Proms don’t come more stellar than this!”, raved The Independent about the WEDO’s performance at the BBC Proms. The concert opens with a rendition of Jörg Widmann’s overture Con brio. Martha Argerich continues with an “unforgettable performance” of Franz Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1, dazzling with her “frighteningly precise” playing (The Guardian). As encore the two childhood friends join forces at the piano for a four handed rendition of Schubert’s Rondo in A “that for 12 minutes provides a glimpse of paradise” (The Standart) holding “6000 people spellbound” (The Times). Further repertoire includes Wagner’s Overtures to Tannhäuser and Meistersinger; Dawn, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Funeral March from Götterdämmerung et al.
The Vatican Concert 2005 – In Honor of Pope Benedikt XVI
Recorded live in the presence of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City, this profoundly moving and inspiring concert is a true musical landmark. While the music ranges from the grand to the sublime, the atmosphere retains the warmth and intimacy of a “family reunion”: both the Munich Philharmonic and the boys’ chorus “Regensburger Domspatzen” are world-renowned institutions from the Pope’s native Germany and from cities closely connected with the former Cardinal Ratzinger. Among the works performed is a Sanctus from a mass written by Georg Ratzinger, the Pope’s brother and one-time director of the “Regensburger Domspatzen”. Under the direction of its distinguished young principal conductor Christian Thielemann, the Munich Philharmonic is joined by the boys’ chorus (which also sings a cappella works led by Georg Büchner) in music by Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Palestrina, Pfitzner, Verdi, Wagner and Georg Ratzinger. The musical event is rounded off with an address to the listeners and performers by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.
Liszt Celebration Concert
For the very first time Daniel Barenboim tackled Franz Liszt’s two highly virtuosic piano concertos in a single concert. With Pierre Boulez, his friend and esteemed colleague of many years, conducting Barenboim’s own orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, they were showered with praise on their tour across Europe. For both musicians, Liszt was one of the most important pioneers of modern music, as composer, conductor and pianist. He influenced revolutionary contemporaries such as Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner. Two examples of the latter’s magnificent orchestral work round off this concert programme celebrating Liszt’s bicentenary.
RCO: Noseda conducts Liszt, Dvorák and Kodály
Yefim Bronfman is performing Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto, which makes a colourful Eastern European programme in combination with evocative works by Dvorák and Kodály under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. Yefim Bronfman is performing Liszt’s Second Piano Concerto, which makes a colourful Eastern European programme in combination with evocative works by Dvorák and Kodály under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda. PROGRAM Liszt: Piano Concerto No.2; Dvorák: The Noon Witch; Kodály: ‘Peacock’ Variations
Kit Armstrong plays Wagner and Liszt
Bayreuth is not only the city of Richard Wagner, but also of his father-in-law Franz Liszt. Described by the New York Times as a “brilliant pianist” who combines “musical maturity and youthful daring in his exceptional playing”, Kit Armstrong performed at the famous Margravial Opera House Bayreuth, a masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture, works by Wagner, Liszt and Mozart in a concert that was “technically sophisticated – and poetically poignant”. (Der Opernfreund) Alfred Brendel, who has guided Armstrong as teacher and mentor since 2005, ascribes to him “an understanding of the great piano works that combines freshness and subtlety, emotion and intellect”. PRPGRAM: Works by Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and W.A. Mozart
LSO: Pappano conducts Strauss, Liszt and Kendall
A blast of trumpets, a pounding of timpani: the opening of Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra heralds the rise of the sun. Stanley Kubrick used it to grab viewers’ attention in his film 2001: A Space Odyssey.But for Strauss, this is the dawn of an age full of questions: what does it mean to be alive? Joining the debate, Liszt’s Totentanz is a ferocious vision of mortality, complete with ghoulish jangling bones. And there’s a new work by Hannah Kendall, a composer whose music, in Pappano’s own words, ‘has an amazing ability to really grip the listener’. PROGRAM Kendall: O flower of fire (world premiere); Franz Liszt: Totentanz; Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra