Beethoven’s String Quartet op. 135 was the last work he would complete before his death. Especially in the poignant slow movement, this otherworldy masterpiece can be read as the farewell music of a genius. In 1989, less than a year before his own death, Bernstein delivered a powerful and now legendary live performance of this work – transcribed for string orchestra and played by the Vienna Philharmonic. For the first time ever, this famous concert is now being released on DVD and Blu-ray. Another definitive Bernstein performance debuting now on both mediums is the enigmatic maestro’s reading of Haydn’s Missa in tempore belli, filmed live in concert at Ottobeuren in 1984, using to maximum effect the deeply impressive setting of the monastery’s magnificent Baroque basilica.
Thomas Dausgaard, Danish National Symphony Orchestra 4 Symphonies
4 great symphonies that have all played a special role in the close collaboration between Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Thomas Dausgaard. The symphonies are recorded in the beautiful concert hall Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, designed by architect Jean Nouvel and acoustician Toyota Yasuhisa. Bonus material In a series of exclusive interviews Thomas Dausgaard explains about his close collaboration with the orchestra, the concerts and about the four great yet altogether very different master pieces by Brahms, Dvorák, Sibelius and Nielsen.
Salzburg Festival Opening Concert 2011
Dorothea Roeschmann, Anna Larsson, Johan Botha – and rising star Anna Prohaska: master conductor Pierre Boulez the “grand seigneur de subtle minimalism and exquisitely beguiling sounds” (Der Standard), assembled a cast of tremendous distinction for this prestigious concert, conceived as a tribute to Gustav Mahler. After two works by Mahler´s pupil Alban Berg, featuring Roeschmann and Prohaska, the main event of the concert is Gustav Mahler´s large-scale cantata “Das klagende Lied” – a “great spectral opera for the mind´s eye (Wiener Zeitung)
Andris Nelsons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Shostakovich Symphony No. 8
The Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons is already one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. In the present recording of the first of these concerts (which are both available on DVD and Blu-ray from C Major Entertainment), orchestra and conductor demonstrate their brilliance in some of the most spectacular orchestral works ever written. “A profoundly moving interpretation” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung).
Andris Nelsons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Yefim Bronfman at Lucerne Festival
The Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons is already one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. In the present recording of the second of these concerts (which are both available on DVD and Blu-ray from C Major Entertainment), Beethoven’s majestic Fifth Piano Concerto proves a memorable encounter between Nelsons and master pianist Yefim Bronfman, who remains calm and composed despite the piano part‘s virtuoso passage-work and knuckle-breaking chords. “A return to the magician of the podium: a conductor bursting with temperament and capable of conjuring up the most magnificent orchestral sonorities” (Neue Luzerner Zeitung).
Rudolf Buchbinder/Wiener Philharmoniker Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 1 – 5
After decades of work on Beethoven’s original scores, the Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder offers a definitive interpretation of all of Beethoven’s piano concertos in this series of live recordings of his ecstatically acclaimed performances in the Musikverein in Vienna. Buchbinder conducts the Vienna Philharmonic from the piano and achieves a rare degree of tension and chamber-like concentration. “There is no one else who plays Beethoven with such classical perfection and at such a high level.” Der Kurier, Vienna
Thielemann conducts Faust
Under the musical direction of their chief conductor designate, Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden performed this special concert to celebrate Franz Liszt and his bicentenary. At its home, the prestigious Semperoper in Dresden, the orchestra presented a Faust-themed concert with two works by Wagner and Liszt inspired by Goethe’s drama. “Fired up by inspiration, the Dresden musicians and their leader offer a superb demonstration of their ability, their precision and their feeling for colour and temperament … A top orchestra and a top conductor have found each other” (Die Welt).
The Schumann Symphonies
Star conductor Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden present a brand new recording of all four symphonies of Robert Schumann, who lived in Dresden from 1844 to 1850 and wrote his second symphony there. His symphonies are considered masterpieces amongst German romantic symphonic works. This cycle, which was recorded live at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, receiving great critical acclaim, is a new milestone in Schumann interpretation. „The Staatskapelle’s sumptuous playing is hard to fault … „ (The Guardian)
Uniko
Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins is the most performed work by any living composer. This performance is the largest ever staged and was uniquely performed in synchronisation with a specially commissioned war-archive film reinforcing the narrative of the work – the build up to war, war itself and the consequences of war. Projected on to five giant screens, the film delivers a poignant backdrop to the moving musical narration providing the audience with a powerful and emotional multimedia experience. In this truly unique historic occasion Sir Karl Jenkins conducts The World Orchestra for Peace and around 2,000 singers from nearly 30 countries who joined together to Sing for Peace in Berlin.