Thielemann‘s brilliant interpretation of Bruckner´s Symphony No. 2 is performed wonderfully by the Staatskapelle Dresden, completing their critically acclaimed Bruckner cycle with a concert at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. “In the Elbphilharmonie Thielemann once again proved to be the unrestricted Ruler on his ancestral territory, German Romantic repertoire” (Hamburger Abendblatt) and critics praised how lucent and with how much musical intensity Thielemann conducted this symphony in the acoustics of this hall – an exceptional positive example for subsequent conductors and orchestras.
Richard Strauss Gala
This exceptional programme of highlights from Richard Strauss´s works Der Rosenkavalier, Feuersnot,
Salome, Elektra, Die ägyptische Helena, Arabella, Die schweigsame Frau and Daphne was dedicated to Richard
Strauss 150th birthday in Dresden. The reputation as »THE Strauss-Orchestra« of the Staatskapelle
Dresden results from the special relation to Richard Strauss and his works, which started 130 years ago,
performing many world premieres of Richard Strauss´s operas and orchestral works.
The DVD includes the documentary My Strauss with Christian Thielemann, including a lot of archival
footage with Richard Strauss, rehearsals and concert excerpts of Elektra, Rosenkavalier, Frau ohne
Schatten, Heldenleben, Four last songs and more.
Vier letzte Lieder
Dresden and the Staatskapelle Dresden have a special relation to Richard Strauss. Many of his compositions had their world premiere in Dresden and the composer dedicated An Alpine Symphony to the Dresden orchestra. The programme includes Four Last Songs, Ernster Gesang by Wolfgang Rihm and the German premiere of the last completed Strauss song “Mallows” in an orchestral version, arranged specifically for Dresden by Wolfgang Rihm.
Arabella
A “lyric comedy” is how Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal described their final collaboration, on which they worked between 1927 and 1929. Arabella revolves around the true
love between two very different couples – the love that unites two people forever “in joy and sorrow, hurt and forgiveness”, as Arabella herself puts it at the end of the opera. With Renée
Fleming in the title role and a supporting cast that includes Thomas Hampson, Gabriela Benacková and the young tenor Daniel Behle – surely a star of the future – this production from the Salzburg Easter Festival was the first of the piece at the Festival since 1958. Under the Strauss specialist Christian Thielemann, it featured a Strauss ensemble that could hardly be bettered today. Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson are a “dream couple for Richard Strauss” (Salzburger Nachrichten).
Bruckner, Symphony No. 5
Following on from their recording of the Eighth, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden are continuing their internationally acclaimed Bruckner cycle with the Symphony No. 5. For Anton Bruckner, his Fifth Symphony was a glorious confrontation with the music of the past – from a personal, biographical angle, but also as a departure from the composition techniques he preferred up to this point. Not for nothing is this tremendous opus magnum regarded as Bruckner’s “contrapuntal masterpiece”. In this universally lauded performance, Christian Thielemann, already the leading Bruckner interpreter of our times, has once again proven himself to be a “magician of the Bruckner sound”. (Kurier)
Bruckner Symphony No. 8
Bruckner’s Eighth is one of the most powerful works in music and the symphony that Bruckner himself regarded as his “opus summum”. This recording by the acknowledged Bruckner master Christian Thielemann and “his” orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, marks the beginning of a cycle of the Austrian composer’s complete symphonies that is to be produced over the course of several years – a living monument of musical architecture! Thielemann’s Bruckner “is so mighty, and with such a depth of sound … that one would have to be hard-hearted not to be touched by this heartfelt music” (Der Tagesspiegel).
Johannes Brahms: The complete Symphonies – Christian Thielemann / Discovering Brahms with Christian Thielemann
After the great success of his Beethoven cycle, Christian Thielemann now turns with his new orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, to the symphonic works of Johannes Brahms. And once again he succeeds in presenting a new and authoritative reading of these compositions. His conductorial trademarks – broad soundscapes originating in calm and composed tempi, a sense of romanticism only heightened by clarity and a finely judged balance, with overwhelming and sometimes even brutal climaxes as stark contrast – cause Brahms’s symphonies to shine in a fresh light. Thielemann once again consolidates his reputation as the most genuine successor of the great German conductors of the past. “We can’t think of any other conductor than Thielemann at present who has all those endowments, which used to be the (original) trade mark of German maestros.” Asahi Shimbun (Tokyo) Bonus: A one-hour documentary with Christian Thielemann, providing an in-depth look into his interpretation of Brahms.
Wagner Christian Thielemann – Jonas Kaufmann
In memory of the great Richard Wagner and mindful of their own Wagner tradition, the Staatskapelle Dresden staged this glittering gala concert in the Semperoper on the eve of Richard Wagner’s bicentenary. They were directed by their principal conductor Christian Thielemann, indisputably one of the great Wagner conductors of our time, and he was joined by the hottest young heroic tenor of recent years, Jonas Kaufmann. The programme features the overtures to the Wagner operas written and premiered in Dresden – 1842 Rienzi, 1843 The Flying Dutchman and 1845 Tannhäuser – as well as great tenor scenes from Rienzi, Tannhäuser and Lohengrin. “Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann was celebrated with bravos and tumultuous applause – as were the musicians and Thielemann.” (Focus)
Bruckner, Symphony No. 4 “Romantic”, Symphony No. 7
Christian Thielemann is widely regarded as the leading Brucknerian of our age, and his performances with the Munich Philharmonic, of which he has been music director since 2004, enjoy cult status all around the globe. This DVD features Thielemann’s first-ever video recordings of Bruckner’s two most popular works, Symphonies No. 4 and No. 7, which he interprets as sublime cathedrals of late Romantic music, impressing his listeners in ways that few other conductors can.
The Schumann Symphonies
Star conductor Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden present a brand new recording of all four symphonies of Robert Schumann, who lived in Dresden from 1844 to 1850 and wrote his second symphony there. His symphonies are considered masterpieces amongst German romantic symphonic works. This cycle, which was recorded live at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, receiving great critical acclaim, is a new milestone in Schumann interpretation. „The Staatskapelle’s sumptuous playing is hard to fault … „ (The Guardian)