Schedule

In retrospect, the version for solo dance of Stravinsky’s Sacre du printemps can be interpreted as a bleak, oppressive dance about his own life. The ballet is one of the late works by Uwe Scholz, one of the most important choreographers of the twentieth century. During his short life, this wunderkind created over 100 ballets, including major stage successes such as Die Schöpfung, Die Grosse Messe and Bruckner 8. Scholz is regarded as a sensitive, highly musical artist with a fine sense of humor, but he was consistently plagued by an excruciating sense of perfectionism, self-doubt and fear. At times, this made work impossible for him. “Sometimes the great artist’s path does not lead to laurel-wreathed solitude, but to deep despair,” writes the ballet critic Klaus Geitel looking back on Scholz’s life. The film Soulscapes is a highly personal, moving portrait of Uwe Scholz, who died on November 21, 2004, at the age of 45. In one of his last interviews with the director Günter Atteln, Scholz talks about himself and his work with unprecedented candor. “I’m drawn to symphonic music from the classical and romantic periods,” he says. “I simply need these soulscapes.”

Since 1972 the 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker have been a prominent institution in international musical life. Listeners around the world are invariably fascinated by the wide range of the unique and intoxicating timbres that these twelve cellos can produce, whether they are playing classical music, jazz, tango or avant-garde. Their mixture of seriousness and humour, of depth and lightness, appeals to audiences of all ages. Recorded in the Philharmonie Berlin on occasion of the 40th anniversary of the ensemble; soloists: Annette Dasch (soprano), Till Brönner (trumpet).

Performed in the grandeur of Berlin's foremost opera house, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Mozart Celebration is dedicated to the life's work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. This one-time-only gala concert features exuberant Mozart pieces, performed by some of the world’s leading singers and musicians. Conductor Julien Salemkour leads these beautiful performances played by the Staatskapelle Berlin. The star solists are Nicolaj Znaider (violin), Thomas Quasthoff (baritone) and Sylvia Schwartz (soprano). The program features Ouverture from la Clemenza di Tito, 'Violin Concerto No. 5', the song 'Chi sa, chi sa, qual sia', Piano Concerto No. 23, the aria 'Per questa bella mano', Papageno's Aria from the Magic Flute, the duet 'Papageno-Papagena' from The Magic Flute, and Symphony No. 40.

Celebrated German violinist Isabelle Faust performs J. S. Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor (BWV 1004). The work is part of the composer’s well-known Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001-1006). Partita No. 2 is made up of four dance movements, concluded by its famous Chaconne, a monumental piece within the violin repertoire. In this Chaconne, Bach develops a series of continuous variations from a theme, exploring a complex range of harmonic possibilities. This performance was recorded at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, in 2020.

Claudio Abbado conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a performance of Mozart’s “Haffner” Symphony No. 35, K. 385, recorded during the very first Europakonzert in the Smetana Hall in Prague, 1991. Mozart originally composed the symphony as a serenade for the family of Sigmund Haffner, a childhood friend from Salzburg in 1782. The composer made some revisions in the following year, adding multiple instruments and conducted the premiere of the four-movement piece on March 23, 1783, in Vienna. The “Haffner” Symphony, as it is known now, is a transitional work in Mozart’s career. The work was meant to be party music for Salzburg and was transformed into a symphony for Vienna.

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.

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. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, known as “Razumovsky”; String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130; and the monumental Great Fugue, Op. 133. This concert performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris on October 12, 2020.