The Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons is already one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. In the present recording of the second of these concerts (which are both available on DVD and Blu-ray from C Major Entertainment), Beethoven’s majestic Fifth Piano Concerto proves a memorable encounter between Nelsons and master pianist Yefim Bronfman, who remains calm and composed despite the piano part‘s virtuoso passage-work and knuckle-breaking chords. “A return to the magician of the podium: a conductor bursting with temperament and capable of conjuring up the most magnificent orchestral sonorities” (Neue Luzerner Zeitung).
The Odeonsplatz Concert: Gergiev & Florez
Munich’s Odeonsplatz Concert is one of the open-air highlights of the year. The magnificent Residenz Palace on one side and the serene, towering Theatinerkirche on the other provide the ideal backdrop for exceptional performances of classical music. In this setting, Juan Diego Flórez presents an impressive aria programme, for which “he is celebrated like a popstar” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) by the Munich public. The Münchner Philharmoniker shine with their maestro Valery Gergiev at the helm. Arias by Mozart, Donizetti, Massenet, Puccini, Verdi; Rimskij-Korsakow: Scheherazade
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“
The Tsar’s Bride
Musical director Daniel Barenboim started off the season 2013 / 2014 at the Staatsoper Berlin with a new production ‘Die Zarenbraut’ by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, staged by multi-awarded young Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov, who has been among the opera stage directors most in demand worldwide ever since his staging of Boris Godunov with Staatsoper Unter den Linden in 2005.
Lorenzo Viotti conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker
“The Wiener Philharmoniker are phenomenal anyway. Under Lorenzo Viotti they were intoxicating: the strings sizzled, the audience raved” (Hamburger Abendblatt) Lorenzo Viotti makes a striking debut with the Wiener Philharmoniker, starting with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, which captivates the audience with its dynamic contrasts. He then shifts to Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead, transforming it into a “theater of sound.” Finally, with Dvorák’s Symphony No. 7, Viotti showcases his temperament, balancing powerful fortissimo and soft, clear accents. PROGRAM: Rimsky-Korsakov – Capriccio espagnol; Rachmaninoff – Isle of the Dead; Dvorak – Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70
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