‘Translucence, transparency, warmth’ are the qualities identified by Bernard Haitink as necessary for an ideal sound performance of Beethoven’s only opera, and all are present in this fantastic recording of Katharina Thalbach’s new production for Opernhaus Zurich. Haitink conducts the Zurich Opera Orchestra in a magnificent performance in which Leonore Overture No. 3 provides an interlude between the two scenes of the second act, following a tradition started by Gustav Mahler. German soprano Melanie Diener, in the role of Leonore, leads a brilliant cast including Alfred Muff as Rocco, Roberto Saccà as Florestan, Sandra Trattnigg as Marzelline and Christoph Strehl as Jaquino.
Parsifal
It was in Zurich that Richard Wagner, as he himself noted, obtained the inspiration for ‘Parsifal’ in 1857. And it was the Zurich Opera which, in 1913, was the first opera house outside of Bayreuth that was allowed to perform the work. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Wagner’s ‘stroke of genius’, we can once again experience ‘the purest Wagner bliss’, as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung put it, thanks to Hans Hollmann’s production and Bernard Haitink’s inspired conducting of the Zurich Opernorchester.
RCO: Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde
Concert on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bernard Haitink’s collaboration with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Oedipus Rex
Stravinsky used a text by Cocteau, translated into Latin, for this opera-oratorio which he made deliberately statuesque in effect, its music a whole anthology of neo-classic styles, from Bach and Handel to Gluck. The masked and costumed singers barely move and a narrator explains the action. In this powerful production, recorded live from Amsterdam’s Carré Theatre, Bernard Haitink conducts the NOS Men’s Choir and the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with Neil Rosenshein and Felicity Palmer in the leading roles. The narration is available in English (Alan Howard), French (Jean Rochefort) and German (Mathieu Carrière).
Bernard Haitink – Farewell Concert at Salzburg Festival
“No more Bruckner under Haitink, that’s a cut in the history of interpretation” Wiener Zeitung. To end his active conducting career after 65 years, maestro Bernard Haitink together with the Wiener Philharmoniker gives a farewell concert at the Großes Festspielhaus at Salzburg Festival, leaving no doubt of being one of the best Bruckner interpreters ever. The Dutch conductor, who was appointed honorary member of the Wiener Philharmoniker shortly before the concert, is joined by star pianist Emanuel Ax in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4: a musical interaction “of a depth of sentiment and an agreement in making music together that sounds wonderfully natural” (Salzburger Nachrichten). The concert ends with Bruckner’s monumental Symphony No. 7 with its famous second movement, which marked the composer’s breakthrough and remains one of his most popular symphonies. The Wiener Philharmoniker play under Haitink’s masterful baton completely focused, but dynamic and with deepest sensation. The atmosphere of this last performance is without doubt exceptional and a visibly emotional Haitink was celebrated by the audience with long standing ovations. “You shouldn’t throw terms like ‘magic moments’ around easily. But what could be heard in Salzburg was certainly one” (Klassikinfo.de)
Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink, a leading figure in international concert halls and opera houses, is one of the most sought-after Mahler and Bruckner conductors of our time. This biographical documentary follows him as he prepares for and conducts concerts, operas, sound and television recordings. Music highlights include extracts from works by Bruckner, Mahler, Mozart, Schubert and Wagner. Archive material illustrates his long and illustrious career and maestro Haitink talks at length about his life, his music and conducting.
Symphony No. 2 in C minor
Bernard Haitink conducts the NOS Radio Choir and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor (Resurrection), recorded live from the Doelen Concert Hall in Rotterdam. The soloists are Charlotte Margiono (soprano) and Jard van Nes (contralto).
Symphony No.7
This ballet, choreographed and designed by Toer van Schayk, is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Described by Wagner as a “grand apotheosis of the dance”, a celebration of man’s delight in his own physical energy, the symphony was composed in 1812, and van Schayk hears in the music the composer’s ecstatic longing for the sublime future he supposed would follow the Napoleonic Wars. 7th Symphony was recorded in studio and the music is played by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink.
Silent Cries
Jiri Kylián uses Claude Debussy’s dreamlike Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune for this stylised portrayal of a process of self-discovery and acceptance. He created the solo work in collaboration with his wife, the dancer Sabine Kupferberg, who performs in this studio recording.
Symphonie Fantastique
In this live recording from the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Haitink conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique Op. 14. Sub-titled Episodes in the Life of an Artist by the composer, this brilliant psychological fantasy in music is thought to have been inspired by his passion for the famous Irish actress Harriet Smithson.