Emmanuel Pahud´s tribute to Frederick the Great

Emmanuel Pahud, the Berliner Philharmoniker’s principal flautist, celebrates the 300th anniversary of Frederick the Great’s birth with a concert recorded in the Royal Theatre of Potsdam’s Neues Palais, one of the architectural gems erected by the Prussian king within the World Heritage palace ensemble of Sanssouci. Not only was Frederick an eminent ruler and philosopher, he was also a passionate flautist, a talented composer and patron of music, who appointed to his court such renowned musicians of his day as J. J. Quantz, C. P. E. Bach and Franz Benda. Accompanied by the Kammerakademie Potsdam directed by Trevor Pinnock Emmanuel Pahud performs works by these three composers together with a composition written by Frederick the Great himself.

Emmanuel Pahud: Works by Frederick the Great

With this programme, Emmanuel Pahud, with no doubt one of the best flute players in the world, honours the 300th anniversary of a great philosopher, musician and composer: the Prussian King Frederick II, also called the Great. Together with the Kammerakademie Potsdam the famous French flutist and member of the Berliner Philharmonics will perform – in one of the palaces build by the King – musical works of Frederick the Great himself, of Johann Joachim Quantz (teacher of Frederick the Great) , of Franz Benda and of Carl Friedrich Emanuel Bach, who was the royal harpsichordist. Also available: Documentary (45’ – A05513518)

Diana Damrau – Diva Divina: Nine Months With The German Opera Star

She is simply one of the best singers in the world,’ proclaimed the New York Sun triumphantly after another of Diana Damrau’s spectacular performances at the Metropolitan Opera. And while The Guardian gushed: ‘The German soprano…has become a cult figure,’ the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted succinctly: ‘Whoever says coloratura says Damrau.’ In private moments with her parents and her first teacher, Damrau talks about her childhood and youth, about her discovery of opera while watching TV, her early career and her international breakthrough in 2002 in roles such as Donna Anna and Zerbinetta. The film portrays an exciting, high-intensity, fast-paced jet-set life tempered by the harmony of a rewarding family life with her husband, her parents and, at the end of the film, with her brand-new baby!

¡Cincuentañero! – Rolando Villazón’s 50th Birthday Gala

Rolando Villazón assembles his friends, all of them prominent guests, for a festive gala concert. The first part of the performance is dedicated to his musical heartfelt friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, followed by “hits” from opera, operetta and popular songs from Europe and Mexico in the second part. The singers are accompanied by the Camerata Salzburg under Lithuanian conductor Giedre Šlekyte. “A showcase of great operatic voices” (Salzburger Nachrichten)

Dancing Queen

‘Everybody dance!’ – With this call, the lautten compagney BERLIN, together with saxophonist Asya Fateyeva, invites the audience to embark on an exciting journey through three centuries of musical history. It seems audacious to link Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) and ABBA (1972-), two absolute giants of European music history. However, even a second listen reveals countless similarities: the originality and catchiness of their melodies, the rhythmic buoyancy and the unrestricted popularity of both building a bridge from the present day to a time when it was less the Queens and more the Kings who could be found on the dance floor. ABBA’s music is arranged, played on instruments from the baroque period and not just juxtaposed with Rameau’s music. In fact, the pieces are sometimes so fused that it is almost impossible to recognise what was penned by the late baroque Frenchman and what came from the Swedish pop quartet’s workshop.

Christmas with Benjamin Appl

The acclaimed baritone Benjamin Appl is constantly on the move, primarily in Europe, Japan, and South America. Now he returns to his hometown of Regensburg and joins forces with the Regensburger Domspatzen and soprano Elsa Dreisig to give a Christmas concert featuring carols from around the world. Melodies by John Rutter, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Cécile Chaminade, Michael Praetorius, as well as Traditionals from France, Sweden and Austria resound in the Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady to the Ancient Chapel in Regensburg. The international Christmas programme musically draws on the traditions of multiple cultures and regions, hence appealing to a wide audience.

Nelsons conducts Bach & Saint-Saëns

Chinese superstar Lang Lang is the soloist in Saint-Saëns’s scintillating Piano Concerto No.2, joining the Gewandhausorchester and Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons. One of the composer’s most popular works, the second concerto was written in just 17 days in the spring of 1868 and was once humorously described as “beginning like Bach and ending like Offenbach”. Its different styles certainly offer the virtuoso pianist the opportunity to display all sides of his or her technique – as Lang Lang does to scintillating effect here. The Bach-inspired first movement, meanwhile, provides the inspiration for the rest of the programme, which features rare and fascinating J.S. Bach orchestrations by Mahler, Elgar, Reger and Joachim Raff. PROGRAM Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No.2; Bach: orchestrations by Mahler, Elgar, Reger and Joachim Raff

Lang Lang & Gina Alice play Saint-Saëns

Husband-and-wife team Lang Lang and Gina Alice join Andris Nelsons and members of the Gewandhausorchester for a very special performance of Saint-Saëns’s ever-popular Carnival of the Animals. The humorous suite was composed with fun in mind, and Saint-Saëns wouldn’t allow it to be performed in public during his lifetime, lest it undermine his reputation as a serious composer. It went on, however, to become one of his best-loved works. Lang Lang is the soloist in Saint-Saëns’s scintillating Piano Concerto No.2, joining the Gewandhausorchester and Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons. PROGRAM Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, Piano Concerto No.2

Mischa Maisky – A Birthday Concert

The cellist Mischa Maisky is one of the greats of his profession. Now he has given a concert with Paavo Järvi and the German Chamber Philharmonic Bremen, performing the works that have given particular shape to his life. The occasion for the concert on July 3rd, 2023, as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, was Maisky’s 75th birthday. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme, Nocturne in D minor; Bruch: Kol Nidrei; Haydn: Symphony Nos. 93 and 104