Schedule

The 2019 documentary ‘Approaching the Maelström’ follows the process leading up to a recording of American composer Philip Glass’s composition ‘A Descent into the Maelström’. The work is based on American writer Edgar Allan Poe’s 1841 short story of two fishermen caught in torrents raging between the mountainous islands of Lofoten, Norway. Glass’s work, originally a choral piece for the Australian Dance Theatre, was only ever performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1986. Over thirty years later, in 2019, Beacon Isle Films recorded a symphonic arrangement of Glass’s work, performed by the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Tim Weiss with soprano Berit Norbakken Solset as the soloist. Their recording was made against the backdrop of Lofoten’s spectacular landscape: the very surroundings that inspired Poe’s story. Moreover, this inspiring documentary features a rare interview with Glass.

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 performance of Johannes Brahms’s Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81. Brahms composed his concert overture during the summer of 1880. With its dark and tumultuous character, it could be regarded as the serious counterpart of his more joyful Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Italian conductor Gianandrea Noseda leads the combined forces of the Music Academy KestonMAX fellows and London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56, and Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14. Beethoven's Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano in C major, commonly known as the Triple Concerto, was composed from 1803 to 1804. The choice of the three solo instruments effectively makes this a concerto for piano trio, and it is the only concerto Beethoven ever completed for more than one solo instrument. Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique (‘Episode in the Life of an Artist … in Five Sections’) is a programmatic symphony written in 1830, telling the story of a gifted artist who, in the depths of hopelessness and despair because of his unrequited love for a woman, has poisoned himself with opium. This concert was recorded at LSO St. Luke’s in London, UK, on November 20, 2022.

Celebrated German violinist Isabelle Faust performs J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C major (BWV 1005). The work is part of the composer’s well-known Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006). Sonata No. 3 includes an extensive fugue in which Bach employs many contrapuntal techniques. In this wonderful performance, Faust shows her mastery of Bach’s technically challenging piece. This performance was recorded at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020.

The Mexico City Ballet (MXCB) is a contemporary ballet company made up of highly experienced international dancers, residents of Mexico City. International guest dancers help celebrate the anniversary gala of the Mexico City Ballet, featuring the fantastic works of MXCB’s resident choreographer, Yazmín Barragán. On the program are ‘Strong Ties’ by choreographer Alan Marín; ‘TS’ by Michel Cutri; ‘Ondine’ by Barragán; ‘Ritual’ by Edgar Sagarra; and lastly ‘The Debate’ and ‘Recursivo’, again by Barragán. This performance was recorded at Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City, in 2020.

Japanese violinist Naoya Nishimura and Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti perform an intimate recital recorded at the Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya, Japan. On the program are Arcangelo Corelli’s Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 12, “La Folia”; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring”; Manuel de Falla’s 7 Canciones populares españolas; Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for violin and piano; Camille Saint-Saëns’ Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; Niccolò Paganini’s Cantabile in D major, Op. 17; and Antonio Bazzini’s Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25, “La Ronde des Lutins”. This performance was recorded on June 22, 2019.

Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra in an exciting concert program consisting of works by J. S. Bach, Béla Bartók, and Johannes Brahms. The program opens with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048. This is followed by one of Bartók’s best-known pieces: Music for strings, percussion and celesta. Remarkable is the work’s instrumentation: Bartók divided the strings into two groups that are placed on opposite sides of the stage, to create antiphonal effects. The program ends with Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on December 4, 2017.

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. Schumann composed his Fantasie in C, Op. 17 in 1836, revising it prior to publication in 1839. Bearing a dedication to Franz Liszt, it is one of Schumann's greatest works for solo piano, and a central work of the early Romantic period. Written in a loose sonata form, the first movement is rhapsodic and passionate, the middle movement is a grandiose rondo, and the finale is slow and meditative. 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.

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.

Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan and the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris recorded all of Ludwig van Beethoven’s symphonies in 2014-2015. In this program, maestro Jordan presents Beethoven’s final symphony: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. He conducts the Orchestre and Choeurs de l’Opéra national de Paris and four vocal soloists Ricarda Merbeth (soprano), Daniela Sindram (mezzosoprano), Robert Dean Smith (tenor), and Günther Groissböck (bass). Beethoven composed his last Symphony when his hearing had all but gone, between 1822 and 1824. Symphony No. 9 is the longest and most ambitious of Beethoven’s symphonies. Most striking is the piece’s finale movement, which includes a choir and four vocal soloists singing a setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem ‘An die Freude’ (Ode to Joy). This performance was recorded at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, in 2015.

Misha Fomin performed romantic piano works at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in November 2020. His recital opened with Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 10, Op. 14/2 and Sonata No. 15, Op. 28 'Pastoral'. He continued the program with a performance of Frédéric Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9/1, Etude Op. 25/7, and Johannes Brahms's technically demanding 'Variations on a Theme by Paganini', Op. 35 (Book II). As an encore, Fomin performs Chopin/Liszt's Chant Polonais No. 5 'Meine Freunden'.

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 Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Composed between 1834-37, the work began as a theme and a set of sixteen variations. The theme had been composed by Baron von Fricken, an amateur musician and father of Ernestine von Fricken, to whom Schumann was engaged in 1834. The work was first published in 1837, containing the theme and twelve etudes (only nine of them were indicated ‘variations’). Fifteen years later, in 1852, Schumann published a second edition of the work, eliminating two etudes and making some revisions to the piano writing. 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.