00:00
Beethoven - Fidelio, Op. 72
Fidelio (originally titled "Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe," which translates to "Leonore, or the Triumph of Marital Love"), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. This 2018 opera film from the Swiss Theater St. Gallen is based on Jan Schmidt-Garre's highly acclaimed stage production of Beethoven's Fidelio. Otto Tausk conducts the Sinfonieorchester and choir of St. Gallen, as well as many wonderful soloists in a beautifully designed set by Nikolaus Webern. The producers carefully filmed and edited several performances, and by using additional footage of starring soloist Jacquelyn Wagner as Leonore, the captivating stage production is enhanced and transformed into a unique cinematic experience.
01:56
Beethoven - Symphonies and Piano Concerto No. 4
Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) in a concert program dedicated to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. The program opens with the composer’s Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21. Afterward, Fischer conducts Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, in which Richard Goode features as the soloist. The acclaimed American pianist (1943) is known for his interpretations of the Beethoven repertoire. Goode recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the BFO and Fischer, earning him exceptional critical acclaim and a Grammy Award nomination. As an encore, Goode performs the Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Partita in B-flat major, BWV 825. The program closes with Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on January 29, 2017.
03:36
Antonio Manna: Il basso napolitano
Stefano Demicheli conducts the Ensemble Talenti Vulcanici and soloists Nicola Cianncio (bass) and Catherine Jones (cello) in a varied baroque music program, recorded at Chiesa di Santa Caterina da Seina in Naples, Italy. On the program are Alessandro Scarlatti's Quante i boschi han piane (from his serenade Erminia); Nicola Fago's Contro colpi di fortuna (from the opera Il faraone sommerso); Nicola Porpora's Idre, arpie, draghi e leoni (from his serenade La Iole); Angelo Ragazzi's Sonata a quattro, no. 1 in G major; Alessandro Scarlatti's cantata Nel mar che bagna al bel Sebeto; Giovanni Bononcini's Quanto abbraccia il mar (from Euleo festeggiante); Georg Frideric Handel's Precipitoso il mar che freme (from his cantata Aci, Galatea e Polifemo); Nicola Porpora's Concerto for Cello and Strings in G major; Nicola Fago's Miei fidi armatevi (from his cantata Il faraone sommerso); and Giovanni Bononcini's Per molti lustri (from Euleo festeggiante).
04:33
Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 5
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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219, also known as the ‘Turkish Concerto’. Leading violinist Grimal features as the soloist. With the exception of the first violin concerto, Mozart composed his other four violin concertos in 1775 at a time when he was concertmaster at the Salzburg court. It is the third and final movement that gives Concerto No. 5 its nickname, the ‘Turkish Concerto’. This movement features a striking middle section of ‘Turkish music’, which the composer achieves not only by changing the meter, and the mode to minor, but also by letting the cellos and basses play col legno - creating a percussive sound with the wood of their bow. This performance was recorded at Cité de la Musique, France, in 2014.