Schedule

Emmanuelle Haim conducts Le Concert d’Astrée in a rendition of G. F. Handel’s two-part oratorio “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno” (The Triumph of Time and Truth). The work with a libretto by Benedetto Pamphili was first performed in Rome, in 1707. Director Krzysztof Warlikowski has taken Handel’s first oratorio, written when the composer was only 22 years old, on in a deep, tender staging. In this oratorio, the characters Time and Disillusion try to convince Beauty to abandon Pleasure for less fleeting gratifications. Sabine Devieilhe is unquestionably the star that carries the show, always impressive in technique, range and timbre. Her sparring and harmonizing with Franco Fagioli is magnificent. Other soloists are Michael Spyres and Sara Mingardo. Recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2016.

The Waldbühne in Berlin is one of the most attractive outdoor amphitheatres in Europe and home to the Berliner Philharmoniker's summer concerts. With a 20, 000-seat capacity, these events are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. In 2003, Seiji Ozawa and the Berliner Philharmoniker perform works by George Gershwin with the jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and his Trio as special guests. Their album “Gershwin For Lovers” stayed in the Top 10 on Billboard’s jazz chart for half a year. Together they created a magical fusion of classical music and jazz bringing an imaginative mix of styles into the swing of Gershwin’s music.

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. In this second episode, Liloye Boubli dives deeper into the oeuvre of Villa-Lobos, exploring his musical influences and scrutinizing the anatomy of some of his most famous compositions, particularly his early "Pequena Suíte" for cello and piano. This collection of dances and short pieces in six movements is indicative of the composer's heartfelt adoration for Johann Sebastian Bach.

Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons leads the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, ‘From the New World’. Dvořák wrote this famous symphony in 1893, during his three-year term as Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The Conservatory had hired the nationalist composer to create a new, national style of art music for the United States. Dvořák took elements of African American and Native American music, including pentatonic melodies and syncopated rhythms, and applied them to his symphony. This performance was recorded at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany, in 2017.

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.

The German Brass ensemble delivers some of Bach's most popular tunes in breathtaking brass arrangements. Recorded live from the magnificent St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, this concert features timeless pieces by the legendary German composer, such as Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Adagio in G minor, and Jesus bleibet meine Freude. The German Brass is one of the most popular brass ensembles of our time and includes musicians from the best German orchestras, including the philharmonic orchestras of Berlin and Munich. Offering a complete view of the church for which Bach has designed most of his works and taking advantage of the room's exceptional acoustics, this cutting-edge recording is a veritable visual and aural feast, and a perfect celebration of Bach's work.

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.

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, Andrei Gavrilov plays Preludes and Fugues Nos. 1 to 12 (BWV 846-857) from Book One of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, recorded at the New Art Gallery in Walsall, England, in 2010.

Mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny (Canada/Oman, 1998) performs Georgy Sviridov’s Russkajaj pesnya; ‘Ja li v pole da ne travushka’ from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Seven Romances, Op. 47; John Greer’s On Children; ‘Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder!’ and ‘Liebst du um Schönheit’ from Gustav Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder, Op. 44; and ‘Le spectre de la rose’ from Hector Berlioz’s song cycle Les nuits d’été, Op. 7, during the semi-finals of the Art Song division of the Concours musical international de Montréal 2022 (CMIM). This performance was recorded at the Bourgie Hall of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

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.

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.

Television plays a crucial role in popularizing classical music. Not only has it preserved precious moments of music making, but it also helps shape the future of music. The Vienna-based IMZ International Music + Media Centre, a global association for all those involved in any aspect of classical and contemporary music, world music, jazz, and dance, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015. To commemorate this, renowned film maker Reiner E. Moritz produced the documentary 'Music in the air' to shed light on the history of classical music on television. The film dives into television's archives to demonstrate what the medium has done for the dissemination of music. It features rare footage of Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra in one of the first televised concerts, and captivating fragments from Leonard Bernstein’s Young People Concerts. Moreover, the film contains excerpts of great performances from the past, including those by Glenn Gould, Herbert von Karajan, Igor Stravinsky, and Pierre Boulez.

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 Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887, Op. 161. Schubert composed this work, his final string quartet, in a mere ten days in June 1826. However, this highly original piece, characterized by its restless shifts between major and minor, was not published until after Schubert’s death in 1851. This performance was recorded at Cité de la Musique in Paris, France, in 2014.

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.

Quarteto Radamés Gnattali performs Heitor Villa-Lobos's String Quartet No. 9 at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janiero, Brasil. The ensemble was founded in 2006 and consists of Carla Rincón and Francisco Roa (violins), Fernando Thebaldi (viola), and Hugo Pilger (cello). The quartet, which specializes in Brazilian music, focuses on educational activities. Their recording of all of Villa-Lobos string quartets is a major achievement and was very well received by international music critics. Except for his Bachianas brasileiras, the performance of many of the Brazilian's compositions is limited to Latin America. Highly regarded as a composer, conductor and educator in his native country, Villa-Lobos has operas, symphonies, concertos, piano repertoire, choral music, and seventeen string quartets to his credit.

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, Ying Li (China, 1997) performs Claude Debussy’s Images, book I; Frédéric Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1; and Franz Liszt’s Paraphrase from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’. This performance was recorded at Teatro EDI Barrio’s in Milan, in February 2020.

