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.

Salzburg Opening Concert

With Pierre Boulez, Daniel Barenboim and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra you are assured of a

concert of superlatives.

“Unsurpassable in terms of the delicacy of its sonorities.” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

„An ideal combination“ Kronenzeitung

“Boulez at his most responsive and insightful in all three works. And a grandiose orchestra – the Wiener

Philharmoniker in top form” (Kurier).

Mahler Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6

Symphonies Nos. 5 + 6 will continue the release of the complete Mahler cycle with Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, which since the 80s became a “powerful Mahler orchestra” (Frankfurter Rundschau)

Bonus: Introductions to Symphonies Nos. 5 + 6 with Paavo Järvi

Mahler Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8

In many ways Mahler’s Seventh and Eighth Symphonies are the most unusual works that the late Romantic composer ever wrote. The Seventh was the last in a series of middle-period pieces that were purely instrumental in character. Two movements headed “Nachtmusik“ (night music) and the remarkable writing for a guitar and a mandolin help to create a sequence

of darkly Romantic visions. And even within Mahler’s markedly eclectic output, the Eighth Symphony enjoys the status of an exotic outsider thanks not only to ist two-movement form combining an early medieval hymn and the final scene from Goethe’s Faust but also to the vast forces for which it is scored, earning it the title of “Symphony of a Thousand”.

“If I knew Mahler only from his music, I would say that he has a huge heart and a deep connection with the soul and humanity.” – PAAVO JÄRVI

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.

La Battaglia di Legnano

TUTTO VERDI – this edition to mark the Verdi bicentenary sets standards by which all similar projects will be judged. It includes all twenty-six operas by the greatest Italian stage composer, together with his immortal Requiem, all of them in definitive performances. “This is how Verdi should be played” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on TUTTO VERDI

La battaglia di Legnano is the only opera by Verdi to have any direct bearing on the Risorgimento – the Italian liberation movement. Only superficially is the action concerned with the conflict betwen the Lombard League and Frederick Barbarossa, the Hohenstaufen emperor. Among the opera’s highlights are its patriotic choruses, with which Verdi stirred up opinion in favour of a united Italy.

Mahler Symphonies Nos. 3 & 4 Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (HRSinfonie Orchester)

? Symphonies Nos. 3 + 4 will continue the release of the complete Mahler cycle with Paavo Järvi and the

Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, which since the 80s became a “powerful Mahler orchestra”

(Frankfurter Rundschau)

? Outstanding soloists: Waltraud Meier (Symphony No. 3), who sung at Bayreuth Festival, MET, Covent

Garden, La Scala etc. with conductors as Muti, ‚Abbado, Thielemann, Mehta etc.

Genia Kühmeier (Symphony No. 4), who sung at MET, Covent Garden, La Scala, Salzburg Festival, Vienna

State Opera, Los Angeles, San Francisco etc.

? Bonus: Introductions to Symphonies Nos 3 + 4 with Paavo Järvi

Mahler Symphony No. 3

? “… excellent prepared orchestra …“ “… Waltraud Meier, a worldwide celebrated singer …“ FAZ

? “… this is simply terrific.“ Frankfurter Rundschau

Mahler Symphony No. 4

? “Genia Kühmeier sang with a trancendental immaculacy tone.“ FAZ

? “Great orchestra, oustanding conductor.“ Bild Zeitung

REJOICE with Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot

This DVD celebrates the extraordinary artistic world of Eastern European Jewish music, or in the words of Itzhak Perlman, “chicken soup for the soul.” Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman and renowned cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot join forces for a musical exploration of liturgical and traditional works in new arrangements for both chamber orchestra and klezmer settings. In Rejoice with Itzhak Perlman and Cantor Yitzchak Meir Helfgot, these two incomparable virtuosos unite for an evening of cantorial masterpieces, Yiddish folk and theater tunes, Hassidic melodies, and klezmer instrumentals.