The Odeonsplatz Concert is entertainment of the highest standard, given the world class of the artists and the quality of the programs presented here year by year. This time Valery Gergiev and the Münchner Philharmoniker present an all Beethoven programme including the Coriolan Overture and the monumental Fifth Symphony, which “becomes a profound, heroic triumph, fabulous, stunning” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). PROGRAM L.v. Beethoven: Coriolan Overture; Symphony No. 5
Franz Lehar: The Land of Smiles
Staatskapelle Dresden; Staatsopernchor Dresden Top-class soloists, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sachsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden present highlights from Lehar’s popular operetta The Land of Smiles. Besides a bittersweet love story, the piece offers one of the greatest operetta hits: “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”. According to conductor Christian Thielemann “Operetta only becomes really good when it is performed at a very high level”, a challenge that the Staatskapelle Dresden together with Jane Archibald, Erin Morley and Pavol Breslik masters impressively.
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo Ma & Daniel Barenboim
The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra celebrates its 20th anniversary by giving a concert at the Berlin Philharmonie with world-renowned artists: Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yo-Yo Ma perform Beethoven’s Triple Concerto together with Maestro Barenboim and the young musicians. Yo-Yo Ma, who played with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra at their first concert 20 years ago, and Anne-Sophie Mutter, who made her debut with the orchestra only this year, were named as honorary members of the orchestra on the occasion of this event. “It is fascinating to experience how brilliant, concentrated and at the same time relaxed these three world stars make music together and listen to each other. A masterpiece of harmony“ (RBB24). The second part of the concert features Bruckner’s 9th Symphony, transcendental music which the composer himself dedicated to “the dear God“. The symphony is unfinished not only because Bruckner died during the process of composition, but especially because it seems to perish in nothingness. The musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra are excellently prepared and play technically and tonal flawlessly. A magic moment. PROGRAM Beethoven: Triple Concerto; Bruckner: Symphony No. 9
Beethoven – The Piano Trios
On the occasion of Beethoven’s 250th birthday Daniel Barenboim, Michael Barenboim and Kian Soltani present his trios for piano, violin and cello on a total of two concert evenings in the intimate Boulez Hall – including the curious and rarely played variations on the song “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu“. A celebrated concert pianist, Beethoven had various motives as a composer: his piano trios were to show his virtuosity as well as to experiment with musical forms and techniques that would bear fruit in other genres. All of this is illuminated in these special concert evenings by the three outstanding musicians, whose interplay provoked rave reviews: “Kian Soltani’s silky cello tone rises from zero to the highest longing in just a few bars. The unison unanimity with Michael Barenboim is just as beguiling. […] While violin and cello drift into timelessness over softly thundering, tremoloing piano bass, one literally gets into a trance” (Der Tagesspiegel). Daniel Barenboim’s “incontrovertible identification with the music ‘itself’” is as captivating as their whole interplay: “as vigorous as it was euphonious, as impetuous as it was sublime” (Seen and Heard International).
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2019
The Festive Advent Concert has become a much loved tradition in Dresden and one of German TV’s biggest classical music success stories. With the spirited Alondra de la Parra a phenomenal young conductor stands at the rostrum of the Staatskapelle Dresden. She is joined by sopranos Regula Mühlemann and Julia Muzychenko as well as tenor Julian Prégardien, presenting works and arias from Handel to Haydn, Schubert and Tchaikovsky to Reger. “A programme with quiet, contemplative passages and almost breathtaking emotional highlights, as well as dramaturgically coherent: a true gift” (Sächsische Zeitung).
Mozart y Mambo
Mozart & Mambo: These musically irresistible encounters have been a long-cherished dream of Sarah Willis, hornist at the Berliner Philharmoniker, which came true with a grand concert in which she performs with the young musicians of the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and conductor José Antonio Méndez Padrón, as well as a Cuban salsa mambo band. A joint celebration of Mozart as never before seen and heard, including works such as Mozart’s beautiful Horn Concerto No. 3 and lots of Cuban rhythms! Also available the Documentary “Mozart y Mambo. A Cuban Journey with Sarah Willis” (A05551355)
Daniel Barenboim plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas
Daniel Barenboim is one of the most accomplished Beethoven experts of our time. From the very beginning of his career, he has been intensively and repeatedly engaged with the composer’s manifold works. Barenboim marked the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth by recording his thirty-two piano sonatas at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal. The exceptional musician has been exploring Beethoven’s music for more than seven decades and his fifth complete survey of the sonatas arose from a period of deep immersion in Beethoven’s scores due to the cancellation of public concerts because of the coronavirus pandemic. With this sonata cycle, the great Daniel Barenboim has set himself a legacy!
Daniel Barenboim plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas Op. 2/2
The Odeonsplatz Concert: Gergiev & Florez
Munich’s Odeonsplatz Concert is one of the open-air highlights of the year. The magnificent Residenz Palace on one side and the serene, towering Theatinerkirche on the other provide the ideal backdrop for exceptional performances of classical music. In this setting, Juan Diego Flórez presents an impressive aria programme, for which “he is celebrated like a popstar” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) by the Munich public. The Münchner Philharmoniker shine with their maestro Valery Gergiev at the helm. Arias by Mozart, Donizetti, Massenet, Puccini, Verdi; Rimskij-Korsakow: Scheherazade
András Schiff – Lecture/Concert: Bach Partitas for Solo Piano
Sir András Schiff has spent many years probing the inexhaustible riches of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. At Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin he continues his series of
lectures & concerts with a presentation of Bach’s six partitas for solo piano. Available are Schiff’s complete performance (A055510070000 / 145′) of the partitas as well as his lecture – held in German (A055509760000 / 120′) and in English (A055509750000 / 115′) that includes musical examples at the piano.