The return to their native city of Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim – two childhood friends from Buenos Aires, born just a year apart, who both grew up to become global superstars – proved an unforgettable evening of pianistic magic. “Coexistence”, as symbolisation of the festival motto, was in terms not just of two musical parts coming together in the hands of two very different yet equally distinctive artistic personalities – “the mercurial Martha and Daniel the master-architect” (Buenos Aires Herald) PROGRAM Schumann: Six Studies in the Form of Canons for Pedal Piano; Debussy: En blanc et noire; Bartok: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion
Carinthian Summer 1971
MSO: East Meets West – A Chinese New Year’s Celebration
Join the MSO and maestro Lü Jia with a stellar cast of guest artists to celebrate the Chinese New Year in a colourful and joyous one-night-only event showcasing Melbourne’s diverse culture. One of China’s most celebrated violinists, Lu Siqing, performs with the MSO for the first time since 2014 as soloist in one of China’s most famous orchestral works, the lush and romantic Butterfly Lovers’ concerto. Written by composers Chen Gang and He Zhahao in 1959, it is the perfect inclusion in this concert. Revel in the textured sounds of traditional Chinese instruments, new works and world-class musicians in the heart of Melbourne, a city with a rich Chinese-Australian history, worthy of celebration. MSO’s annual Chinese New Year celebration has become a highlight on the concert calendar, celebrating the city’s cultural diversity.
Christian Thielemann – Schumann Cycle: Symphonies 3 and 4
After Brahms and Bruckner, the Staatskapelle Dresden and its principal conductor Christian Thielemann now devote themselves to the symphonic works of Robert Schumann in a complete cycle. “The phantasmal, the poetry and the abysses of the Biedermeier era are particularly well suited to the orchestra; this music is part of the Staatskapelle’s soul” explains Christian Thielemann. The performance of all four symphonies by this composer, who also lived in Dresden, allows both artists and audience to concentrate on this outstanding repertoire in a unique way.
Christian Thielemann – Schumann Cycle: Symphonies 1 and 2
After Brahms and Bruckner, the Staatskapelle Dresden and its principal conductor Christian Thielemann now devote themselves to the symphonic works of Robert Schumann in a complete cycle. “The phantasmal, the poetry and the abysses of the Biedermeier era are particularly well suited to the orchestra; this music is part of the Staatskapelle’s soul” explains Christian Thielemann. The performance of all four symphonies by this composer, who also lived in Dresden, allows both artists and audience to concentrate on this outstanding repertoire in a unique way.
Manfred
As a young man, Schumann had got to know Byron’s works through his father’s publishing business. There is no question that the composer recognised his own psyche in Manfred’s rugged soul. But he also responded to the challenge of Byron’s artistic concept of Manfred as “mental theatre”.
In the Düsseldorf production, the audience “becomes” Manfred, experiencing through the eyes of the eponymous hero a projection of the visually alienated world of the Swiss mountains in which the story is set – visualisation by the Austrian media artist Johannes Deutsch.
Schumann Cycle Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
After their internationally acclaimed Beethoven cycle, Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen now present their vision of Schumann’s four symphonies. As the press wrote: “The dream team under Järvi has just landed another major coup”. In addition to the live recordings of the concerts, the production also features a documentary which portrays the origin and development of the project. “We want to show ourselves as we make music”, says Järvi. Reflecting the
ensemble’s pedagogical mission to make classical music accessible to the young, the production took place at the popular venue “Pier 2”. —– Lengths: SYMPHONIES: Symph. No. 1: 35′ / No. 2: 41′ / No. 3 36′ / No. 34′; DOCUMENTARY “Schumann at pier2” directed by Christian Berger, 90′ or 2 x 45′ (Cat. no. A055134940000)
Schumann at Pier 2
After their internationally acclaimed Beethoven cycle, Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen now present their vision of Schumann’s four symphonies. As the press wrote: “The dream team under Järvi has just landed another major coup”. In addition to the live recordi of the concerts, the production also features a documentary which portrays the origin and development of the project. “We want to show ourselves as we make music”, says Järvi. Reflecting the ensemble’s pedagogical mission to make classical music accessible to the young, the production took place the popular venue “Pier 2”.
Recital Diana Damrau
One of the warmest personalities on the opera and concert stage today, soprano Diana Damrau has put together a beguiling program for her recital at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. The selection of Romantic to fin-de-siècle pieces not only underscores her own vocal artistry, but also pays tribute to her accompanist Xavier de Maistre and, in particular, to the diaphanous delicacy of his instrument, the harp. The use of the harp to replace the piano in a voice recital is a truly unique and unexpected musical treat. De Maistre does more than simply transpose the piano part to his instrument; under the fingers of the Wiener Philharmoniker’s solo harpist, the ethereal sound of this instrument melds consummately with the soprano’s finely honed vocal part, so that the masterpieces by composers such as Schumann, Fauré and Debussy sound as if they had been conceived for voice and harp.
The most beautiful song – A search for singers with Thomas Quasthoff (Concert)
Thomas Quasthoff founded international song competition for young singers, ‘Das Lied,’ to ensure that the Lied, which the baritone calls ‘the most beautiful form of music making,’ continues to hold its place in the concert repertoire of the future. According to Quasthoff, the goal of this project is to find the successors to the greatest singers of today and to discover new voices. In addition to Thomas Quasthoff, one of the top baritones and Lied singers of our day, the jury includes such distinguished vocalists as Brigitte Fassbaender and Annette Dasch, as well as the famed accompanists Helmut Deutsch and Charles Spencer. Among the prizewinners who perform at the gala concert are German baritone Tobias Berndt and Austrian baritone Daniel Schmutzhard.