The Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt is a phenomenon – as he approaches his 88th birthday, he is one of the oldest conductors in the world. And yet: on the rostrum he embodies such a vitality and energy, that he at once enthralls his musicians as well as his audiences. Blomstedt directs the orchestra in two symphonies that could scarcely be less alike: The musicians play Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony and Symphony No. 5 by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen with concentrated intensity, honouring Nielsen in his 150th anniversary year.
Christmas Special: Christmas in the Erzgebirge
Christmas in the Erzgebirge is one of Saxony’s most treasurable cultural traditions. The region’s centuries old mining industry has produced a unique response to Christmas, which is celebrated by means of numerous customs in which music plays a decisive role. The Renaissance town of Marienberg at the very heart of the historic Erzgebirge is the setting for a concert of classical and seasonal works performed by Germany’s only classical orchestra made up exclusively of wind instruments, the Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie (Saxon Wind Philharmonic). They were joined by the Rundfunk Jugendchor Wernigerode (Wernigerode Radio Youth Choir) and German soprano Ruth Ziesak. —– Works by Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY, Engelbert HUMPERDINCK, Pjotr Iljitsch TCHAIKOWSKY and Richard WAGNER.
Blomstedt conducts Beethoven
More than 200 years after its premiere at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the famous trio Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Martin Helmchen have congenially mastered the artistic challenge of Beethoven’s gemstone. Under Herbert Blomstedt’s sensitive direction, the soloists unite chamber music intimacy together with virtuoso sophistication – and prove once again that the Triple Concerto is an unduly underestimated, much too rarely programmed masterpiece. The composer’s fifth symphony – indeed, the hit of classical music – is better known. In Leipzig, however, Blomstedt succeeds in achieving an entirely new perspective of this work. In the culmination of his three-year, intensive reenactment of Beethoven’s cosmos, the impressive sound that characterizes the Swedish grand seigneur’s conducting is heralded by transparency rather than showmanship, relevance instead of pathos, and tenderness in place of sentimentality.
Lucerne Festival 2016: Inaugural Concert of Riccardo Chailly – Mahler 8
“To be responsible for this outstanding artistic project that Claudio Abbado has initiated is not only a privilege but it has touched me deeply.” These are the very words Riccardo Chailly uses to describe his new job in Lucerne. The conductor, who left his post as music director of the Gewandhaus Leipzig and became principal conductor at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan last year, follows in this new position Arturo Toscanini and Claudio Abbado, thus becoming the third chief conductor of this unique orchestra. On August 12, 2016, Riccardo Chailly premiered as conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra with an opening concert: The orchestra and its principal conductor paid their respects to the late Abbado with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. An inaugural concert that with its superb cast of musicians became a memorable event!
Riccardo Chailly – Mahler Cycle
The complete Mahler symphonies with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Riccardo Chailly recorded at the Gewandhaus Leipzig. Symphony No. 2 in C minor: 96’ min / / Symphony No. 3 (available in 2015) / Symphony No. 4 in G major: 62’ min / Symphony No. 5: 74′ min / Symphony No. 6: 87′ min / Symphony No. 8 in E flat major: 93’ min / Symphony No. 9: 86′ min.
Carmina Burana
They are one of the most famous and most frequently performed works of classical music: Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”. The Latin title refers to a collection of songs from Benediktbeuern dating from the 11th and 12th centuries with texts written in Middle Latin, Old French and Middle High German. Orff chose 24 of these songs, their topics ranging widely from the volatility of happiness and prosperity to the fleeting nature of life, from the joy of the return of spring to the pleasures and dangers of drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, and lust. At the Palau de la Música in València, the Orquestra de València, one of the great Spanish symphony orchestras, together with one of Spain’s oldest choirs, Orféon Pamplones, perform this epic work under the musical direction of Alexander Liebreich. They are joined by the excellent soloists Sara Blanch, Joaquín Asiáin and André Baleiro, creating a memorable musical evening.
Concierto de Aranjuez
A perfect summer evening in the spectacular Palau de la Música València where the Orquesta de Valencia performs Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”, under the direction of chief conductor Alexander Liebreich. The soloist on the classical guitar is the internationally acclaimed and multi-award-winning Croatian guitarist Ana Vidovic – one of the most impressive classical guitarists of our time. The Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo was always closely associated with València – it is the city where he grew up, studied, and later married. Since its foundation 80 years ago, the Orquesta de València has also identified with the heritage of Valencian culture, its composers, and the music of its homeland. The half-hour concert is a synthesis of the most diverse elements of Spanish music. It was quickly regarded abroad as the flagship of Spanish culture – and Joaquín Rodrigo as its ambassador. Interwoven with the concert recording, the documentary part of the program takes us to the Royal Gardens in Aranjuez, where Rodrigo was inspired to write his “Concierto de Aranjuez”. In interviews with conductor Alexander Liebreich, soloist Ana Vidovic and Cecilia Rodrigo, the composer’s daughter, we learn about the genesis of the work, how it was received and what the musicians associate with it.
Lucerne Festival 2024: Chailly conducts Rachmaninoff
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly continues its Rachmaninov journey on Lake Lucerne. The program includes the rare Symphonic Movement in D minor, the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 and the Scherzo in D minor. In the spotlight: the shooting star Alexander Malofeev, who performs the Piano Concerto No. 1. Alexander Malofeev, who attracted the attention of the classical music world at a young age, is, according to Riccardo Chailly, “more than just a child prodigy” and, despite his young age, possesses not only technical mastery but also a musical maturity that makes him the “ideal Rachmaninov interpreter”.
Lucerne Festival 2024: Chailly conducts Mahler 7
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra opens the 2024 edition of the summer festival on Lake Lucerne with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 7, the most complex and mysterious of his symphonies and for a long time his least frequently performed work. The conductor will be none other than the Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly, himself an ardent admirer of the Viennese master.
Tugan Sokhiev conducts Das Lied von der Erde
Mahler composed his “Lied von der Erde” in a phase of loneliness, but still: the seven Chinese poems that he set into very personal symphonic songs also spread a message of consolation. The Münchner Philharmoniker, one of the world’s leading Mahler orchestras, Tugan Sokhiev, Ekaterina Gubanova and Andreas Schager deliver a gripping performance.