Dmitri Shostakovich’s Eighth Symphony, which was written in the pivotal months after the Battle of Stalingrad, follows the principle of triumph through adversity – ‘per aspera ad astra’ – not just musically, but also conceptually: Everything that is dark and shameful will perish; everything that is beautiful will triumph.’ This ‘triumph,’ though, is restrained. The Eighth is a large-scale work that ends in something like a pastoral mood, played pianissimo; poses of jubilation were not in Shostakovich’s nature. The concert opens with the delightful, lively Overture to ‘Rienzi.’ And the ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’ from ‘Salome’ shows the fin-de-siècle’s enigmatic penchant for decadence.
Cecilia Bartoli: Sacrificium – The Art of the Castrati
Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, one of the most successful classical artists of her time, is a passionate musical explorer who regularly uncovers thrilling but little-known chapters of music history. This time her in-depth research takes her on a fascinating expedition into the world of castrato singers. The legendary art of the castratos continues to exert a strong fascination today, and, despite the great human sacrifice it exacted, this extraordinary period justifies the new assessment that she delivers.
Joyce DiDonato sings In War and Peace: Harmony through Music
„In the midst of chaos, how do you find peace?“, is one of the pressing topical questions that Joyce DiDonato asks in her powerful work In War & Piece – Harmony through Music. The Grammy Award winning mezzo-soprano fashions an intense semi-theatricalized concert production, including works by George Frideric Handel and Henry Purcell. Organizing a set of Baroque arias along thematic lines, DiDonato contemplates the interwoven worlds of external conflict and serenity, internal war and peace, and the challenges which they provide for every citizen of the world. Together with the period-instrument ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro under Maxim Emelyanychev, the singer creates a dramatic atmosphere on the stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. In the music of Handel, DiDonato achieves a “purity that enhances the composer’s signature formula” (Washington Post).
The Mozart Requiem Project
Mozart’s legendary Requiem is certainly one of the composer’s most famous and frequently performed works. Raphaël Pichon and the ensemble “Pygmalion” – one of the leading music ensembles (a choir and orchestra) following historical criteria and playing on period instruments, now present the work in a unique version: divided into four blocks, it is interspersed with various vocal works, specially chosen to provide an overarching theme and sweeping vision within the context of the genius’ musical oeuvre. Performed in the Palau de la Música Catalana, UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world, the performance becomes “an aesthetic experience full of sensitivity, a performance close to the sublime and a refreshing reading of one of the most performed and programmed works of the sacred repertoire” (Platea Magazine).
The Red Square Concert
Appearing for the first time together on Red Square, two of the biggest names in opera to day, Anna Netrebko and Dmitri Hvorostovsky , performing for one night only in front of audience of 7,500 people. The exciting program includes arias from some of the most recognised operas including Tosca, Eugene Onegin, and Il trovatore. The singers are accompanied by conductor Constantine Orbelian, Russia’s State Academic Symphony Orchestra “Evgeny Svetlanov” and a large chorus. Director Frank Hof, whose work includes the memorable Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo, and Rolando Villazón performance at Berlin’s Waldbühne, shoot the Red Square performance with 18 cameras in magnificent HD to best capture the stunning backdrop of Red Square, and create an exclusive theatrical mix in 5.1 digital surround sound.
Dudamel conducts Mahler No. 2
Charismatic Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel returns to Palau de la Música Catalana, world heritage site and one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world, conducting Mahler’s existential Second Symphony with the outstanding Münchner Philharmoniker. Mahler was keen to emphasize life and death in all its terrible and stunning splendour in this overwhelming opus, also referred to as “Resurrection Symphony”: “In my two symphonies there is nothing except the complete substance of my whole life” he remarked on his all-embracing oeuvre American mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford and Israeli soprano Chen Reiss as well as the seemingly weightless choirs of Orfeó Català and
Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Música Catalana perform “a mark-shattering finale with goosebumps” (Münchner Merkur). “The dynamic range is enormous. But most fascinating are the moments of absolute silence, in which you can feel how the dramaturgy of the evening comes together: An audience holds its breath” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
Le Donne di Puccini
The Beethoven Marathon
It was the sensation in the run-up to the Beethoven Year 2020: The complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle with the Danish Chamber Orchestra and its chief conductor Ádám Fischer. Renowned awards followed quickly: The CD set was named International Classical Music Award’s Recording of the Year 2020 and won the Opus Klassik as the best Symphonic recording / music 19th century. With their witty and volatile performances, Fischer and the DCO amaze the audience and set new standards for the critics – and are now available, recorded in Jean Nouvel’s stunning Koncerthuset in Copenhagen.
RCO: Nelsons conducts Beethoven and Skrjabin
Andris Nelsons is leading the Concertgebouworkest in a programme dedicated to the intriguing mythological figure of Prometheus. He is conducting “Prométhée, le poème du feu”, a large-scale symphonic poem by Skrjabin scored not just for symphony orchestra, but also for piano and chorus, while a light organ provides colours to accompany the music. In the only ballet Beethoven ever wrote, “Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus”, Prometheus imparts art and civilisation to mankind. The conflict between the masses and a leader forms the basis of Brett Dean’s trumpet concerto “Dramatis personae”, which culminates in an exciting dialogue between soloist Håkan Hardenberger and the Concertgebouworkest. PROGRAM Beethoven: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus; Skrjabin: Prométhée, le poème du feu; Dean: Dramatis personae
Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays Debussy’s Preludes
“Painter” – that is how Claude Debussy once answered the question of what profession he would have preferred to take up. His Préludes for piano, composed between 1909 and 1913, are like musical paintings whose impressive richness of tone colour invites the audience to let their imagination run free. French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet presents the complete cycle of these standard-setting compositions in an intimate concert in which the listener travels to snowy landscapes, the bottom of the ocean, a fairy ball, and much more. “A gourmet repast with refreshing contrasts of mood and texture.” (New York Classical Review). Programme: Claude Debussy: Préludes, Book I, L. 117 Préludes, Book II, L. 123 Edward Elgar: Salut d’Amour, Op. 12