The many passionate, fiery or lyrical vocal pieces of Spanish zarzuelas have continued to thrive in concerts and recitals all over the world. One of the most renowned and ardent supporters of zarzuela melodies is Placido Domingo. Belying his 66 years, the world-famous tenor sings these rousing, seductive melodies with the beguiling sweetness of a much younger man and transports the enraptured listener to the calles and plazas of Madrid and Seville. Domingo is accompanied by the Mozarteum Orchestra under Jesus Lopez Cobos and, above all, by his partner for the evening, soprano Ana María Martinez, "a beautiful woman with a fascinating voice, full of velvety mezzoish half-tints in the middle and bottom ranges, with a gleaming top." (London Times) Martínez and Domingo serve up an evening of infectious good spirits and exquisite vocal treats. "The dazzle of genuine stars shone brightly over Salzburg!"(Die Welt)
Ton Koopman, a leading authority on Baroque music, gathered his favourite orchestra and eminent Baroque singers for a concert focusing on the Magnificat , the traditional prayer said by the Virgin Mary after hearing that she would bear God's son. Bach's Magnificat - his greatest choral work - is programmed together with one of his most beautiful cantatas and a lesser-known baroque gem by Bach's predecessor at St. Thomas' Church, Johann Kuhnau, to form a concert in honour of the spiritual power of Baroque music. The concert was performed at St. Thomas' in Leipzig, the church for which Bach conceived most of his works. The recording captures the atmosphere of the impressive church and shows the musicians "at work". The film also focuses on Ton Koopman, offering insights into his friendly and encouraging conducting style.
When Bach was in the service of Prince Leopold in Cöthen, he had his own orchestra and was contracted to compose a great deal of instrumental music. This gave him an opportunity to try new techniques and to develop his own instrumental style. The six Brandenburg Concertos belongs to these masterpieces for a small ensemble. This joyously infectious performance of these famous landmarks in the history of music by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra demonstrates both the musical satisfaction and the high professional standard that can be reached with period instruments. The performance was given in the Bach Anniversary Year 2000 – 250 years after his death – in the elegant Hall of Mirrors at Cöthen Castle. The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra’s members all have virtuoso skills. They take the spotlight gracefully for solos but also play with the true ensemble spirit required by the music. Their decision to perform without a conductor revives an eighteenth century practice.
Bonus features:
Cello Suite No.5, BWV 1011: Sarabande
Hille Perl, viola da gamba
Coffee Cantata, BWV 211: Die Katze lässt das Mausen nicht
Madeleine Vogt, soprano
Matthias Schubotz, tenor
Holger Krause, bass
Members of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig...
Recorded in the magnificent 14th century St. Mary's Church in Krakow, one of the most precious gothic monuments in Poland, this delightful performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio exudes the joyful spirit of Christmas.
The first three cantatas of this oratorio are among the best-known pieces of the whole work, including the opening chorus Jauchzet, Frohlocket , the virtuoso tenor aria Groser Herr und starker König and the famous Sinfonia .
Helmuth Rilling conducts his own ensemble, the Gachinger Kantorei Stuttgart, one of the world's finest vocal ensembles today, and the Chorus and Orchestra of the Bach-Academy Krakow.
Recorded at the atmospheric Academy of Sciences in Budapest, the Keller Quartet plays a version of Bach's unfinished masterpiece The Art of the Fugue for string quartet intertwined with works by renowned contemporary composer Gyorgy Kurtag - a programme that the four Hungarians developed and have successfully performed on international stages. Anner Bylsma, Dutch master cellist and world-renowned as a distinguished interpreter of Bach's cello music, plays the solo suites. The suites, on which he has also published an authoritative book, count among the most popular baroque chamber works. Anner Bylsma plays the famous Stradivarius "Servais" and the performance was recorded in the beautiful village church St. Bartholomew of Dornheim in Thuringia.
Dutch organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman is one of the most distinguished Bach interpreters of our time. On this video, he is featured interpreting Johann Sebastian Bach's greatest organ works, including the popular Toccata in D minor and the Fugue in G minor . He plays on the world-famous Silbermann Organ in Freiberg (Saxony). The organ was completed in 1714 and thoroughly restored in 1982/1983 and it closely retains its original condition. Bach adored his contemporary Gottfried Silbermann's organs for their exquisite sound and the recording allows the listener to enjoy this sound to the full while offering a closer look at this marvellously crafted instrument. In the second part of this video Ton Koopman is "At Home with Bach!" He plays favourite harpsichord pieces and accompanies the eminent Bach singer Klaus Mertens in popular arias. This programme was filmed in the enchanting Gohlis Castle near Leipzig, a late baroque jewel built in 1755.
"For me, it's the utmost to play and work on the music of Bach!"
Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann is one of the greatest artists of his generation. Accompanied by Enrico Pace, his pianist counterpart since 1998, he plays the unrivalled violin sonatas of Johann Sebastian Bach, recorded in one of Germany's most beautiful Baroque halls. And in the documentary Bach and Me he provides us with personal insights into his relationship with this famed Baroque composer as well as into his own life as an artist and human being.
The choir and the orchestra of the Bach Collegium Japan perform the St John's Passion with a small ensemble - as was customary in the composer's time - under Masaaki Suzuki, former student of one of the nestors of authentic interpretation, Ton Koopman. One of the greatest musical treatments of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ receives a performance that is musically precise and stylistically close to what we now know of Bach's ideal. The Bach Collegium Japan has been regarded for some years now as a real discovery among baroque ensembles specialising in the performance of sacred music from the Baroque and Masaaki Suzuki, who conducts and plays the harpsichord, is a complete and thorough musician, deeply involved in the emotional overtones of the music as well as technical questions of tempo, balance, and phrasing. Recorded live from The Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Japan during the Bach Anniversary Year 2000 on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the death of J.S. Bach.
