Perhaps the most popular ballet in the world, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” has been given a compelling new interpretation by Rudolf Nureyev. The Russian dancer, a towering figure in 20th-century ballet, placed greater emphasis on the character of Prince Siegfried. First produced in Vienna in 1964, Nureyev’s choreography has been hailed as one of the most fascinating ever. Nureyev and his partner Dame Margot Fonteyn perfectly embodied the noble and more volatile style of classical ballet performance featured here.
Karajan – Memorial Concert in Occasion of his 100th Birthday
A “triumph of remembrance,” wrote the daily “Die Welt” in its online service following a stirring concert that left its audience hovering between hushed reverence and deafening exultation. The Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein was the dazzling venue for the live recording of one of four concerts given by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa and with Anne-Sophie Mutter. The series began in Berlin’s Philharmonie before going on to Paris, Lucerne and Vienna, where it culminated on 28 January. And there, in Vienna, Karajan’s “Berliner” never sounded better, evoking “a time which self-confidently sought the private and subjective in music, and believed it could find them in the mirror of the works.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Salzburg – Concert
The idea of uniting young musicians from Israel, Palestine and various Arab countries into a musical ensemble still seems incredible today. Yet such an orchestra has been flourishing since 1999, when Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The project, says Barenboim, brings together these young people “not so that they forget or hide their differences, but so that they can understand them.” He adds that “making music together gives us the best opportunity to learn to live with one another.” The concerts presented here were recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, during the orchestras residency. The ensemble “proved its status as a first-class orchestra that has no need to shy from comparisons with the philharmonic ‘top dogs’ from Vienna or Berlin” (Munich’s Abendzeitung). Among the highlights of the concerts are Mozart’s “Sinfonia concertante” K. 297b, which gives four young soloists a chance to dazzle, and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat,” an airy piece with a demanding percussion part. Songs and chamber music, including Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, showcase the individual talents of the young players. The major orchestral concert comprises a Beethoven overture, an intricate and multi-layered piece by Schoenberg, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pathétique,” in which Barenboim pulls out all the stops and coaxes rarely heard instrumental lines and accents from the depth of his ensemble.
Eugene Onegin
Director Andrea Breth has produced an intimate chamber play that mines the depths of veracity, precision and charisma of her singer-actors. The title role is a tour de force for any baritone, who must walk a tightrope between cynical, insufferable snob and sympathetic, broken-hearted lover. This is carried off superbly by Peter Mattei, who ‘has acquired a fabulous vocal profile and is a gifted actor blessed with debonair selfconfidence.’ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) But the true hero of the opera is Tatyana, a multi-layered, conflicted, driven, doubt-ridden heroine. As portrayed by the dazzling Russian soprano Anna Samuil, this Tatyana ‘is ready to start a revolution.’ (F.A.Z.)
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op.74 “Pathétique”
Tchaikovsky composed his Sixth Symphony in 1893, the year of his death; he outlived the world premiere in St. Petersburg by only nine days. The title “Pathétique” was given to the work by Tchaikovsky’s borther Modest. It aptly characterizes the work as a symphony of passionate emotions. Tchaikovsky himself considered this work as a climax of his oeuvre, and wrote to his brother Anatole: “I believe it is being born as the best of my works.” To another friend he wrote: “I love it as I have never loved any of my other musical creations.” And the world agreed with him. In spite of the brilliance and excitement of his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, it is clear that the “Pathétique” is the work of a man at last complete master of symphonic form and idiom and, most important of all, master of his own wild emotions.
Tchaikovsky, String Quartet No.2, op.22
Recorded in 1987, this program features the Borodin Quartet of Moscow. Founded in 1946, it concertized until 1955 under the name of Moscow Philharmonic Quartet. The ensemble is celebrated not only for its performances of Tchaikovsky but also, and especially, for its interpretations of Shostakovitch’s quartets. All of them have been recorded by the ensemble. The Borodin Quartet has frequently performed with Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, David Oistrakh and Heinrich Neuhaus.
Tchaikovsky, String Quartet No.1, op.11
Recorded in 1987, this program features the Borodin Quartet of Moscow. Founded in 1946, it concertized until 1955 under the name of Moscow Philharmonic Quartet. The ensemble is celebrated not only for its performances of Tchaikovsky but also, and especially, for its interpretations of Shostakovitch’s quartets. All of them have been recorded by the ensemble. The Borodin Quartet has frequently performed with Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, David Oistrakh and Heinrich Neuhaus.
The Best of the Bolshoi Ballet
Paris Concert March 2007 – Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón
The tension is palpable at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées this 28th of March 2007. Anna Netrebko is not only making her debut in France, but she is making it with Rolando Villazón. The ‘dream couple’ of the opera world is about to bring its incomparable charm and magnetism to France’s ‘mélomanes.’ And the result is nothing less than phenomenal: ‘An unforgettable evening, rich in emotions, which many spectators will look back on with nostalgia one day and say: ‘I was there!’. No matter where they appear, Netrebko and Villazón inevitably work their magic on the audience, whether it consists of hundreds or, when broadcast on TV, of millions. For their Paris concert, the duo chose a broad selection of chiefly late-romantic works – the style for which their voices seem to be tailor-made..