The concert is being led by the young Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä. He is conducting two undisputed highlights of the history of orchestral music, taking us on a journey over land and sea with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the ‘Pastoral’, and Debussy’s “La mer”.
Beethoven Celebration Berlin
In 2020, Ludwig van Beethoven is the focus of the Staatskapelle Berlin’s suberb open-air concert. With star violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter playing Beethoven’s Violin Romances Nos. 1 & 2, the composer anticipated the romantic genre of the „song without words“. In capturing the expressive „singing on the instrument“, the virtuoso talent and remarkable art of Anne-Sophie Mutter are once again demonstrated. Daniel Barenboim has devoted his life to Beethoven‘s work and mentality. The musical director, pianist and cultural activist conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and the State Opera Chorus in this concert. Giving justice to the 9th Symphony with its insistent appeal to humanity and its forward-looking utopian character, are the high calibre artists: Julia Kleiter, Waltraud Meier, Andreas Schager and René Pape.
Beethoven’s Ninth – A Symphony for the World
To this day, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. But what is it about this global hit? The film charts the success of the symphony around the globe and encounters passionate amateur musicians and musical personalities. Watch as Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis works on Beethoven’s Ninth with his ensemble, MusicAeterna. Follow Chinese composer and Oscar winner Tan Dun as he creates a new composition inspired by the great Beethoven symphony. Experience the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as they play the Ninth. Visit a favela in Brazil, where Beethovens’s music helps people get off the streets. Be amazed as a choir of 10,000 in Japan sings the final chorus of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with great enthusiasm. Learn how Paul Whittaker helps make Beethoven accessible for deaf people. And find out how British DJ Gabriel Prokofiev performs a symphonic remix of Beethoven’s Ninth.
Maurizio Pollini plays Beethoven
Celebrated for music-making of matchless sophistication, unshakeable concentration and adamantine integrity, Maurizio Pollini occupies a special place among the ranks of today’s great pianists. The Italian artist has been hailed by Gramophone as “a towering musical presence”, a description supported by six decades of critical and public acclaim for the power and beauty of his artistry. Pollini’s performances of Beethoven’s piano sonatas have assumed almost legendary status – now 42 years after his first CD recording of the Sonatas, he is returning to the Herkulessaal in Munich, playing the last Beethoven Sonatas Nos 30-32.
LSO: Rattle conducts Christ on the Mount of Olives
In the words of Sir Simon Rattle, Beethoven is “absolutely inescapable”, especially in the year of his 250th anniversary. Nevertheless, Christ on the Mount of Olives is a rarely heard masterpiece and Beethoven’s only oratorio, which combines the emotive force of the composer’s later Missa Solemnis with the theatre of a Bach Passion. With orchestra, chorus and soloists, it tells the story of Jesus’ prayer and arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. “What Rattle made clear is that the music is full of life. It is hard to imagine this performance being bettered.” (Financial Times)