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is one of those success stories that is almost too perfect to be true. The internationally respected orchestra was founded by Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian writer and scholar Edward Said with young, highly talented Israeli and Arab musicians. The ensemble works to establish dialogue between the cultures of the Middle East through the experience of playing music together, and has gained cultural and musical respect all over the world. The concert proves that it can bear comparison with veteran orchestras, even in familiar repertory staples. Combining technical polish and security, tonal beauty and transparency with youthful expression, passion and exuberance, the ensemble plays music by Beethoven, Brahms and others. The event was broadcast live from the Palacio de Carlos V, Alhambra in Spanish Granada, thus hundreds of thousands of viewers across Europe were able to experience Barenboim's conducting and this special orchestra. The Alhambra (Red Castle) in Granada, Spain – a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site - was built and preserved over a period of social tolerance and cultural flowering, during the Moorish era, in which the three great religions lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect. Thus it...
Tango has long become more than the popular Argentine urban dance which developed after 1870 in the poor working class and immigrant areas on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Tango has aficionados worldwide - be it for its music, culture or the dance. On New Year's Eve 2006, conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, Argentinean by birth and upbringing, celebrated the end of the year with a spectacular musical event: a festival of Argentinean music live from Buenos Aires. In a seamless fusion of classical and traditional music, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires under Barenboim joined the excellent bandoneon virtuoso Leopoldo Federico and his Orquesta Tipica to present an extraordinary show with popular tangos and Latin American orchestra classics to a crowd of 10,000 in a free open-air concert at the Plaza de la República. Enchanting new arrangements of works by the Argentinean artists Astor Piazzola, Carlos Gardel, Julio de Caro, Alberto Ginastera and Horacio Salgan and performances by the leading tango dancers Mora Godoy and Junior Cervila from Buenos Aires added to the atmosphere of a night of "Tangos sinfónicos".
Claudio Abbado has taken the Lucerne Festival to new heights in its history, which has been marked by towering figures like Toscanini and Furtwängler. Each new recording by Claudio Abbado is in itself a special event and this recording from the 2005 Festival is no exception: Bruckner's imposing Symphony No.7 is captured live in a performance of awesome silences and immense climaxes presented by the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, a handpicked ensemble and an élite body of instrumentalists who have long been connected to Abbado. Eminent soloists, chamber musicians and orchestral players come together once a year to set new standards in the field of classical music. One of the leading pianists of modern times, Alfred Brendel, reputed throughout his long and distinguished career as one of the finest Beethoven interpreters, was the worthy partner for Claudio Abbado and his orchestra.
In November 2007, Daniel Barenboim completed a cycle of Beethoven's piano concertos. Recorded live at the prestigious Klavier-Festival Ruhr in May 2007, this recording reflects both a very individual and special reading of Beethoven's music and the artist's life-long dedication to the composer. Daniel Barenboim is one of the most prolific and high-profile artists performing on international stages today and Beethoven's masterpieces have been a key part of his repertoire throughout his career, both as conductor and as pianist. Beethoven himself was a keyboard virtuoso of almost awesome abilities who created a sensation wherever he played. It is no wonder, therefore, that the piano was central to Beethoven's overall output. Daniel Barenboim, artistic personality and former wunderkind, long an essential part of the international musical scene both on the conductor's podium and at the piano, is the perfect match for this demanding music. Conducting and playing at the same time, Barenboim chose his orchestra of almost two decades, the Staatskapelle Berlin, which he has praised warmly for its exceptional, dark and warm sound. With a tradition reaching back to 1570, the Staatskapelle Berlin is one of the oldest orchestras in the world.
Elected by members of the Berlin Philharmonic as Principal Conductor and fifth Artistic Director in 1989, Claudio Abbado resigned from the post in 2002, but remains close to the orchestra, which cherishes the conductor to this day. Listening to the music, one hears how the Berlin Philharmonic transforms Abbado's musical intentions into sound – there is a sense of unity that can only be achieved through many years of shared artistic experience and attention to detail. These live performances at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 2001 were an overwhelming success: each concert ended in standing ovations, and the critics spoke of seminal moments in the history of music. Abbado's Beethoven cycle will certainly become a milestone for contemporary interpretation and this recording pays tribute to his achievement.
Bonus feature:
- Multi-Angle Feature - Conductor Camera ( Symphony No. 6 )
Elected by members of the Berlin Philharmonic as Principal Conductor and fifth Artistic Director in 1989, Claudio Abbado resigned from the post in 2002, but remains close to the orchestra, which cherishes the conductor to this day. Listening to the music, one hears how the Berlin Philharmonic transforms Abbado's musical intentions into sound – there is a sense of unity that can only be achieved through many years of shared artistic experience and attention to detail. These live performances at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 2001 were an overwhelming success: each concert ended in standing ovations, and the critics spoke of seminal moments in the history of music. Abbado's Beethoven cycle will certainly become a milestone for contemporary interpretation and this recording pays tribute to his achievement.
Bonus feature:
- Multi-Angle Feature - Conductor Camera ( Symphony No. 5 )
Elected by members of the Berlin Philharmonic as Principal Conductor and fifth Artistic Director in 1989, Claudio Abbado resigned from the post in 2002, but remains close to the orchestra, which cherishes the conductor to this day. Listening to the music, one hears how the Berlin Philharmonic transforms Abbado's musical intentions into sound – there is a sense of unity that can only be achieved through many years of shared artistic experience and attention to detail. These live performances at the Philharmonie, Berlin in 2000 and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 2001 were an overwhelming success: each concert ended in standing ovations, and the critics spoke of seminal moments in the history of music. Abbado's Beethoven cycle will certainly become a milestone for contemporary interpretation and this recording pays tribute to his achievement. For the popular Symphony No. 9 in D minor , the Berlin Philharmonic were joined by high-ranking singers and choirs.
Bonus feature:
- Multi-Angle Feature - Conductor Camera ( Symphony No.3 )
Elected by members of the Berlin Philharmonic as Principal Conductor and fifth Artistic Director in 1989, Claudio Abbado resigned from the post in 2002, but remains close to the orchestra, which cherishes the conductor to this day. Listening to the music, one hears how the Berlin Philharmonic transforms Abbado's musical intentions into sound – there is a sense of unity that can only be achieved through many years of shared artistic experience and attention to detail. These live performances at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in 2001 were an overwhelming success: each concert ended in standing ovations, and the critics spoke of seminal moments in the history of music. Abbado's Beethoven cycle will certainly become a milestone for contemporary interpretation and this recording pays tribute to his achievement.
