With unparalleled charm and whirlwind exuberance, world-renowned tenor Rolando Villazón hosts a unique television special in which young musical “stars of tomorrow” are introduced to millions of music lovers as soloists in performances with the Junge Sinfonie Berlin under the baton of Giedre Slekyte und Elias Grandy – a highly successful, casual, briskly paced concert series that appeals to young audiences!
Grafenegg: MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S GALA 2015
“Aural pleasure at the Wolkenturm” is how the Kurier newspaper described it, referring to the “top-flight summer night’s gala from Grafenegg”, taking place in the picturesque open air ambience of Grafenegg, Lower Austria. Under the artistic overall direction of pianist Rudolf Buchbinder the Grafenegg Festival has blossomed into a benchmark event for all the top stars on the classical music scene. A potpourri of lovely melodies from the world of opera, operetta and the concert hall, which brought praise from the audience and from the Wiener Zeitung: “Piotr Beczala’s wonderful operetta top notes, Elisabeth Kulman’s rich mezzo and Julia Fischer’s graceful violin playing with her refined reading of catchy Spanish tunes” are the ingredients for an unmatched evening recital in Grafenegg.
BBC Proms 2018: Iván Fischer conducts an Hungarian Night
Hungarian folk tunes run through the veins of Iván Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, while Gypsy rhythms set their pulses dancing. This concert – a true celebration of Hungary’s national music – traces the development of folk songs and dance, from their colourful, rough-hewn originals into virtuosic concert-hall reimaginings by Liszt, Brahms and Sarasate. In the second half comes Brahms’s dramatic First Symphony, whose darkness and drama eventually give way to an ending of transcendent musical triumph.“A masterclass. Oh, that concerts could all be like this!” (The Spectator) PROGRAM Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 1 & 3; Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1 & 11, Symphony No 1; Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen