A stellar lineup of artists, headed by Daniel Barenboim, comes together for the opening concert of the Pierre Boulez Saal, the new architectural highlight of the Barenboim-Said
Akademie in Berlin – “a masterpiece of its kind” (The New Yorker). Anna Prohaska and Jörg Widmann join Daniel Barenboim, “who plays with the sureness of a sleepwalker”
(Süddeutsche Zeitung), for Schubert’s lyrical scene Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, while the latter also partners with the Boulez Ensemble’s strings in Mozart’s Piano Quartet. Karim Said
and Michael Barenboim take on Berg’s Chamber Concerto, and Widmann performs his own Fantasy for Solo Clarinet. The programme is bookended by Boulez’ fanfare-like Initiale
and sur Incises, for three pianos, three harps, and three percussionists. “Absolutely beautiful!” (FAZ)
Thomas Quasthoff founded international song competition for young singers, ‘Das Lied,’ to ensure that the Lied, which the baritone calls ‘the most beautiful form of music making,’ continues to hold its place in the concert repertoire of the future. According to Quasthoff, the goal of this project is to find the successors to the greatest singers of today and to discover new voices. In addition to Thomas Quasthoff, one of the top baritones and Lied singers of our day, the jury includes such distinguished vocalists as Brigitte Fassbaender and Annette Dasch, as well as the famed accompanists Helmut Deutsch and Charles Spencer. Among the prizewinners who perform at the gala concert are German baritone Tobias Berndt and Austrian baritone Daniel Schmutzhard.
Thomas Quasthoff founded this contest ‘Das Lied’ to ensure that the Lied, which the baritone calls ‘the most beautiful form of music making,’ continues to hold its place in the concert repertoire of the future. The film accompanies some of the young singers during the competition’s three rounds, providing a showcase not only for beautiful voices and poignant Lieder, but also, and above all, for emotions. The hopes and disappointments, the joys and doubts, the tension and exhilaration of the young singers are all captured on film. And it soon emerges that the contest is as stimulating and galvanizing for the jurors as it is for the contestants! Excerpts from the closing gala concert recorded at the sumptuous Apollo Hall of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin round off the film.
Born in Riga in 1947, 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. 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 the 50th birthday of its founder Gidon Kremer. 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.
Within just a few years, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has transformed itself from an insider’s tip to one of the most sought-after ensembles of the younger generation. “New stars in the quartet firmament” was the headline of a review of the quartet’s debut in the Vienna Musikverein in 1995. Tours have taken the ensemble to the most important concert halls of the world: Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie in Cologne, Megaron in Athens, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Symphony Hall in Birmingham and Carnegie Hall in New York. Moreover, the Hugo Wolf Quartet has also guested at the Edinburgh Festival, the Schubertiade Feldkirch, the Carinthian Summer, the Salzburg Mozarteum, the Herkules-Saal in Munich and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The basis for this international success was laid by four students who got together in 1993 in Vienna and devoted themselves to a joint training with the Alban Berg Quartet, members of the Amadeus Quartet and Walter Levin (LaSalle Quartet). They then won the first prize at the String Quartet Competition in Cremona and made their highly acclaimed debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Further awards have confirmed their exceptional artistic status. Today, the Hugo Wolf Quartet consists of the founding members Jehi Bahk (Violin I), Régis Bringolf (Violin II), Florian Berner (Violoncello) and Vladimir Kossyanenko, who has been the violist of the ensemble since 1998.
The Wiener Kammerensemble was established in 1970 by several prominent members of the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra as the “Wiener Philharmonisches Kammerensemble.” In alternating formations – from trio to nonet – it performs its wide repertoire of works at many of the world’s most important venues. Unitel recorded Schubert’s Octet on 31 January 1997 at a concert which the ensemble gave at the 1997 Salzburg Mozartwoche.
Born in 1943, the English conductor John Eliot Gardiner initially devoted himself to the historical performance practice of the music of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1990 he founded the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, which specializes in music of the classical and romantic eras and always has exciting surprises in store for its audience. Gardiner numbers among the most renowned opera and concert conductors of the late 20th century.