Bonus features:
- Multi-Angle Feature - Conductor Camera ( Symphony No. 7 )
- Documentary - Abbado on Beethoven
This opera gala, recorded live at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, on November 8, 2003, marked the 10th anniversary of the annual benefit for the German AIDS Foundation. Conducted by Kent Nagano, then Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berlin Deutsche Symphony Orchestra founded 1923. This recording features an illustrious roster of international artists from Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, Bulgaria, the United States and Canada.
A true celebration, ushering in the New Year with one of the finest orchestras and greatest conductors in the world. The 2007 Gala from Berlin features the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle in Alexander Borodin's Second Symphony , a richly lyrical work of immense poetic grandeur and fairytale magic, in a programme that also includes one of the greatest classical hits ever: Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition .
The great musical communicator Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) joined forces with his favourite orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, for this recording. Since his first engagement with the orchestra in the mid 1940s, the famous musician and composer had worked closely with the ensemble on numerous concerts and recordings over a period that span half a century, eventually taking on the role of honorary conductor. In this live recording, filmed at the Great Concert Hall Jerusalem in 1978, Leonard Bernstein leads the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in a revelatory performance of Brahms' Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 . The orchestra's strong, densely textured style has an aesthetic quality that is particularly well suited to Brahms and the late 19th century German sound. Bernstein's readings of Brahms, however, have never been conventional. Neither could they be described as being tied to tradition. This video provides another exciting interpretation from a full-blooded musician who was never content with reproducing the ordinary – a legendary document.
After their impressive interpretation of Mahler Symphonies, Michael Gielen and Roger Norrington now turn to Johannes Brahms' Symphonies. In this video, Roger Norrington conducts the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra on Brahms Symphonies and gives detailed introduction of each Symphony.
Leonard Bernstein at Tanglewood – the exceptional musical personality and his favourite festival. Bernstein began his career as a conductor in Tanglewood in 1940. He was studying under Sergei Koussevitzky and it filled him with pride to conduct two Brahms symphonies at the festival as he recalls his teacher conducting the same two symphonies there. The recording shows Bernstein with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Festival in 1972. His readings of Johannes Brahms' (1833–1897) Second and Fourth Symphonies display all the passion and musical commitment for which he was so famous. "Lenny", as he was often affectionately called and Sergei Koussevitzky met when Bernstein was studying conducting at the Berkshire Music Center in Tanglewood, founded and led by Koussevitzky, the music director of Bernstein's hometown orchestra, the Boston Symphony. From then on Bernstein was a regular visitor at the festival, soon conducting in the main programme and – after Koussevitzky's death in 1951 – leading memorial concerts in honour of his teacher. The two performances on this video were recorded before casually clothed audiences at afternoon and early evening performances in August 1972. There is, however, nothing casual about Bernstein's...
On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Bruckner's death, an International Bruckner festival took place in the composer's home town of Linz. Paying tribute to the great late romantic composer, Pierre Boulez - himself an enormously successful composer - conducted Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 . He had one of the most prestigious orchestras at hand - the Vienna Philharmonic with its silken, rich strings, full-throated brass and intricately delineated winds is perfectly suited to Bruckner's dramatic symphonic works. The recording took place in the St. Florian Church in Linz, Austria, where Anton Bruckner is buried, where he was organist and where themes of this symphony were first heard in an organ improvisation in 1886. Boulez's much discussed interpretation is unique in its clarity of the musical structure without loosing the rich expression of the symphony.
Until 2008, on each 10th of October (birthdate of Verdi), the Teatro Regio will hold a concert featuring some of the most important artists, singers, conductors and orchestras of the international music scene. Extracts from all of Verdi's operas are to be performed in chronological order, to offer an analytic and comprehensive panorama of his output, bringing onto the stage of the Teatro Regio, in the course of a few years, the most acclaimed stars of the operatic world. The great baritone Leo Nucci and the famous tenor José Cura are featured in this 2004 recital. Renato Palumbo, who was recently appointed musical director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducts.
Butterfly Lovers is a music and dance film by director Marikki Hakola. A synthesis of the ever-popular Chinese violin concerto Butterfly Lovers and choreography inspired by Chinese martial arts and modern dance, the film is an imaginative interpretation of the ancient Chinese fairy tale - A Love Story of Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai . The film features violinist Takako Nishizaki, conductor James Judd, choreographer and dancer Dou Dou, dancer Ding Yue Hong and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Bonus feature:
Butterfly Tones - a documentary featuring interviews with Chen Gang, Takako Nishizaki, James Judd, Zeng Kang Mei and Dou Dou.
The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto was written in 1958 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang while they were students at the Shanghai Conservatory and was first performed in May the following year. Musically the concerto is a synthesis of Eastern and Western traditions, although the melodies and overall style are adapted from traditional Chinese Opera. The solo violin is used with a technique that recalls the playing technique of Erhu, the Chinese two-string fiddle. It is a one-movement programmatic concerto, with three sections that correspond to the three phases of the story - Falling in Love, Refusing to Marry and Metamorphosis.
The Yellow River Concerto , was based on the famous Yellow River Cantata by Xin Singhai, a work dating from the period of the Sino-Japanese War, and devised by the committee of composers then found advisable for such a task, Yin Chengzong, Liu Zhuang, Chu Wanghua, Sheng Lihong, Shi Shucheng and Xu Feisheng.
This selection of music for Christmas brings together East and West in the collaboration of Winchester College Chapel Choir and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded live in Hong Kong in December 2004, this disc features a selection of perennial favourites from the Baroque period, including Bach cantatas and Handel's Messiah , and three exquisite modern carols.
As performed by Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. This video contains footage and performances as the ACO take you on a trip through Europe.
An evening of Viennese all-time classical favourites recorded live at the Carnegie Hall New York in October 2006. The programme includes Mozart's beloved Piano Concerto No. 17 , performed by acclaimed pianist Leif Ove Andsnes, and selections from the composer's opera Le Nozze di Figaro with soprano Dorothea Roschmann, the Light Cavalry Overture by Franz von Suppe, and to cap off the evening, Artist's Life , Annen-Polka , and the Overture to Die Fledermaus by the Waltz King, Johann Strauss Jr. Long considered one of America's greatest orchestras, the Cleveland Orchestra has joined the ranks of the world's most celebrated symphonic ensembles. It has a long standing commitment to the internationally successful conductor Franz Welser-Most. Multi-Grammy Award winner Leif Ove Andsnes is rapidly becoming known for his Mozart interpretations and Dorothea Roschmann has been charting her successful progress through the international opera scene for the past decade.
The outstanding Chicago Symphony Orchestra performs under the masterful direction of Daniel Barenboim. Recorded in 2000 at the world's most important festival for 20th century music, the Musik Triennale Cologne, this concert programme successfully set out to capture the great wealth and diversity of modern classical music. The concert featured an important and infrequently heard piece: Notations I-IV by Barenboim's Chicago predecessor, the French composer-conductor Pierre Boulez. Barenboim, who in his long and eclectic career has championed Boulez's often impenetrable work, makes this particularly thorny composition sound highly accessible in its unapologetically modernist way.
Bonus feature:
- My 20th Century: Barenboim & Boulez discuss the Music of the Last 100 Years - Daniel Barenboim in conversation with Pierre Boulez
The Nobel Prize Concert 2008 was a world-class event featuring a marvellous array of performers: Sir John Eliot Gardiner, one of today's most respected conductors, his legendary Monteverdi Choir with the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, both playing a central role in Swedish and international music circles, as well as an ensemble of dazzling and renowned soloists. As one of the annual highlights of Nobel Week, this concert was eagerly awaited by music lovers all over the world.
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's European Concerts not only represent the Berlin Philharmonic's commemoration of its founding date but also emphasize the cultural life of the new European order. Each year the orchestra performs at a place of special significance in cultural history, always in a different country. This, the eleventh European Concert, took place in the city of Istanbul's oldest church, St. Irine (Hagia Irini) or the Church of the Holy Peace, which is magnificently situated on the promontory washed by the Bosporus and the Sea of Marmara. At the helm of this concert, Mariss Jansons, is one of today's most sought-after conductors. Since 1997, he has been principal conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; in 2003, he will assume the directorship of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The flautist Emmanuel Pahud has won numerous international competitions and is a laureate of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and UNESCO's International Tribune for Musicians. At the age of 22, he became principal flautist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado, having previously held that position with the Basle Radio Symphony Orchestra under Nello Santi and the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache.
Recorded live at the ancient Herodes Atticus Odeon in Athens 2004, this was the first European Concert that Sir Simon Rattle conducted in his new post as chief conductor of one of the most important orchestras of all times. Since 1991, when the Berlin Philharmonic gave their first European Concert, this annual musical summit in important cultural cities has become a brand name for excellence. This concert also represents the first musical encounter between Rattle and world-famous pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim. This all Brahms programme features the wonderful Piano Concerto No. 1 with the romantic Adagio which Brahms wrote in reverence for Clara Schumann and Schoenberg's successful arrangement of the Piano Quartet No. 1 for orchestra.
Bonus feature:
- The European Concert in Olympic Athens
The Berlin Philharmonic's annual "Concert for Europe", an annual musical summit in important cultural cities, has been a brand name for excellence since 1991, when the Berlin Philharmonic gave their first European Concert. This all-Mozart concert took place in Prague on 1 May 2006. In honour of the composers 250th birthday, the Berlin Philharmonic invited the pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim to lead them through a concert featuring two masterpieces from the Mozart repertoire, the "Haffner" and "Linz" Symphonies. In his familiar dual role as soloist and conductor, he also performed the Piano Concerto No. 22 . The concert was performed and recorded in the Estates Theatre Prague, which is one of the most beautiful historical theatres in Europe. It was in this theatre that Mozart conducted the premier of Don Giovanni , a work written specially for Prague, in 1787 and for this concert recording, the orchestra sat in a reconstruction of the sets that had been used at the first performance of the opera.
Bonus feature:
- A Cultural Potrait of Prague
On the eve of its 300th birthday, St. Petersburg, Russia's fabled "window to Europe", celebrates this anniversary presenting a gala of distinguished musical art featuring Anna Netrebko, Dimitri Hvorostovsky, Mischa Maisky and many others. Yuri Temirkanov conducts one of the oldest Russian symphonic ensembles: the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
Katia and Marielle Labeque received their first piano tuition at ages three and five and the sisters are famous for their unusual duo precision, their great musicality and the breadth of their repertoire. In this concert they perform with Il Giardino Armonico, a leading Italian ensemble specializing in period performing practice. Katia and Marielle Labeque throw themselves into the works with their typical verve and enthusiasm, demonstrating symbiotic synchrony and facile (facile means inconsequential, shallow - negative word) technique. With its unmistakable sound Il Giardino Armonico is one of today's most notable Baroque ensembles. Colourful, individualistic and stylish, it has won an enthusiastic international following and truly excels in performing Baroque music for a 21st century audience. The programme includes a wide variety of music by three different composers, all performed on historical instruments at the Vienna Musik Verein. One of the unique elements of this performance - recorded in the Bach Anniversary year 2000 - is the use of the fortepiano for Bach's keyboard concertos. This instrument, which Bach undoubtedly knew, and probably owned, is rarely used in Bach performances, yet the sound it offers is far more interesting than a modern piano. Together with...
Henry Gwiazda's world, as represented in these three new audio-visual works, couldn't be more uneventful or normal. A lot of everyday stuff happens: characters move through an urban landscape. But the remarkable thing is in the details; every link, join, gap, and connection turns the viewer's attention to the negative space surrounding the action, the silence between events, the rhythm of life, the blank area around these words. There is an inverted, Zen rhythm that makes you notice more; he outCages Cage.
These are virtual worlds where humans, lights, text and sound conspire to shift your perspective on life and how we live in the world. Gwiazda's contemplative approach produces a new kind of multimedia choreography that is as likely to enlighten as it is to disturb.
Henry Gwiazda is a new media artist/composer whose artistic trajectory has taken him from Downtown New York to Fargo, from sampling, sound effects, and immersive technologies to his current work with integrating new media with a focus on sound and movement. Gwiazda's works are regularly screened in festivals and galleries throughout the world including New York, Paris, Madrid, Cairo, Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Naples, Marseilles, Damascus, Athens, Istanbul and many others. He also won First Prize at...
This is one of those 'in between' moments.