During the 17th century, the Neapolitan rich and famous gathered in droves for the Spassi di Posillipo, open-air festivals on the coast. The most famous musicians sang and played for them from boats. With his Dutch Ensemble Odyssee Andrea Friggi presents the results of his research into this repertoire, with cantatas and serenades by Antonio Farina and Cataldo Amodei. The soloist is the Italian soprano Raffaella Milanesi.

Musical critics from North America, Europe, and Russia praise Nalchik-born pianist Misha Fomin for his subtlety of touch and phrasing. He graduated cum laude from the Gnessin’s Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, where he studied with Lina Bulatova, a former student of professor Helen Gnessina and legendary Heinrich Neuhaus, and later continued his musical studies at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar. Today, he enjoys the praise from audiences around the world for outstanding performances and is known to teach piano to young musicians through frequent masterclasses and educational events. For this 2018 concert, Fomin returned to Amsterdam´s Concertgebouw to interpret Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8, Op. 13 Pathétique and Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27, Nr. 2 Moonlight, as well as Tchaikovsky's The Four Seasons, Op. 37b.

Fabio Luisi conducts the Danish National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8. The work is one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire and is frequently called the "Symphony of a Thousand." The work was composed at Mahler's Maiernigg villa in southern Austria in the summer of 1906 and is the last work which was premiered in Mahler's lifetime. Soloists include Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Henriette Bonde-Hansen (soprano), Sofia Fomini (soprano), Marianne Beate Kielland (alto), Olesya Petrova (alto), Stefan Vinke (tenor), Russel Braun (baritone), and Günther Groissböck (bass). Among the participating choirs are the Danish National Concert Choir, MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir. Recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2017.

In this splendid 2013 concert from the Church of Verbier, Switzerland, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Chinese pianist Yuja Wang join forces to interpret three sonatas by Johannes Brahms. Leonidas Kavakos rose to fame in 1985, when he became the youngest musician to ever win the first price of the prestigious Sibelius Competition. With Yuja Wang, an accomplished artist at young age herself, he forms a masterful duo of chamber music interpretation. The programme features Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, also known as the "Regensonate," Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, the "Thuner Sonata," a portrait of the Swiss lake of Thun's peaceful scenery. It comes to a fiery and passionate finale with Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 3 in D minor, Op 108.

This Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 5 BWV 1014 is the fifth out of the set of sonatas Johann Sebastian Bach composed before 1725, probably during his time as chapel master in Köthen. Presumably, he wrote these sonatas for Prince Leopold and later adapted them for further use in Leipzig. Maybe this is why these pieces are well playable for amateurs, while every sonata still has the finesse that can offer a challenge to professional musicians. The different pieces are meant to be a set, just like the Brandenburg concertos. Performers: Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Enrico Pace (piano)

The documentary Summertime at the Domaine Forget introduces internationally renowned treasure: Domaine Forget festival in Saint-Irénée, Québec. Domaine Forget is one of Canada's leading music academies and hosts this annual festival to promote music and dance. Every summer, 500 music students from around the world gather for an intensive course program featuring: masterclasses, individual lessons, chamber music sessions, lectures, and special workshops.

The soloists from the Lucerne Festival Orchestra present Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Divertimento No. 11 in D major, K. 251, known as the ‘Nannerl-Septet’. Mozart composed it in 1776, probably on the occasion of his sister Maria Anna’s name day, whose nickname was ‘Nannerl’. The septet is scored for oboe, two horns, two violins, viola and double bass. This performance was recorded at Lucerne Culture and Congress Center (KKL), Switzerland, in 2020.

After the world premiere of autumn 2017, Seeing Dance describes this ballet adaptation of "Hedda Gabler" of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet as burning with "intensity". Hedda Gabler is one of world theatre’s best-known characters – an icon created by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. Here, this deeply psychological play is transformed into a ballet, created by director Marit Moum Aune and performed by The Norwegian National Ballet to music by Nils Petter Molvær. The star of this performance is Grete Sofie Borud Nybakken, portraying the main character Hedda. Recorded 2017 in Oslo, Norway.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in this performance of Brahms' Symphony No. 1. Few symphonic works have taken longer to come into fruition than Brahms' first. The composer had basic ideas about this work as early as 1855 when he was just 22 years old. It saw numerous revisions before its completion, as Brahms was encouraged by his peers, most notably Clara Schumann and musicologist Philipp Spitta, to press forward despite the fear of living in Beethoven's shadow. Also included in this performance is the U.K. premiere of Jörg Widmann's Flûte en suite featuring soloist Joshua Smith. This performance was recorded as part of the 2014 BBC proms season at The Royal Albert Hall in London, U.K.

Italian pianist Alessandro Marangoni and Italian organist Paolo Oreni perform Marcel Dupré’s Variations on Two Themes for piano and organ, Op. 35. Designed by the organist himself, Oreni plays his ‘Wanderer’ organ in this performance, which is currently the largest existing transportable pipe organ. With its 1200 pipes and 42 stops, it has all the essential timbres needed for the organ repertoire. This performance was recorded at FabbricaPoggi in Pavia, Italy, on April 5, 2024.