The energy and excitement of performances under the baton of maestro Valéry Gergiev are thrilling. This concert, with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, was recorded live at the city’s Doelen Hall. The programme includes Debussy’s Fragments Symphoniques for D’Annunzio’s mystery play Le Martyre de St Sébastien, Prokofiev’s Scythian Suite, Stravinsky’s Fireworks and his Piano Concerto. The soloist for the concerto is the Georgian virtuoso Alexander Toradze, a singularly imposing figure at the keyboard.
Star-studded Anniversary: 125 Years of the Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Th e Concertgebouw was officially inaugurated on 11 April 1888. Public interest was so great that Amsterdam experienced its very first traffic jam (of carriages). Now, 125 years later, the RCO and the Concertgebouw are organising an anniversary concert together. Under the baton of its chief conductor Mariss Jansons, the orchestra is welcoming three popular guest soloists: Janine Jansen, Thomas Hampson and Lang Lang. This festive programme features Mahler and Strauss, both of whom conducted the orchestra on several occasions. Musicians from the RCO, the Vienna and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras are joining forces for a performance of the Elégie from Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. —— WAGNER: Prelude to ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’ // MAHLER: ‘Ging heut’ morgens über Feld’, ‘Rheinlegendchen’, ‘Lob des hohen Verstandes’ // PROKOFIEV: Piano concerto Nr 3 in C major, op. 26, 3rd movement // TCHAIKOVSKY: Serenade for strings: Élégie // SAINT-SAËNS: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso // R. STRAUSS: Suite from ‘Der Rosenkavalier’. (75′ / 90′ / 102′) (A865500020000)
RCO: 125 Years of the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam: Birthday Concert
On 3 November 1888, the Concertgebouw Orchestra officially presented itself to the public when it gave the opening concert of the first subscription year of Het Concertgebouw N.V.. Exactly 125 years later, the orchestra is giving its Anniversary Concert, featuring a new work – a gift from the Concertgebouw to the RCO – Mysteriën (Mysteries) by Louis Andriessen, the Netherlands’ most famous living composer. Also on the programme is Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, dedicated in 1898 to the orchestra, which celebrated its tenth anniversary that year, and to Willem Mengelberg, its chief conductor at the time (Unitel Cat. A865500040000).
RCO: Andris Nelsons conducts Rachmaninoff
Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons made his first appearance with the RCO to great acclaim in 2008 and has returned regularly ever since. The soloist is the celebrated tenor Ian Bostridge, who is sure to shine brightly in the exceptionally beautiful Les illuminations by BRITTEN, who was born 100 years ago. Britten’s work makes for a fascinating contrast with the Slavic energy of RACHMANINOFF’s Symphonic Dances. Also on the programm Claude DEBUSSY’s Six épigraphes antiques (UNITEL Cat. No. A865500050000)
RCO: Andris Nelsons conducts Wagner and Strauss (Kerstmatinee 2013)
The RCO’s125th anniversary celebrations in 2013 are concluding with a Christmas Matinee in style. Andris Nelsons conducts music by Wagner, who was born 200 years ago. The other titan featuring on the programme is Richard Strauss, who himself conducted his symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra no fewer than three times in Amsterdam. —– PROGRAM: Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll / Overture and Venusberg Music (Bacchanale) from ‘Tannhäuser’; Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (UNITEL Cat. No. A865500060000)
RCO: Mariss Jansons conducts Mahler Symphony No. 4 (Kerstmatinee 2014)
RCO: Prinsengracht Concert
It’s that time of the year again when the Prinsengracht canal is glutted with boats, and crowds gather along the quay with their picnic baskets and rosé wine. Everyone enjoys the music performed at the traditional Prinsengracht Concert. Adding even more sparkle to its 125th anniversary celebrations, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is the main attraction at this popular open-air event for the first time. Teaming up with the orchestra is the Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja, who enraptures audiences with a number of well-loved arias, including the celebrated ‘Nessun dorma’ from Puccini’s Turandot. The orchestra is also performing Tchaikovsky’s always spectacular 1812 Overture. —– PROGRAM: Verdi: Overture to La forza del destino – Massenet: Werther / Pourquoi me réveiller – Puccini: Tosca / E lucevan le stelle – Manon Lescaut / Intermezzo (Act III) – Verdi: Rigoletto / La donna è mobile – Puccini: Turandot / Nessun dorma – Agustin Lara: Granada (arr. Steven Mercurio) – Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture (‘Solennelle’) – Pieter Goemans: Aan de Amsterdamse Grachten (encore) (Cat. No. UNITEL A865500130000)
RCO: Andris Nelsons conducts Strauss and Brahms
In 2014, Strauss’s birth 150 years ago is being commemorated. Strauss was a champion of the symphonic poem, and one of his first works in that genre was Macbeth. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche followed soon after, fully revealing Strauss’s mastery in the sharp melodic characterisations and brilliant instrumentation. With its energetic and cheerful character (despite Till’s execution, which is vividly depicted in the music), the work complements Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, which is imbued with a sunny, lush atmosphere. The brilliance of the grand finale is a quality rarely heard in Brahms’s. (Cat. No. UNITEL: A865500160000)
Beethoven, Missa Solemnis
With this performance of the Missa solemnis Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Honorary Guest Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, once more attained the status of a living legend, due mostly to his wide-ranging expertise of music from the Baroque and Classical era. The highly acclaimed soloists are Marlis Petersen (Soprano), twice the singer of the year by the renowned Opernwelt magazine, Elisabeth Kulman (Alto), Werner Güra (Tenor), winner of the BBC Music Magazine Award for the best vocal performance, and Gerald Finley (Bass), Grammy-Awardwinner for the best opera recording. They are accompanied by the famous Netherlands Radio Choir.
RCO: Daniele Gatti conducts Mahler Symphony No. 2
For his first series of concerts as Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Italian maestro Daniele Gatti conducts the iconic Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection”, by Gustav Mahler, in a spirited performance. Gatti and the RCO are joined by German soprano Annette Dasch and Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill. “Gatti’s magic” (Trouw) makes clear that “a new era has definitely begun by now. Gatti is a conductor who really makes You think about what an interpretation should be like in the year 2016” (NRC).