Henry Gwiazda doesn't want to be thought of as a composer anymore; the three animated video works on this recording may put the kibosh on that once and for all. The former guitar-and-sampler guru has gone anything but Hollywood.
These are sparse Zen studies of everydayness: houses on a suburban street, a downtown outdoor restaurant, or a guitarist practicing in the living room. Just enough sound and gesture to catch your attention without rattling your Cage.
"They’re the most trivial little happenings, and somehow Gwiazda makes us start eagerly anticipating them. What he hopes is, that once we turn away from his art and go back to our lives, we’ll take that same attitude to the sensuous details around us. It works for me." [Kyle Gann]
"Perhaps we should focus our attention on the vast majority of time in which we live, those times 'in between' where nothing is going on- those empty spots, while we're waiting for what we believe are the events of our life." [Henry Gwiazda]
During the first London performance King George II is said to have been so moved by the "Hallelujah" chorus, that he rose from his seat, and the rest of the audience with him. The Messiah , Handel's best-known oratorio, is deemed to be the masterpiece of the genre and one of the main reasons that he became a popular artistic figure in London's contemporary music scene.
Helmuth Rilling conducts Mozart's 1789 arrangement of that "Grand Musical Entertainment". According to Rilling, it is due to the details that this arrangement is so fascinating: dynamic changes, a different segmentation of solo and chorus parts, the instrumentation modulated to the tone characteristic of Mozart's time. "Actually", says Rilling, "this Messiah is a new work, more colourful, and very interesting!"
Gramophone on the original CD issue: "I was particularly impressed by Cornelia Kallisch; her singing of 'He was despised' is beautifully controlled and her declamation clear and affecting... [Her] light-textured voice, sometimes recalling the youthful Ameling, is ideal in this repertory. The bass Alastair Miles is the British member of the team and his contribution is a strong one. His vigorous account of 'Why do the nations so furiously rage together?', completed by Mozart's timpani, comes over...
Gidon Kremer celebrates his 60th birthday in 2007 - he is, and has always been, one of the most headstrong and original artists in the music business. His return to J. S. Bach's partitas is a major event as Kremer's first recording of these works was released almost a quarter of a century ago, and he hasn't played the partitas in public for over twenty years. Those who have followed Gidon Kremer's artistic development over the past 25 years will note how much his tone and articulation have changed. The new rendering displays Kremer's very personal sense of spontaneity and a readiness to take risks. In the early 1980s, after being declared persona non grata in the Soviet Union, Kremer moved to the West and made a recording of the solo partitas. The record went down in music history and for decades was a benchmark in the music guild. The young virtuoso was catapulted to fame virtually overnight in the Western world and hailed as the world's best violinist by Herbert von Karajan. This recording features the Violin Partita Nos.1, 2, and 3 , recorded at the Pfarrkirche Lockenhaus in 2002 and the documentary Back to Bach . The film includes rare archival footage and tells in a very personal way of Gidon Kremer's encounters with Bach's music, accompanying the famous violin virtuoso...
Gidon Kremer is not only one of the leading violinists in the world, but also - thanks to his unquenchable curiosity and search for new impulses - one of the most fascinating musical personalities of our time. His repertoire ranges from Bach to the present, whereby a number of contemporary composers have achieved international recognition through his commitment. This video presents a very original program with hardly ever performed pieces and Kremer's own version for string orchestra of Schubert famous String Quintet in C major which makes it particularly attractive. Since 1997 Kremer has devoted a large part of his activities to the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica, which he founded. The ensemble consists of young musicians from the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The average age is 25. The debut of the chamber orchestra in February 1997 corresponded with Gidon Kremer's 50th birthday. With this orchestral project, Kremer wants to pass on his artistic experiences to young musicians of his native country and to draw international attention to the outstanding musical situation of the Baltic nations. The Kremerata Baltica performs in all of the world's major musical venues.
We live in a "renaissance of the piano", as the New York Times so surprisingly put it in summer 2005. A new generation is reviving the piano's popularity as pianists with a passion for virtuosity and a willingness to expand their repertoire take to the concert stages. In addition to the standard classics they perform formerly disparaged works or discover neglected composers. LEGATO is a series dedicated to presenting some of this new movement's most fascinating pianists - their development, their ideas and, of course, their music. Each episode portrays an artist and explores an aspect of the world of piano music. Viewers meet the artists and get to know their styles, their methods of working and their personal idiosyncrasies. The sum of these portraits provides viewers with an overall picture of the art of piano playing today. Boris Berezovsky, intelligent, curious and strong-minded, has established a remarkable reputation, both as the most powerful of virtuoso pianists and as a musician of unique insight and sensitivity. In a stunning recital recorded live at the newly-built Philharmonie Essen in 2006, he balances virtuosity with an unfaltering musical integrity, playing works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Nikolai Medtner, Dafydd Llywelyn, Leopold Godowsky and Anatoly Liadov....
We live in a "renaissance of the piano", as the New York Times so surprisingly put it in summer 2005. A new generation is reviving the piano's popularity as pianists with a passion for virtuosity and a willingness to expand their repertoire take to the concert stages. In addition to the standard classics, they perform formerly disparaged works or discover neglected composers. LEGATO is a series dedicated to presenting some of this new movement's most fascinating pianists - their development, their ideas and, of course, their music. Each episode in this series presents an artist and explores an aspect of the world of piano music. Viewers meet the artists and get to know their styles, their methods of working and their personal idiosyncrasies. The sum of these portraits provides viewers with an overall picture of the art of piano playing today. Montréal native Marc-André Hamelin is a perfect representative of this new group of pianists. Internationally renowned for his musical virtuosity and refined pianism, he operates on a level of virtuosity that "is simply way beyond mental reach," as The Times once wrote about one of his concerts. This video portrays Marc-André Hamelin in concert and interview. He presented works by Joseph Haydn, Frédéric Chopin, Claude Debussy, and...
LEGATO is a video series dedicated to presenting some of the most fascinating of today's younger generation pianists - their development, their ideas and, of course, their music. Each video in this series presents an artist and explores an aspect of the world of piano music. Viewers meet the artists and get to know their styles, their methods of working and their personal idiosyncrasies. The sum of these portraits provides an overall picture of the art of piano playing today. We live in a "renaissance of the piano", as the New York Times so surprisingly put it in summer 2005. A new generation is reviving the piano's popularity as pianists with a passion for virtuosity and a willingness to expand their repertoire take to the concert stages. In addition to the standard classics, they perform formerly disparaged works or discover neglected composers.
