In 2014, Strauss’s birth 150 years ago is being commemorated. Strauss was a champion of the symphonic poem, and one of his first works in that genre was Macbeth. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche followed soon after, fully revealing Strauss’s mastery in the sharp melodic characterisations and brilliant instrumentation. With its energetic and cheerful character (despite Till’s execution, which is vividly depicted in the music), the work complements Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, which is imbued with a sunny, lush atmosphere. The brilliance of the grand finale is a quality rarely heard in Brahms’s. (Cat. No. UNITEL: A865500160000)
RCO: Andris Nelsons conducts Wagner and Strauss (Kerstmatinee 2013)
The RCO’s125th anniversary celebrations in 2013 are concluding with a Christmas Matinee in style. Andris Nelsons conducts music by Wagner, who was born 200 years ago. The other titan featuring on the programme is Richard Strauss, who himself conducted his symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra no fewer than three times in Amsterdam. —– PROGRAM: Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll / Overture and Venusberg Music (Bacchanale) from ‘Tannhäuser’; Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (UNITEL Cat. No. A865500060000)
RCO: Andris Nelsons conducts Rachmaninoff
Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons made his first appearance with the RCO to great acclaim in 2008 and has returned regularly ever since. The soloist is the celebrated tenor Ian Bostridge, who is sure to shine brightly in the exceptionally beautiful Les illuminations by BRITTEN, who was born 100 years ago. Britten’s work makes for a fascinating contrast with the Slavic energy of RACHMANINOFF’s Symphonic Dances. Also on the programm Claude DEBUSSY’s Six épigraphes antiques (UNITEL Cat. No. A865500050000)
Nelsons conducts Bruckner 3
Nelsons lives up to his deep adoration of Richard Wagner, his favourite composer, in this concert, where he is conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, with the Prelude to the First Act and the “Karfreitagszauber” from the Third Act of Wagner’s Parsifal. The second part of the concert is dedicated to another great composer: Anton Bruckner and his 3rd symphony. “With Nelsons conducting, everything diverged into beauty.” (Der Tagesspiegel) “Nelsons worked his magic. Every repetition is a new reason for amazement, from the intimate Trio to the triumphant Final.“ (Berliner Morgenpost) PROGRAM: Wagner: Parsifal Prelude to Act I ; Good Friday Spell from Act III; Bruckner No. 3
Nelsons conducts Mahler & HK Gruber
Mahler’s Fifth is among the best loved of his symphonies; not least thanks to the Adagietto, made legendary as the soundtrack to Visconti’s Death in Venice. Andris Nelsons on the rostrum of the the Berliner Philharmoniker made this symphony into “a true celebration of beauty and the phenomenal Philharmonic string sound” wrote in Der Tagesspiegel delight. The concert got off to a racing start, too: the “master trumpeter” (Berliner Zeitung) Hakan Hardenberger carried the audience with him in HK Gruber’s trumpet concerto Aerial. After all his showpiece: the composer wrote this BBC Proms commission specially for him. “Hardenberger, the virtuoso supersonic, thrills his audience through and through.” (Berliner Morgenpost)
Notte Italiana
Since its première in the year 2000, “Classics on Odeonsplatz” has been a highlight of the Munich cultural season. Flanked by stylishly illuminated historical edifices, such as the Theatiner Church and the Residence, some 16,000 people each year thrill to music in this unique atmosphere. The Feldherrnhalle as orchestral platform and the adjoining historical buildings make Odeonsplatz into an open-air arena with magnificent acoustics. On the program arias by Giuseppe VERDI (“Nabucco”, “Aida”, “La Traviata”), Giacomo PUCCINI (“Tosca”, Gianni Schicchi”, “La Bohème”) and Ruggero LEONCAVALLO “I Pagliacci”, amongst others.
Andris Nelsons: From the new World
“Andris Nelsons and the BR-Symphonieorchester are a sensation”, raved the press. It isn’t often that a young conductor excites audiences and stirs up critics to the extent that Andris Nelsons does. As can be seen in this concert “From the New World”, he communicates his passion with a vocabulary of gestures that sweep the audience off their feet. The concert with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is devoted to the “New World”. The main work of the evening is Antonín Dvorák’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World”. The first half features compositions of the 20th and 21st-century by American composers Charles Ives and John Adams, along with a work by Igor Stravinsky, who spent several decades in the U.S.
The Chopin Piano Concertos
The 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin stimulated a new appreciation of the Polish composer’s works. One of the truly great homages paid to Chopin was the concert presented on this recording and featuring the two Chopin piano concertos performed by Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin under Andris Nelsons at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Essen. “Storms of applause for a dream couple: Daniel Barenboim and Andris Nelsons won over the audience [ ] with their rousing Chopin interpretations”, raved the press.
Nelsons conducts Beethoven No. 9
Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony have a long tradition in Leipzig: as early as 1826, two years after the premiere in Vienna, there was the first complete performance
in Leipzig with the Gewandhausorchester. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy then finally established the symphony in the orchestra’s repertoire. The custom of performing the work on New Year’s Eve goes back to Arthur Nikisch in 1918. Later, conductors such as Hermann Scherchen, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter continued the New Year’s Eve concerts that take place regularly since the turn of the year 1945/46. Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons is now continuing this tradition at the highest level.
Salzburg Festival 2025: Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler & Shostakovich
Years into their joint Mahler symphony cycle, Andris Nelsons has proven time and time again that he is at home with Mahler at the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker: “Under Andris Nelsons, the Tenth Symphony becomes an event.” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Symphonies Nos. 2-7 & 9 of this cycle are also available. “Nelsons is completely in his element” (BR Klassik) “Rich in colour and dynamics, and full of gripping suspense” (Kurier) PROGRAM: Mahler- Adagio from the Symphony No. 10; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10