Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo, hailed as “opera hero of the year” (Sächsische Zeitung), and Carolina Ullrich are the stars of this festive Advent concert from the Frauenkirche in Dresden. Conductor Bertrand de Billy heads this particularly lavish program with the Staatskapelle Dresden in the famous Baroque Frauenkirche. Together with the Chor der Sächsischen Staatsoper and the Kammerchor der Frauenkirche, and in a setting of resplendent beauty, they perform inspiring and festive works.
The Chopin Piano Concertos
The 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin stimulated a new appreciation of the Polish composer’s works. One of the truly great homages paid to Chopin was the concert presented on this recording and featuring the two Chopin piano concertos performed by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin under Andris Nelsons at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Essen. “Storms of applause for a dream couple: Daniel Barenboim and Andris Nelsons won over the audience [ ] with their rousing Chopin interpretations”, raved the press.
Portrait Alison Balsom – The Trumpet’s Splendour
In only a few years, trumpeter Alison Balsom has shot forward to the topmost ranks of today’s instrumental soloists, reaching untold popularity for her playing – and for the trumpet. At the latest since her appearance in a live international broadcast of the ‘Last Night of the Proms,’ she has become one of the best-known UK artists of today, with sales of her CDs topping the charts. At the center of the documentary are two performances. One is a public performance of Haydn’s celebrated Trumpet Concerto in E flat major with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the Chinese conductor Xian Zhang, recorded in the classicistic hall of the Konzerthaus Berlin. The other is a ‘private’ recording of Bach’s Concerto in D major BWV 972 and Gigue BWV 1008, Debussy’s ‘Syrinx’, and George Thalben-Ball’s Elegy for trumpet and organ, performed with organist David Goode at Berlin’s historic Sophienkirche.
Haydn, String Quartet in G minor, Hob.III:74 op.74/3 “Reiter-Quartett” (with addition) (Mozartwoche 2001)
The Artis Quartet was founded at the Vienna Musikhochschule in 1980. The ensemble studied in Vienna and Cincinnati with the LaSalle Quartet. After many awards at the beginning of the 1980s, the group began its international career, which has taken it to the major musical venues of the world. The Artis Quartet has been giving its own concert series at the Vienna Musikverein since 1988. This work was recorded at the Salzburg “Mozartwoche” 2001. Here the ensemble plays Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor Hob. III:74, one of the quartets which Haydn wrote for his second London visit in 1794. This work was conceived above all to show off the performers’ skill and virtuosity rather than to explore innovative harmonies and structures.
Haydn, Symphony in C major, Hob.I:60 “Il Distratto” (with addition) (Mozartwoche 2001)
The former “Camerata academica Salzburg” was renamed simply “Camerata Salzburg” in 2001. It was founded in 1951 by Bernhard Paumgartner, who was its head and mentor for many years. From 1978 to 1997 its artistic director was Sándor Végh and in 1997 Roger Norrington was appointed principal conductor of the ensemble. The Camerata Salzburg can be heard every year at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival. Roger Norrington was born in Oxford and studied in Cambridge and London. From 1969 to 1984 he was musical director of the Kent Opera and conducted productions at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Milan’s La Scala and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. He founded the London Classical Players and is principal conductor of the Camerata Salzburg and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Haydn, Symphony in D major, Hob.I:104 “Salomon” (Mozartwoche 2001)
The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France. This symphony – Haydn’s last – was first performed in London on 4 May 1795. The “Morning Chronicle” wrote: “This wonderful man never fails; and the various powers of his inventive and impassioned mind have seldom been conceived with more accuracy by the Band, or listened to with greater rapture by the hearers, than they were on this evening.”
Haydn, Symphony in A major, Hob.I:87 (with Mozart, Cassation C major, K.63) (Mozartwoche 2000)
The Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg has been the orchestra of the city and Land of Salzburg since 1958 and regularly concertizes at the Salzburg Festival and the Mozartwoche. The principal conductor is the Dutch-born Hubert Soudant, who led the Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique de France in Paris from 1981 to 1983 and the Utrecht Symphony Orchestra from 1983 to 1986. In addition to his activities in Salzburg, Soudant is also the principal conductor of the Orchestra and Opéra des Pays de Loire in Nantes and Angers, France.
Haydn, Symphony in G minor, Hob.I:83 “La Poule” (Mozartwoche 2000)
Making his first appearance at the head of the Camerata academica Salzburg at the Mozartwoche 2000 was American conductor Dennis Russell Davies. Born in Ohio in 1944, he has guested as opera conductor at many of the most prestigious theaters of the world. In 1980 he was appointed General Music Director of the Stuttgart State Opera, and from 1987 to 1995 he fulfilled the same function in Bonn. He was then principal conductor of the Stuttgart Kammerorchester and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. He became General Music Director in Linz in fall 2002. The former “Camerata academica Salzburg” was renamed simply “Camerata Salzburg” in 2001. It was founded in 1951 by Bernhard Paumgartner, who was its head and mentor for many years. From 1978 to 1997 its artistic director was Sándor Végh and in 1997 Roger Norrington was appointed principal conductor of the ensemble. The Camerata Salzburg can be heard every year at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival. The teaming of Dennis Russell Davies and the Camerata academica was a total success: “The conductor, in spite of his cool exterior, acted anything but coolly, and the frisky ensemble created an ideal pairing, a kind of ‘Dream Team'”, wrote a Salzburg critic.
Haydn, Symphony in C minor, Hob.I:52 (Mozartwoche 2000)
The Haydn Ensemble Berlin, which was founded in 1991, consists of musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester. The chamber orchestra devotes itself above all to the early works of Joseph Haydn and supplements them with the works of other masters and musical eras.
Haydn, Scherzando No.1 in F major, Hob.II:33 (Mozartwoche 2000)
The Haydn Ensemble Berlin, which was founded in 1991, consists of musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin State Opera and the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester. The chamber orchestra devotes itself above all to the early works of Joseph Haydn and supplements them with the works of other masters and musical eras.