The Swedish pianist Roland Pöntinen was born in 1963. He made his debut at 17 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and has since performed with major orchestras worldwide. Thanks to an insatiable musical appetite and a stupendous technique he has acquired a vast repertoire, ranging from the Baroque period to contemporary music. This recording portrays Roland Pöntinen in concert and interview. Recorded live at the Folkwang...
From its debut in 2003, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra has been enthusiastically received by public and press alike. The orchestra is a dream come true for Claudio Abbado who handpicked famous soloists, chamber recitalists and orchestral musicians to form the group. Time and again it has been praised for its extraordinary sound and refined playing in the finest spirit of chamber music under the direction of the exceptional Italian conductor. This video provides a comprehensive overview of the work of this already legendary orchestra featuring a selection of outstanding recordings from the 2003 to 2006 festivals. For prominent works by Beethoven, Bruckner, Debussy and Mahler, the orchestra is joined by reputed soloists. In addition to a masterly filmed musical experience, the set also includes the documentary The History of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra with rarely seen rehearsal, concert and archival footage featuring Wilhelm Furtwangler, Ferenc Fricsay, Herbert von Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin and Arturo Toscanini. Also included is a bonus video of Maurizio Pollini playing Beethoven in a first ever audiovisual release.
In 2005, the Staatsoper Berlin and its orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin under musical director Daniel Barenboim, celebrated a series of events to celebrate the 80th birthday of French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez. Artistically associated for decades with Barenboim and Berlin, Pierre Boulez is one of today's most distinguished composers and conductors. As part of the celebration, Boulez conducted a performance of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony at the Berlin Philharmonie. With his uncompromising approach to the score, Pierre Boulez's Mahler readings have long fascinated critics and audiences alike. Boulez eschews the romanticized readings common in performance tradition and, instead, reveals the real joy and terror in Mahler's large-scale symphonies. The Berlin Staatskapelle, singers Diana Damrau and Petra Lang and the Berlin State Opera Chorus joined forces to bring his vision of this gargantuan piece to life. Watching Boulez conducting on his 80th birthday is truly an experience, and his interpretation presents a new perspective on a much-loved symphony.
"It would be hard to find anything greater, more significant or more moving anywhere in musical life today: total harmony of mind and heart, poetry and outcry, fear and consolation, knowing and feeling," declared the Berne paper Der Bund after this stunning performance of Mahler's Resurrection Symphony in August 2003 by the newly founded Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Claudio Abbado had formed this ensemble from famous instrumentalists, celebrated chamber-musicians and experienced soloists from the world's best orchestras, and the event was sold out months in advance. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported: "Once again the applause at the end was unequalled; the immense final chord...broke a tension that had lasted over 90 minutes without relaxing for a moment."
This Claudio Abbado recording captures a very special night at the 2007 Lucerne Festival with the massive Third Symphony by Gustav Mahler (1860-1911). Ever since its debut in 2003, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra has been enthusiastically received by public and press alike. The orchestra is the realisation of a dream for Claudio Abbado, who handpicked famous soloists, chamber recitalists and orchestral musicians to form this ensemble. Time and again it has been praised for its extraordinary sound and refined playing in the finest spirit of chamber music under the direction of the exceptional Italian conductor. The line-up includes such luminaries as Kolja Blacher and Sabine Meyer, alongside sundry members of the world's great orchestras. The cello section alone boasts Natalia Gutman, Clemens Hagen and Valentin Erben. On this video, the viewer can join in the imposing experience of a live performance of Mahler's No.3 with its awesome silences and towering climaxes recorded in the acoustically superb Congress and Concert Hall Lucerne in August 2007. Mahler completed the symphony in 1896 and it counts among the longest ever composed, with a performance lasting at least one and a half hours. The popular work became famous through Luciano Visconti's film Death in Venice , where...
Claudio Abbado has realised a dream with his new Lucerne Festival Orchestra. The orchestra, an exclusive ensemble of handpicked orchestral musicians, has set new standards in the field of classical music with exceptional soloists such as violinist Kolja Blacher, flutist Emanuel Pahud and clarinettist Sabine Meyer on the first desks. In August 2004 they performed in the Lucerne Festival Hall, presenting a programme that, once again, confirmed Claudio Abbado's fame as a supreme Mahler conductor. His long-time association with Mahler ensures a marvellous reading of the composer's Fifth and most popular Symphony, which became world-famous as the soundtrack to Visconti's film Death in Venice . An innovative special feature makes this audio-visually appealing video even more attractive. The film is shot using a multi-angle perspective, which enables the viewer to switch easily from the regular to the "Conductor" Camera thus experiencing Claudio Abbado from the orchestra's perspective. The is a wonderful homage to the interplay between orchestra and conductor celebrating the composer and a triumphant masterwork - Gustav Mahler's glorious Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor .
Bonus feautres:
- Multi-Angle Feature - Conductor Camera
Claudio Abbado, who first conducted his new Lucerne Festival Orchestra in the summer of 2003, realised a dream with this exclusive ensemble. Handpicked orchestral musicians and exceptional soloists such as violinist Kolja Blacher, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, clarinettist Sabine Meyer, oboist Albrecht Mayer, violist Wolfram Christ, cellist Natalia Gutman, the Hagen Quartet and members of the Alban Berg Quartet to name just a few, make the Lucerne Festival Orchestra a star-studded ensemble, while the core of the orchestra is provided by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, itself an élite body of players. Claudio Abbado is undeniably a supreme Mahler conductor and his Mahler recordings with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra have set new benchmarks in Mahler interpretation. This wonderful performance of the impressive five movement Symphony No. 7 was recorded live at the new and acoustically superb Concert Hall Lucerne in August 2005.
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 and their 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. The is a wonderful homage to orchestra, conductor, composer and, last but not least, to a triumphant master work - Gustav Mahler's magnificent Symphony No. 9 in D major .
