Bolshoi is Russian for great, an often over-worked adjective, but in the case of the Bolshoi Ballet, it is a worthy description of the world’s most famous ballet company. On this tour to the UK, the Bolshoi proved that it is a company of absolutes, in flamboyance and daring, brilliance and technical execution; and these triumphant qualities are captured for posterity in a divertissement programme which shows off the Bolshoi’s top ranking soloists at their bravura best.
A Chinese Night – Classical Music Open Air in Dresden
For their Chinese Night, staged in the open air by the Staatskapelle Dresden in the city’s central park, the long-established German orchestra – one of the oldest in the world – called upon the services of three artists from the land of Cathay: the young pianist Yuja Wang already hailed as a world star, the Paganini Competition prizewinner Mengla Huang and the world-class Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang. The main work of the evening is RACHMANINOFF’s Third Piano Concerto, other pieces are RIMSKY-KORSAKOV’s Capriccio Espagnol, PROKOFIEV’s March from The Love For Three Oranges and also excerpts from the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto by the Chinese composers CHEN GANG and HE ZHANHAO, one of the best known works of contemporary Chinese music. —– Program: Chen GANG/He ZHANHAO: Parts from “The Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto“; Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol, Op. 34; Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30; Vladimir HOROWITZ: Variations on a theme from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen“; Sergey PROKOFIEV: March from “The Love For Three Oranges“
Stars of Tomorrow presented by Rolando Villazón – Episode 11
Program: Astor Piazzolla: Libertango / Jules Massenet: „Je suis encore tout étourdie“, Aria of Manon from „Manon“ / Sergej Rachmaninov: Préludes op. 32, No. 12, Préludes op. 23, No. 2 / Charles Gounod: „Avant de quitter ces lieux“, Aria of Valentin from „Manon“ / Sergej Rachmaninov: Barcarolle from „Morceaux de Salon“ / Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion / Claude Debussy: Apparition / Conrad Tao: Iridescence / Ludwig van Beethoven: Coriolan Ouverture / Georges Bizet: „Au fond du temple saint“, duet of Nadir and Zurga from «Les pêcheurs de perles»
BBC Proms 2018: Canellakis conducts Russian Classics
Conductor Karina Canellakis returned with the BBC Symphony Orchestra after her triumphant 2017 Proms debut. Two 20th-century Russian masterpieces led the bill – the exhilarating Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich’s much-loved First Cello Concerto, where Canellakis was joined by another young American star, soloist Alisa Weilerstein. The programme kicked off with Beethoven’s forceful Overture Coriolan, which Canellakis describes as a ‘punch in the face’, and a third young American, composer Andrew Norman, completed the programme with the UK premiere of his new work Spiral – “It could spice up any programme!” (The Guardian) PROGRAM Beethoven: Overture ‘Coriolan’; Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No 1; Norman: Spiral; Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances
Le Concert de Paris 2019
«Le Concert de Paris» is an exceptional event held each year on Bastille Day at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, as a prelude to the traditional July 14th fireworks display. Two of Radio France’s most prestigious musical institutions, the Orchestre National de France and the Radio France Chorus, under the baton of maestro Alain Altinoglu, propose a top-quality programme, giving pride of place to the voice and brings together some of the world’s greatest soloists, including Khatia Buniatishvili, Roberto Alagna, René Pape, Gautier Capuçon, Gaëlle Arquez, Jakub Orlinski and many more!
LGT Young Soloists String Ensemble
The LGT Young Soloists delight audiences worldwide with their rousing performances at highest artistic level. They are invited to perform regularly at renowned concert halls around the world in cities like New York, Beijing, Shanghai, Moscow, Munich, Vienna, Zurich, Hong Kong and Singapore. The string ensemble is made up of highly gifted young musicians aged between 13 and 22 years. Each member already has a successful soloist career: between them, the LGT Young Soloists have already won more than 80 prizes in national and international competitions. PROGRAM: Rimsky-Korsakov/E. Zimbalist: Le Coq d‘Or Fantasy (Golden Cockerel) for violin and string orchestra, arr. Paul Struck; Rachmaninov: Vocalise op 34, No. 14 for viola and string orchestra
The Glory of Russia – Sound and Sights of Saint Petersburg
Renée Fleming, America’s Queen of Opera, performing with the internationally acclaimed Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, in the Palaces of the Czars in Saint Petersburg. Fleming and Hvorostovsky lead the audience through Saint Petersburg performing in the Gold Ballroom of Peterhof Palace, the White Column Room and the extraordinary baroque Theater of the Yusupov Palace.
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
“Gerstein’s blistering technique is matched only by his deeply soulful connection to standard repertoire,” the Time out New York says about the Russian pianist. With the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Gerstein testified to these qualities: He put emphasis on expression and effect in Sergei Rachmaninov‘s Second Piano Concerto. Thus, the concerto gained a new life in music, whose impact can sometimes be blunted by its own popularity: Finely balancing constructive rigor and thoughtfulness this performance becomes a fresh, fruitful artistic joint venture.
Brahms: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1, Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances op. 45 (Kerstmatinee 2004)
Daniel Barenboim is the soloist in this production of Brahm’s piano concert no. 1. Mariss Jansons conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Also on the programme: Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, op. 45.
Lucerne Festival: Simon Rattle conducts Stravinsky and Rachmaninov
The Berliner Philharmoniker have been a regular festival guest in Lucerne since 1958 performing much acclaimed concerts every year. In 2014, the orchestra completed their cycle “Moving to Modern Times” under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle with Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird”, set to gorgeous, scintillatingly colorful ballet music in 1909-10. Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker paired this lush score of oriental lyricism with another masterpiece of the Russian late romanticism: Sergei Rachmaninov’s rousing Symphonic Dances, which likewise escorted listeners into a magical realm of fantasy and “made the Russian soul dance, too.” (Der Spiegel) – PROGRAM: Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, op. 45; Stravinsky: The Firebird. Fairy-tale ballet in two tableaux for orchestra. (Cat. No. UNITEL: A955500050000)