Each year, the traditional Festive Opera Gala combines real musical delight and the joy of charity. The gala, which is organised for the benefit of the German AIDS-Fund, has for years been one of the social highlights on the German agenda. The soloists of the 2005 Gala are Lucia Aliberti, Marcelo Álvarez, Lado Ataneli, Maria Guleghina, Michaela Kaune and Anatoli Kotscherga.
Berlin Opera Night 2006
Each year, the traditional Festive Opera Gala combines real musical delight and the joy of charity. The gala, which is organised for the benefit of the German AIDS-Fund, has for years been one of the social highlights on the German agenda. The soloists of the 2006 Gala are Daniela Barcellona, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Marius Brenciu, Malena Ernman, Soile Isokoski, Klaus Florian Vogt, Thomas Quasthoff, Maria Virginia Savastano, Violeta Urmana and Ramon Vargas.
Giovanni Antonini conducts Haydn’s Daytime Symphonies
More than 250 years after their premiere, conductor Giovanni Antonini and his ensemble Il Giardino Armonico are bringing Joseph Haydn’s three symphonies based on the times of day back to their place of origin, the magnificent Haydn Hall at Esterházy Palace in Austria. A musical journey through the day, in which the location, the work, and the musicians form a magical connection. Historical and very contemporary.
“The Morning.” “The Noon.” “The Evening.” Not just three times of day, but also three symphonies composed by Joseph Haydn, with which he probably celebrated his debut at the magnificent court of Prince Esterházy in 1761. More than 250 years later, Il Giardino Armonico, conducted by Giovanni Antonini, once again perform the cycle in the historic setting of its premiere: in the magnificent Haydn Hall of Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt in Burgenland, Austria. Long Version includes additionally Haydn: Arianna a Naxos with Kate Lindsey
HK Phil – Tarmo Peltokoski & Lang Lang
Tarmo Peltokoski, Music Director Designate of the HK Phil, leads a captivating Nordic-inspired programme that showcases Finland in both its traditional and cosmopolitan forms. The evening opens with Castor, a dazzling orchestral work by Esa-Pekka Salonen, HK Phil’s Composer-in-Residence for the 2025/26 season and a compatriot and mentor of Peltokoski. The piece is inspired by the twin brothers of Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux. Superstar pianist Lang Lang then brings radiant virtuosity to Grieg’s lyrical Piano Concerto, before the concert concludes with Sibelius’s Lemminkäinen Suite, evoking the mythic heart of Finnish folklore in all its power and poetry. PROGRAM Salonen: Castor; Grieg: Piano Concerto; Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite
RCO: Hrusa conducts Schumann, Dvorák and Suk
Yunchan Lim was the youngest ever winner of the legendary Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2022. Now, at the age of twenty-one, he is making his Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in Robert Schumann’s one and only Piano Concerto. The dreamy slow movement of this Romantic work is among the most beautiful Schumann ever composed. After the interval, the conductor Jakub Hruša guides us through his native Czech Republic with symphonic poems by two renowned fellow countrymen. In The Wild Dove, Dvorak tells a story full of passion, murder and all-consuming guilt in a village community. When Dvorak died in the spring of 1904, his pupil and son-in-law Josef Suk happened to be working on Prague, a symphonic ode to the city of Prague. The epic work would also become a homage to his mentor. PROGRAM Schumann: Piano Concerto; Dvorak: The Wild Dove; Suk: Prague
Anna Lapwood at the Elbphilharmonie
Film music arranged for the Elbphilharmonie Organ. Her enthusiasm is contagious: Anna Lapwood is the new face of an ancient instrument. “I love to surprise people!” exclaims Anna Lapwood. Audiences adore her unconventional approach to playing the organ. Millions of followers watch the 30-year-old British musician on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, captivated by her impressive concert arrangements. She repeatedly challenges the classical canon and devotes herself to popular and film music with the same dedication as Bach, Vierne, Poulenc, and contemporary composers. Can she play “Pirates of the Caribbean« on the organ? “Of course,” says the British social media star. At Elbphilharmonie Hamburg she plays a varied program of film music and organ classics, featuring Lapwood‘s own arrangements, cheerful introductions and audience engagement, dramatic organ sounds, and enchanting lighting design.
Nelsons conducts Shostakovich No 7
At the centre of the Shostakovich Festival 2025 in Leipzig was a performance of Shostakovich’s “Leningrad” Symphony, in which Andris Nelsons led the combined forces of the Gewandhausorchester and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the Gewandhaus. Since 2018, both orchestras, at the helm of both of which Andris Nelsons stands, have continuously developed an ever-closer transatlantic partnership. Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, known as the “Leningrad Symphony”, was composed during World War II and stands as a masterpiece of both artistic and historical significance. PROGRAM Shostakovich: Symphony No 7
Nelsons conducts Shostakovich
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s death in 2025, the Leipzig Gewandhaus organized a unique festival featuring world-class artists and orchestras. The opening concert was the first highlight: the Gewandhausorchester, under the baton of its music director Andris Nelsons, performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov as well Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4. PROGRAM Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Piano Concerto No 2, Symphony No 4
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Mahler
In his internationally acclaimed interpretations of Mahler’s symphonies, Riccardo Chailly focuses on the musical quality of the works, avoiding false pathos and sentimentality while retaining the music’s dramatic intensity. Together with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and Elina Garanca, he opened the 2025 festival summer festival with Mahler’s poignant, unfinished 10th Symphony and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder. The concert opened with Pierre Boulez’s Mémoriale, in reverence of the inaugural director of the Lucerne Festival Academy, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2025. PROGRAM Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, Ssymphony No 10; Boulez: Mémoriale
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Rachmaninoff
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly continued their journey into Sergei Rachmaninoff’s emotional world. With the rarely performed The Rock, Op. 7, they immersed themselves in the composer’s early work. In his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninoff counterposes his own piano virtuosity against the brilliance of the legendary violinist Paganini. The piece was performed by the exceptional pianist Beatrice Rana, renowned worldwide for her electrifying playing. To conclude the evening, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under Riccardo Chailly’s direction, presented Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1. PROGRAM Rachmaninoff: The Rock, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No 1