The archival gems included here are taken from footage for the legendary 1948 Hollywood film "Concert Magic" (the first ever concert filmed for movie audiences). At nearly 25 minutes, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto was too long for inclusion in the film, so although it is Menuhin's only filmed performance of the work it has only recently been discovered. To see one of the greatest ever violinists perform one of the greatest ever violin concertos is undoubtedly a compelling experience. The encore pieces that follow are superb documents of his seemingly effortless virtuosity. These performances by the 32-year-old Yehudi Menuhin show him at the height of his career. Yehudi Menuhin was one of the best-known violinists of the 20th century - he was universally popular and was frequently received as an ambassador of classical music. With "Concert Magic", which premiered in San Francisco in 1947, he made the first ever motion picture concert in film history. He also produced many short films for the cinema – used to fill the space between the traditional "double features". An especially valuable rarity was found among these - Felix Mendelssohn's Violin concerto . Pianist Adolph Baller and the Symphony Orchestra of Hollywood conducted by Antal Dorati joined Yehudi Menuhin at...
This concert features virtuoso violinist Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) at the Charlie Chaplin Studios in 1947. Together with various artists he performed classical and romantic works of famous composers such as Beethoven, Wieniawski, Bach, Paganini and others. Yehudi Menuhin in Concert Magic is the very first concert film produced by and for Hollywood. This concert was premiered at the Stage Door Cinema in San Francisco for movie audiences. Yehudi Menuhin was at the age of 32 and was at the pinnacle of his fame.
Bonus features:
- The Story behind "Concert Magic" - Yehudi Menuhin in conversation with Humphrey Burton
Claudio Monteverdi's Fourth Book of Madrigals (1603) explores differing emotional states of abandoned lovers through the most dramatic and amazingly modern music for vocal ensemble. The Full Monteverdi follows the simultaneous break-up of six couples from shocking revelation, vengeful anger and erotic longing for reconciliation, as an ensemble film. Vulnerable and disarming, it will draw you into its emotional journey and intensely moving portrait of contemporary love.
This film is a genuine premiere starring the greatest motion picture composer of the present day: Ennio Morricone. Morricone's music has been well known to moviegoers for decades and his name stands for warmly melodic soundtracks, superbly suited to the films they grace. Born in 1928 in Rome, he went to school with film director Sergio Leone, with whom he would later form one of the great director/composer partnerships. His sparse arrangements, unorthodox instrumentation and memorable tunes revolutionised the way music would be used in Westerns. He has written nearly 400 film scores and this programme contains a representative sample of his rich creative output including short clips from his most famous films. The Munich Philharmonic – one of the best German symphony orchestras - invited Morricone to conduct his own music.
Mozart is the most pervasively dramatic composer in history. The spirit of opera informs very nearly his every work. Themes are characters; characters interact; they change. András Schiff's alertness to the dialogue in Mozart is reflected both in his acute sense of characterisation and his immensely sophisticated use of articulation. Every line breathes. Not only that, every tone tells. Just as the voice in conversation subtly reflects the speaker's state of mind, so Schiff's deployment of sonority derives from an acute perception of the notes' psychological as well as their purely musical character. This recording from the historical and stunningly beautiful Teatro Olimpico affords us numerous insights into Schiff's approach to music and music-making, and more besides. Schiff's joy in performance is as evident to the eye as to the ear.
Filmed in Chester Cathedral during the National Youth Orchestra of Spain's 2007 European tour, this concert features Leopold Stokowski's inimitable and colourful transcriptions of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhbition and A Night on Bare Mountain , the latter made famous by its inclusion in the 1940 Walt Disney film Fantasia . Jose Serebrier's 'Symphonie mystique' , for strings, was written in the space of just one week in 2003. Serebrier's earlier recording of this work was hailed by FonoForum magazine as "a vital, elegant masterwork… a shimmering prism of tone… clearly formed and with a sure hand for reaching great heights of ecstasy".
Virtuoso Music of the 19th Century
The 19th century brought astonishing developments in instrumental skill, marking, with Paganini and his innovations in violin technique, the true age of the virtuoso. Earlier periods had seen great performers, but it was now combined with changes in technique and with the development of particular instruments, notably the piano, with which Liszt at first set out to rival Paganini. A distinctive feature of the age was the pre-eminence of performer-composers. Bach, Handel, Mozart and Beethoven had all been players, but now, changing technical demands and possibilities opened a new world of virtuosity, the world of Liszt and his successor Busoni, and of Sarasate, Ernst, Joachim and Ries.
Dacapo's CD recording of all Carl Nielsen's symphonies by the Danish National Symhpony Orchestra/DR conducted by Michael Schønwandt has already established itself as a reference recording on the international classical CD market. Now the same outstanding interpretation of all six symphonies can be experienced on video with new opportunities for in-depth study of the music and a stimulating 60-minute documentary that offers new perspectives on Denmark's national composer.
For the Carinthian Summer Festival, which was founded in 1969 and which is now one of Austria's leading music festivals, this concert has positively historic significance: this was the first live TV broadcast in the festival's history and was filmed at the famous Abbey Church at Ossiach whose beautiful Baroque design dates from the middle of the 18th century. But for the music lover, the concert is worth treasuring for it features the young Claudio Abbado conducting a performance of Pergolesi's Stabat mater with two of Italy's leading singers of their generation. The rest of the programme comprises two magnificent examples of Vivaldi's "concerti con titoli".
Who would have thought it? An American orchestra performing in North Korea! Hundreds of millions watched this historic New York Philharmonic concert on television in February 2008 and for a few hours the cold war hostilities seemed to be forgotten. Music became diplomacy when conductor Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, the USA's most eminent orchestra, opened the concert in East Pyongyang's Grand Theatre with both the American and the North Korean national anthems. The programme included music by Wagner, Dvořák, Gershwin, Bizet and Bernstein and prompted the North Korean audience to standing ovations. This courageous musical project also united Korean and American musicians, who, together, produced a technically brilliant performance. The musicians barely spoke to one another, communicating in exchanged glances and body language, and when Lorin Maazel raised his baton at the end of the concert and the orchestra embarked on Arirang , a lilting folk song emblematic of the North and South Korean people, the audience was obviously touched.
A previously unreleased documentary with 53 min of exclusive material shows members of the New York Philharmonic on their historic trip to North Korea's capital. Many concerns and doubts arose before departing to the most...
