Schedule

The Venezuelan Brass Ensemble – a highly-acclaimed group with nearly 50 brass and percussion players drawn from the extraordinary Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The repertoire of the Venezuelan Brass Ensemble is a regular firework display of ambitious pieces for massed brass - impressively varied and testifies to the high standard of this young ensemble. The Ensemble is both a miracle and an inspiration to all. With their blend of classical and South American repertoire these some 50 young brass and percussion players not only have audiences on their feet but with a scintillating display of brass music demonstrate a virtuosity and a passion that is nothing short of awesome.

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.

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 play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61. Leading violinist Grimal is the soloist. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was composed in 1806 and is the composer’s only work in this genre. Its premiere was not very successful, and the work saw few performances in the decades that followed. However, a remarkable performance by 12-year old violinist Joseph Joachim in 1844 gave the Violin Concerto a new lease of life. Ever since, it is one of the most performed works in the genre. As an encore, Grimal performs the Allegro from J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. This performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris, France, in 2015.

Soprano Sara Gouzy (France, 1991) and pianist Seri Dan (South Korea, 1992) perform ‘Chevaux de bois’ from Claude Debussy’s Ariettes oubliées, L. 63; Franz Schubert’s An den Mond, Op. 57, No. 3, D. 193; ‘Le collier’ from Olivier Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi; ‘Margaritki’ (Daisies) from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Six Romances, Op. 38; ‘Quelle aventure!’, and ‘La reine de coeur’ from Francis Poulenc’s La courte paille; Bart Visman’s Vermeer’s Gold; and ‘Wie Lange schon war immer mein Verlangen’, and ‘Ich hab’ in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen’ from Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch, 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.

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Romantic repertoire, Francesco Attesti (*1975) gave his first recital at age 11 and by the time he was 23, had earned the highest honours in piano from Florence’s Conservatorio Luigi Cherubini. In this recording of his 2016 Deeply Mozart concert tour, Attesti performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos KV 449 and KV 488 with the Italian OIDA Orchestra and conductor Paolo Belloli.

David Zinman conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in a performance of W. A. Mozart’s (1756-1791) Symphony No. 39, K. 543. Recorded in the Sophiensaal in Munich in 1991 and directed by János Darvas. The work is the first in a set of three which became Mozart’s last symphonies. The set was composed in rapid succession in the summer of 1788. The first movement opens with a majestic introduction with fanfares heard in the brass section. The work has an interesting minuet and trio, which features an Austrian folk dance ("Ländler") and a clarinet solo.

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.

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.

Patrick Debrabandere leads the Vox Mago chamber choir in a performance of Georg Philipp Telemann's (1681-1767) cantata "Ich danke dem Herrn von ganzem Herzen" (TVWV 7:14). Recorded at the Klein Begijnhof, Gent, Belgium in December 2018 as part of the program In Tempus Adventus.

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, Bela Bartok’s ‘Concerto for Orchestra’ is discussed. This piece is one of the most frequently performed works of the twentieth century. Pierre Boulez explains how he interpreted this composition with the Berlin Philharmonic. He also describes its fascination against the backdrop of Bartok’s biography.

Julijana Sarac performs the first/third movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 (“Waldstein”). The work was completed in 1804 and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest and most technically challenging piano sonatas.

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.

The six-concert series “Io suono italiano” is dedicated to music of Italian composers and performed by Italian musicians on Italian instruments. The concert programs cover four centuries of music: from Girolamo Frescobaldi and Antonio Vivaldi to more contemporary music by Ennio Morricone and Azio Corghi. Each program presents more familiar pieces alongside lesser-known compositions. These performances were filmed at the atmospheric Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, Italy, in January 2021. In this program, Maria Luigia Borsi (soprano) and Antonio Artese (piano) present a recital consisting of several songs and arias. On the program are Francesco Paolo Tosti’s Sogno, ‘A vucchella, and L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra; Giacomo Puccini’s Sole e amore, Sogno d’or, “Donde lieta” (from La Bohème), “Il bel sogno di Doretta” (from La rondine), and “O mio babbino caro” (from Gianni Schicchi); Renato Brogi’s Presentimento, Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Mattinata, and Alfredo Catalini’s Chanson Groenlandaise.

The Zurich Opera House is one of the most renowned in Europe. Fifteen premieres are staged here every year - a significant achievement, when one considers just how much work goes into each individual production. In this exciting documentary, we go behind-the-scenes at the Zurich Opera House and follow the intensive progress of the new production of Gioachino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Vesselina Kasarova in the role of Rosina. The film also shows preparations for other productions, such as a workshop for Richard Wagner's Siegfried directed by Robert Wilson, and a rehearsal for Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps with choreography by Heinz Spoerli. This film opens the curtain to understanding an opera house’s many exciting facets.

Over the course of eleven days in August 2020, the French town of Rocamadour hosted the fifteenth edition of Festival de Rocamadour, a music festival dedicated to sacred music from the classical, baroque, and romantic periods. On August 26, the French violinist Renaud Capuçon and his compatriot pianist Guillaume Bellom performed an intimate concert at the atmospheric, medieval Basilique Saint-Sauveur. On the program are Gabriel Fauré's Sonata No. 1, Opus 13 (1876), and César Franck's Sonata for violin and piano (1886).

Juan Manuel Cañizares is the soloist in a performance of Joaquín Rodrigo's (1901-1999) Concierto de Aranjuez. He is accompanied by the Berliner Philharmoniker led by maestro Sir Simon Rattle.

