Auditorium du Nouveau Siècle in Lille, France, on June 16, 2017.
16:49
Vocal baroque works by Cavalli, Strozzi & Bembo
Argentinian conductor and harpsichordist Leonardo García Alarcón leads his ensemble Cappella Mediterranea in a program of Italian Baroque music. The ensemble performs some of the finest Baroque pieces composed by Francesco Cavalli, a prominent composer in 17th-century Venice, and two of his famous students, Barbara Strozzi and Antonia Bembo. Argentinian soprano Mariana Flores presents the vocal works. On the program are ‘Mira questi due lumi’ from Cavalli’s Le nozze di Teti e di Peleo, ‘Dimmi, Amor, che farò’ from L'Oristeo, ‘Sinfonia della notte’ from L’Egisto, and ‘E vuol dunque Ciprigna’ from Ercole Amante; ‘M’ingannasti in verità’ from Bembo’s Produzioni armoniche consacrate a Luigi XIV; Strozzi’s Sino alla morte, Che si può fare, Lagrime mie, L’amante segreto, and è Pazzo il moi core; Biagio Marini’s La Romanesca; Tarquinio Merula’s Aria Sopra La Cieccona; and Dario Castello’s Sonata Seconda. This performance was recorded at the magnificent Église Notre-Dame of Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France, on August 26, 2020.
18:03
Schubert - Four Impromptus, Op. 90: - I.
Roberto Prosseda (1975) performs Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5 (KV. 283) and four Impromptus Op. 90 by Franz Schubert. The performance ends with Chopin's technically demanding Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. Prosseda is particularly noted for his performances of newly discovered works by Mendelssohn and has recorded a nine-CD series for Decca of the piano works of Mendelssohn. Since 2012, Prosseda also gives lecture-concerts with the robot pianist TeoTronico, as educational or family concerts, to demonstrate differences between a literal production of music and human interpretation.