Christoph Prégardien is one of the most established singers of our time and has especially excelled in his interpretations of German Romantic Lieder. He has won Orphée d'Or of Académie du Disque Lyrique - Prix Georg Solti, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Edison Award, Cannes Classical Award and Diapason d'Or. This is easy to understand when one hears his controlled, beautifully phrased yet emotional and tender singing.
Bonus feature:
- Christoph Pregardien on Schubert and Die Schone Mullerin
The Hagen Quartett is regarded internationally as one of the foremost string quartets. Their mentors included stars such as Harnoncourt and Kremer. Having played together since their childhood (the three siblings), the musicians combine exceptional freshness and passion with their unique depth of experience. They are renowned for the warmth and emotion of their interpretations. It doesn't come as a surprise that their interpretations of Ravel's String Quartet in F major and Schubert's String Quartet in D minor are intensely beautiful.
In summer 2006, the incomparable Martha Argerich presented an all Schumann programme in honour of the great romantic composer's anniversary year. Recorded live at the beginning of June 2006 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the programme comprised favourite works for piano and orchestra including the Piano Concerto in A minor , the Symphony No. 4 , excerpts from Kinderszenen along with works by Schumann in orchestrations by famous composers such as Tchaikovsky and Ravel. The legendary Argentinean pianist was accompanied by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under its new "Kapellmeister" Riccardo Chailly. Martha Argerich has long been hailed as a uniquely imaginative pianist and she is definitely the right person to honour Schumann on the anniversary of his death 150 years ago, as she is especially well known for her interpretations of the 19th century repertoire. She has been surrounded by an impermeable, almost mystical aura since the start of her career in the fifties – she is uncompromising in her music making, and yet she is generous and beautiful – and this recording bears witness to the deep musicality of this incredible artist.
The Choir sings John Tavener's hauntingly beautiful unaccompanied choral music in a stunning virtual reality restoration of the ancient St. Sophia church in Constantinople. Orthodox ikons enrich the visual tapestry, enhancing the full richness of Tavener's mystic inspiration.
Bonus features:
- Manifestations of God - Sir John Tavener on his choral music and the parents of Athene talk about the inspiration behind Song for Athene
- The ikon chooses you - Robert J. Roozemond on a ikonographic art
World Premiere performance of Sir John Tavener's epic work written for the new Millennium, recorded in St Paul's Cathedral, London, in January 2000. Richard Hickox conducts the City of London Sinfonia with Patricia Rozario, Michael Chance and Stephen Richardson, in a work which came to Tavener in a vision. The composer makes full use of the remarkable acoustic of St Paul's.
Bonus features:
- Introduction and interview with Sir John Tavener by Stephanie Hughes.
- The Eye of the Heart - Sir John Tavener talks about his beliefs and music.
This recording captures the Vienna Boys' Choir's fitting celebration of Mozart's 250th birthday in January 2006. Together with well known Mozart interpreters like Sandrine Piau, they sing Mozart's finest sacred works, including the Coronation Mass . The Choir is one of the best-known musical institutions in Vienna. Since its founding over 500 years ago, it has been a significant fixture in musical life worldwide. Many famous composers and musicians had close ties to the Vienna Boys' Choir - Joseph Haydn and Franz Schubert were even members of the choir as children and Mozart, while not a choirboy himself, did perform with the choir. The venue is St. Stephen's Cathedral, where Mozart and his wife were married, where one of their sons was christened and where the funeral ceremony after Mozart's death took place.
Bonus features:
- Mozart in Vienna - Mozart's most critical years in Vienna. Examining the authentic Mozart sites in Vienna such as the Mozart House at Domgasse 5 (Figaro-Haus), the Theater an der Wien and the Stephansdom helps put into focus Mozart's special connection to the city and the Viennese relationship to Mozart.
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's annual summer concert at the Waldbühne in Berlin is legendary. Recorded live on 25 June 2000, the Millenium concert gathered more than 22,000 people in one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres in Europe for one of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. Kent Nagano named his programme of popular and rather unusual music from the 20th century "Rhythm and Dance". It turned out to be an inspiring combination of classical pieces, show tunes, pops, and Far Eastern music, all brought together in a tasty musical stew and rightly labelled as one of the most exciting programmes ever performed at the Waldbühne. It featured Gershwin classics with an outstanding performance by the American mezzo soprano Susan Graham, music by Ravel and the soundtrack to the successful Chinese film "Farewell My Concubine". Nagano injected the performance with so much sensuality and pulsing life that the audience rose to beat time with their feet and to gave him standing ovations.
World-famous tenor Placido Domingo as a conductor of Spanish music which has always been particularly close to his heart. This recording captures the unique atmosphere of the Berlin Philharmonic's annual summer concert at the Berlin Waldbuhne, one of the most successful open-air concerts with classical music. Featuring violinist Sarah Chang in virtuosic show-pieces such as Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy . The program includes delightful "zarzuela" arias, sung by Ana Maria Martinez, winner of the Placido Domingo Vocal Competition in Barcelona.
Recorded at the annual summer concert of the Berlin Philharmonic at the Waldbuhne in Berlin 2003, this video captures the atmosphere of an open-air Gershwin night in full while also allowing a closer look at the musicians and the conductor. With an audience of over 20,000 one of the world's best orchestras played the popular music of George Gershwin, including the famous Rhapsody in Blue and the popular film music suite An American in Paris . Conducted by Seiji Ozawa – one of the longstanding stars in the classical world - the Berlin Philharmonic was joined by jazz pianist Marcus Roberts and his Trio, whose 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 the bonus film Seiji Ozawa and Marcus Roberts talk about Gershwin and their music making.
Bonus feature:
Documentary - They Got Rhythm
The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres in Europe, is the home of the Berlin Philharmonic's annual summer concert. With over 22,000 in attendance, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world.
On this recording, Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi takes the audience on a trip through an "Oriental Night". Works by Grieg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Nielsen, Saint-Saëns and Massenet explore oriental images in music. High-ranking soloists like rising star Dutch violinist Janine Jansen join the outstanding orchestra. Neeme Järvi can be counted as one of the world's leading musical personalities having conducted more than 350 CD productions. Recorded live at the Waldbühne Berlin in 2006, Sheherazade offers a sensational concert to all those who want to relive the atmosphere of a the relaxed and high quality open-air event.
