Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Symphony No.9
For a long time Beethoven was unsure whether he ought to write a choral symphony or not, before deciding to use Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ for the last movement of his 9th symphony. He could not know that this work would be his last symphony, and that ‘nine’ would always be regarded as a ‘fateful number’ for the symphonic works of others. This work received ist first performance in Vienna in 1824, under his own direction (Beethoven was already almost completely deaf by then!).
In 1991 Kurt Masur conducted the choir and orchestra of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, whose direction he took over in 1970. The events of 1989 have left Masur and the Gewandhaus orchestra forever linked in people’s memories. The quartet of soloists in this performance consisted of Venceslava Hruba-Freiberger, Doris Soffel, James Wagner and Gwynne Howell.
St Matthew Passion BWV 244
Recorded live from the Romanesque church in Alpirsbach, Enoch zu Guttenberg conducts the Neubeuern Choral Society and the Munich Bach Collegium, with soloists Claes-Hakon Ahnjsö (tenor), Margaret Marshall (soprano), Jard van Nes (contralto), Aldo Baldin (tenor) and Anton Scharinger (bass). The culmination of Bach’s writing for the Church, this massive choral work is a deeply moving combination of joy and grief which attains the utmost heights of expressiveness.
Madrigals with the Consort of Musicke
Two concerts, recorded live from the Holland Festival of Early Music, feature the internationally-acclaimed ensemble conducted by lutenist Anthony Rooley, with soprano Emma Kirkby and guest performer, recorder-player Marion Verbruggen. The repertoire highlights the close musical links that existed between Holland and England around the beginning of the seventeenth century, and the influence of the Italian madrigal composers of the day. Programme One: Songs by Jacob van Eyck, Luca Marenzio, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, John Ward, Thomas Ravenscroft and John Dowland. Programme Two: Songs by Jacob van Eyck, Cornelis Schuyt, Peter Philips and Robert Jones.
Gran Partita – Serenade No. 10 in B flat
Mozart’s Gran Partita – the Serenade No. 10 in B flat K361 – is scored for twelve wind instruments (two oboes, two clarinets, two basset horns, four horns, two bassoons) and a double bass. The seven-part work is performed by woodwind players of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, specialists in authentic performances of the music of Mozart’s era.
Symphony No.3 “Eroica”
Frans Brüggen’s Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century consists of some forty-five musicians and the structure is based on the ‘luxury’ orchestras that flourished in Mannheim, Paris and Vienna in the eighteenth century. Specialising in the music of that era, the orchestra uses period instruments or copies of them. Their spectacular rendition of Beethoven’s Eroica has won them international acclaim. This live recording comes from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Via Crucis – The Fourteen Stations of the Cross
This performance by the Dutch Chamber Choir, conducted from the piano by Reinbert de Leeuw, presents a rare opporunity to hear Liszt’s moving late work. The recording was made at the Church of St. Peter in Utrecht and is rich in visual imagery, using costumed singers positioned in striking tableaux to enhance the music. Inspired by a series of paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross, Liszt’s piety expresses itself in a composition of unadorned simplicity.
The Begijnhof Academy: Baroque Music
The Dutch-based Begijnhof Academy is an ensemble of international musicians and singers who specialise in the performance of baroque music. In this recording, their musical director, Roderick Shaw, conducts performances of Henry Purcell’s My Heart is Inditing and Francisco Valls’ Missa Scala Aretina.
Mitsuiko Uchida
Uchida is one of the leading interpreters of Mozart piano music of her generation. In this studio recital, she plays Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 17 in D K576, and the Adagio in B minor K540. An introduction, in which Uchida talks about Mozart and his music, is available (recorded in German).
Haydn at Esterhaza
Haydn wrote most of his symphonies while he was in the employ of the Esterházy family, whose palace in Hungary was known as the ‘Versailles of the East’. Filmed in the magnificent mirrored great hall of the palace, this programme records a unique attempt to recreate a performance of Haydn’s music as close to the original as possible, Christopher Hogwood conducts the Academy of Ancient Music playing the composer’s Symphonies No. 23 in G, 28 in A, and 29 in E.