Philippe Herreweghe conducts his Collegium Vocale Gent in this chamber music program dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach. On the program are Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069; Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79; and Missa brevis in G major, BWV 236. The soloists are soprano Dorothee Mields, tenor Thomas Hobbs, countertenor Alex Potter, and bass Peter Kooij. The program continues with a fine selection of Bach’s works performed by French lutenist Thomas Dunford. On the program are Suite for lute in G minor, BWV 995; Suite for solo cello in G major (arr. for lute), BWV 1007; and Chaconne from Partita for solo violin in D minor (arr. lute), BWV 1004. This concert was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, in 2017.

Barbara Hannigan conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in a concert recorded at the Lucerne Festival of 2014. On the program is György Ligeti's Concert Românesc.

Created by Antonio Gades in collaboration with Carlos Saura, this matchless production shows how the explosive power and intensity of feeling in traditional Spanish flamenco can bring vividly to life the sultry passion, earthy emotion, love and rivalry that is Carmen. Vanesa Vento lives and breathes Carmen, emphasizing the many faces of this character, female, passionate and freedom fighter, but fickle in love as she shamelessly flirts with men she likes, inspiring desire, rivalry and jealousy amongst both the men and other women. But Carmen’s gypsy wildness becomes her own downfall when she discards Don José’s (Ángel Gil) love for that of the bullfighter (Jairo Rodríguez), as possessed by a piercing despair Don José kills her.

Ester Hoppe (violin), Christian Poltéra (cello) and Francesco Piemontesi (piano) perform Schubert's Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 100 (D. 929) during the International Chamber Music Festival in Bellinzona, Switzerland, in 2019. This trio was among the last compositions completed by Schubert and is dated November 1827. It was published late 1828, shortly before Schubert's death and first performed in January 1828 to celebrate the engagement of Schubert's friend Josef von Spaun. The second theme of the opening movement is based on a theme from the Trio of Schubert's Piano Sonata No. 18 (D. 894). The main theme of the second movement is used as a central musical theme in Kubrick's film Barry Lyndon (1975).

Salon Romantique à Venise salutes the work of the Palazzetto Bru Zane foundation which aims to contribute to the rediscovery of a neglected part of the French musical heritage running from Louis XVi to WW I. This concert offers a journey into the French romantic repertoire performed by pianist David Violi (piano), Jodie Devos (soprano) and Anaik Morel (mezzo-soprano). The program contains some of the most beloved French arias, such as 'Seguedille' from Bizet's Carmen by Bizet, the Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakmé and 'Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix' from Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila. Recorded at the Palazzetoo Bru Zane in Venice, Italy in 2016.

In this six-part documentary on the life and work of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, director Liloye Boubli takes viewers on a journey through the life and work of this legend of Brazilian classical music. The composer, conductor, cellist, and classical guitarist was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1887. Growing up during a time of immense social change in Brazil – with the abolishment of slavery in 1888, this was a time of social revolution and far-reaching modernizations – Villa-Lobos went on to become one of South America's best-known composers of all time. This fourth episode dives deeper into the composer's "Bachianas brasileiras", particularly the "Ária (Cantilena)" from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, which is one of Villa-Lobos's most renowned pieces.

Ran Feng (1991, China) performs La notte (S377a) and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, (S379a) during semi-final II (chamber music) of the 11th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, held in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht, in 2017. The competition actively presents, develops, and promotes piano talents from around the world. In doing so, it has become one of the prominent gateways to the international professional classical music scene for young musicians. The International Franz Liszt Piano Competition was founded in 1986 in the Netherlands and has since built a reputation as one of the world’s most prestigious piano competitions.

This exclusive live concert production presents a unique selection of movie classics - from Sergio Leone’s iconic Spaghetti Westerns to modern mafia masterpieces by Francis Ford Coppola and the cult movies of Tarantino. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir are conducted by Sarah Hicks in this premiere performance of authentic soundtracks by composer legends Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Sonny Bono, and Bernard Herrmann. Soloists for this performance are Tuva Semmingsen (mezzo), Christine Nonbo Andersen (soprano), Hans Ulrik (saxophone) and Mads Kjølby (guitars). Recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2018.

Emmanuel Krivine leads the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, featuring Aleksandr Khramouchin as the soloist. The Cello Concerto is one of the most-performed works in its genre. Dvořák composed the work during his three-year term as Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The composer dedicated the concerto, which he completed in 1895, to the renowned Czech cellist Hanuš Wihan, his friend and colleague. Wihan suggested several improvements, including the addition of two cadenzas, but Dvořák only accepted a few minor changes. Of interest in the middle section of the second movement is the quotation of Dvořák's song “Leave Me Alone”, a favorite of his sister-in-law Josefina Čermáková, who was ill at that time, and would soon pass away. This performance was recorded in May 2011.

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’ string quartet – consisting of David Grimal (violin), Hans Peter Hofmann (violin), David Gaillard (viola), and Xavier Phillips (cello) – performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465, ‘Dissonance’ (Op. 10 No. 6). The String Quartet is the last in the set of six quartets that were dedicated to Joseph Haydn. Written between 1782 and 1785, these are also known as the Haydn Quartets (Op. 10). String Quartet No. 19 is remarkable for its slow, dissonant introduction, giving the piece its nickname. This ominous passage suddenly gives way to the bright Allegro in C major. This performance was recorded at Opéra Comique in Paris, France, in 2015.