The festive gala concerts at the Semperoper Dresden count among the most splendid classical music events and constitute a highlight programme of German television. Once again, Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden grant big entertainment presenting a “romantic feast” (Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten) for which no expense has been spared. It contains cheerful melodies outside the standard symphonic repertoire, among them violin-miniatures by Fritz Kreisler, Tchaikovsky’s fantasy overture Romeo and Juliet and the overture of Rossinis’s Guillaume Tell. The concert’s centrepiece is Max Bruch’s radiant Violin Concerto No. 1, played by soloist Nikolaj Znaider “with high virtuosity, but in a delicate and sensitive manner, with endless soul and emotion.”
Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 4
Conductor Christian Thielemann lives up to his name yet again as a “Bruckner specialist” (Klassik Akzente). The Fourth Symphony is given in the presumed original version recovered by Robert Haas. This version differs considerably from the first, effectively published score, which Bruckner had only accepted as a stopgap so that the work could easily be performed. Thielemann brings out the tone painting very vividly in Baden-Baden: “These are tone paintings of the finest quality”, wrote one reviewer enthusiastically.
Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 9
Bruckner’s Ninth – presented in the unfinished version in three movements – calls for no fewer than four “Wagner tubas” at the beginning and end of the Adagio, an instrument which Richard Wagner had specially made for his Ring of the Nibelung. As an avowed fan of Wagner, Bruckner included them in several of his works. Thielemann now lets them sound at full volume. The press verdict: “a musical and spiritual event”.
Thielemann conducts Bruckner No. 6 & Beethoven
Bruckner’s music has played a central role in Thielemann’s relationship with the Staatskapelle; he launched each new concert season with a Bruckner symphony – now the Sixth, this recording of which completes Thielemann’s cycle of the mature Bruckner symphonies. For the Sächsische Zeitung this performance marked “another Bruckner triumph for Dresden” by revealing “the greatness of the work with a rarely heard transparency and clarity. It could hardly have been better!” Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 featured one of today’s outstanding keyboard virtuosos, the Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist Yefim Bronfman, in a performance marking the start of his residency as the Staatskapelle’s “Capell-Virtuos”. In the words of the Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten: “He has music ‘in his fingertips’ (…) ‘High School’ of piano playing.”
Christian Thielemann conducts Chausson, Debussy and Fauré
Christian Thielemann conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in a programme of late Romantic French masterpieces, accompanied by the outstanding voices of Christiane Karg, Sophie Koch and Adrian Eröd. Gabriel Fauré’s heart-easing Requiem with its famous “Pie Jesu” is turned into a “magical moment” by Karg’s “divine” way of singing (Kulturradio). Ernest Chausson’s haunting song cycle Poème de l’amour et de la mer, in which Sophie Koch performs “superbly with her dramatic, yet light voice” (FAZ), constitutes the Requiem’s temporal counterpart. Thematically bridging the two works are Debussy’s Danse sacrée and Danse profane for harp and strings, with the orchestra’s principal harp Marie-Pierre Langlamet creating “cascades of artful polyphony in delicate nuances” (FAZ).
New Year’s Gala from Dresden – Kálmán, Die Csárdásfürstin
“A great conductor and great singers in a jewel of the great operetta tradition” was the verdict of the press, converging on the Semperoper in Dresden to celebrate this operetta in grand style. Anna Netrebko sings Sylva Varescu in a concert performance of Emmerich Kálmán’s popular operetta “Die Csárdásfürstin”. Accompanied by the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under the direction of its conductor Christian Thielemann, Anna Netrebko is teamed with the Peruvian star tenor and darling of the public Juan-Diego Flórez, also making his role debut as Sylva’s lover Edwin. Yet again the Semperoper has produced “deluxe operetta for television” (Die Welt).
Richard Strauss – Birthday Gala
Richard Strauss premiered nine of his fifteen operas at the Semperoper Dresden – this unique relationship was celebrated with a special gala in honour of the composer’s 150th birthday in 2014, featuring the famous arias from Elektra, Salome, Arabella, Die ägyptische Helena and Daphne as well as orchestral music from Der Rosenkavalier, Intermezzo and Die schweigsame Frau. —– Program: Der Rosenkavalier, Waltz Suites 1 & 2 / Elektra, Monologue / Feuersnot, Love Scene / Salome, Final Scene / Arabella, Final Scene Act I / Intermezzo, 2nd Orchestral Interlude / Die ägyptische Helena, “Zweite Brautnacht” / Die schweigsame Frau, Potpourri Overture / Daphne, Final Scene
Strauss, Four Last Songs / An Alpine Symphony
“Renowned soprano Anja Harteros demonstrated she had ample vocal power to rise above the orchestra.” She “was able to colour her production of the text with a range of autumnal shades together with such impeccable diction”. “Maestro Thielemann with the world class Staatskapelle Dresden sets such a consistently high standard of performance and attending one of its concerts is a joy to treasure.” (Seen and Heard International) —– Program: Richard STRAUSS: Four Last Songs, Malven / Wolfgang RIHM: Ernster Gesang (Serious Songs) / Richard STRAUSS: An Alpine Symphony.
Wagner Anniversary Gala
PROGRAM: Wagner: Ouvertüre zu »Der fliegende Holländer«, »Eine Faust-Ouvertüre« d-Moll (Fassung 1855), Gebet des Rienzi »Allmächt´ger Vater«, Ouvertüre zu »Rienzi«, Vorspiel zu »Lohengrin«, »Gralserzählung« des Lohengrin »In fernem Land«; Henze: “Fraternité”. Air pour Orchestre (1999); Wagner: »Rom-Erzählung« des Tannhäuser »Inbrunst im Herzen«, Ouvertüre zu »Tannhäuser«
Season Opening Concert: Christian Thielemann & Staatskapelle Dresden
Hanns Eisler believed that “if you wish to possess the future you must first conquer the past”. And so it is with his “Ernste Gesänge” (Serious Songs), which are not only concerned with memory, but also with the hope of future happiness. 50 years after the Dresden premiere, Christian Thielemann and Thomas Hampson perform this final work by Eisler at the Season Opening Concert 2013/2014 of the Staatskapelle Dresden. Not untypically for Bruckner, his Fifth Symphony is a confrontation with the past, in this case resulting in a “polyphonal masterpiece”. —– PROGRAM: Hans Eisler: Ernste Gesänge for Baritone and String Orchestra / Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, WAB 105