„Nijinsky“ is the title of this „choreographic approach“ to a dance phenomenon that has been part of Neumeier‘s life ever since the beginning of his career. During his approximately ten years as a dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky set a new standard both technically and expressively, while in his choreographic work he pointed the way towards modern dance. His personal fate and mental illness that forced him to spend the last 30 years of his life in various asylums and in the keeping of his wife gave his short artistic career an even more aweinspiring and sensational quality. All three aspects – the dancer, the choreographer and the person Nijinsky – form the starting point for John Neumeier‘s latest creation. Neumeier, who as early as 1979 presented a short ballet „Vaslav“, is regarded as one of the leading Nijinsky experts worldwide. Nevertheless, it was not without reluctance that he took up the task of honouring through dance a dance legend: „In creating a work about a historical person, what aspect should we concentrate on? Who was he truly: The man? The artist? Which witness, what information can we trust, which theories should one follow? What point of view can we take towards the complex puzzle Nijinsky? An instinctive choice must be made…“ and sensational quality.
Horowitz in Moscow
In 1986, the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who left his homeland 61 years ago, announced that he would return to the Soviet Union for the first time since 1925 to give recitals in Moscow and Leningrad. This sensational historic recital from Moscow includes works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, whom Horowitz knew both, Domenico Scarlatti, W.A. Mozart, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann and Moritz Moszkowski. The disc too contains additional documentary footage with Horowitz. “Horowitz, playing with a clarity and dynamic range that friends said he had not matched in many years“ (New York Times) made an outstanding performance of musical, as well as political, significance.
Nijinsky – A Ballet by John Neumeier
„Nijinsky“ is the title of this „choreographic approach“ to a dance phenomenon that has been part of Neumeier‘s life ever since the beginning of his career. During his approximately ten years as a dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky set a new standard both technically and expressively, while in his choreographic work he pointed the way towards modern dance. His personal fate and mental illness that forced him to spend the last 30 years of his life in various asylums and in the keeping of his wife gave his short artistic career an even more aweinspiring and sensational quality. All three aspects – the dancer, the choreographer and the person Nijinsky – form the starting point for John Neumeier‘s latest creation. Neumeier, who as early as 1979 presented a short ballet „Vaslav“, is regarded as one of the leading Nijinsky experts worldwide. Nevertheless, it was not without reluctance that he took up the task of honouring through dance a dance legend: „In creating a work about a historical person, what aspect should we concentrate on? Who was he truly: The man? The artist? Which witness, what information can we trust, which theories should one follow? What point of view can we take towards the complex puzzle Nijinsky? An instinctive choice must be made…“ and sensational quality.
Wiener Philharmoniker, Zubin Mehta & Martha Argerich
Zubin Mehta and Martha Argerich return with Schumann’s only piano concerto and Bruckner’s fourth symphony in an exclusive Subscription Series concert to the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna – the city where both received important impulses for their musical education in the 1950s. More than half a century later, the Indian conductor and the Argentinean pianist are among those artistic personalities who have succeeded in leaving a lasting mark on the fast-moving classical music world. Their artistic achievements represent a piece of cultural memory of the 20th and 21st centuries and are still impressively alive. “The Power of true Old Masters – Martha Argerich sat at the piano
as spiritedly sparkling as ever. Just as Bruckner’s Fourth subsequently succeeded in becoming a magnificent dialogue between orchestra and conductor: Bruckner impulsive, intimate, poignant, stirring.” (Kronen Zeitung)
Epiphany Cooncert – Through the forests, through the meadows
If you wander “through the woods, through the pastures” musically, you soon come into romantic hunting grounds. These words from Weber’s opera Der Freischütz are the guiding idea for the traditional Salzburg New Year’s Concert of the Bläserphilharmonie Mozarteum Salzburg, led by Hansjörg Angerer. The Bläserphilharmonie, which is composed of top-class musicians from leading symphony orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Münchner Philharmoniker, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, roams through the most beautiful hunting, nature and forest music of the 19th century.
At home with Martha Argerich
In Geneva, the city where she spent most of her life, Martha Argerich invites her lifelong music partner, the cellist Mischa Maisky, to play chamber music works by Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Chopin. Between each piece, the pianist opens up to her daughter Annie Dutoit, in an intimate conversation that reveals personal insights as well as musical ones
RCO: Järvi conducts Mozart & Schumann
Víkingur Ólafsson is making his debut with the Concertgebouworkest. Over the past few years, he has attracted attention with his interpretation of music by Bach, Glass and contemporary music. That’s why it’s certainly be interesting to hear his interpretation of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24, a work of unrivalled beauty anticipating the romantic era with its dramatic opening and its dark undercurrents. Paavo Järvi has made several impressive guest appearances with the Concertgebouworkest. He now shines his light on Schumann’s Third Symphony (‘Rhenish’), the culmination of Schumann’s efforts to prove himself as an orchestral composer. Inspired by the beautiful landscape of the Rhineland, he wanted this symphony to sound like folk music. But the work also sometimes has a solemn, spiritual intensity, the result of the deep impression that the then newly built Cologne Cathedral made on him. PROGRAM Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 24; Schumann: Symphony No.3
RCO: Pappano conducts Beethoven & Schumann
Igor Levit returns to the Concertgebouworkest to perform Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano. The outstanding Russian–German pianist made his Concertgebouworkest debut in April 2018. Levit’s performance was ‘self-assured and challenging’, wrote De Volkskrant of his performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto ones again provides an opportunity for another exciting partnership. PROGRAM Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Schumann: Symphony No. 2