2013 open air concert from the stunning Odeonsplatz in Munich was dedicated to the music of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner performed by star tenor Rolando Villazón and world-famous baritone Thomas Hampson joined bySymphonieorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks. —— PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi: Ouverture to Les Vêpres Siciliennes; “Ce jour heureux est plein d’allégresse” from Don Carlos (Autodafé) // Jules Massenet: “Ce breuvage pourrait” – Vision fugitive from Hérodiade; “Ah! Tout est bien fini – O souverain” from Le Cid // Maurice Ravel: La Valse // Richard Wagner: “Freudig begrüßen wir die edle Halle” from Tannhäuser (Entry of the Guests); “Wie Todesahnung – O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser; Prelude to Lohengrin, Act I // Giuseppe Verdi / Luciano Berio: L’Esule // Giuseppe Verdi: “Vedi le fosche notturne spoglie” from Il Trovatore (Anvil Chorus); “Dio, che nell’alma infondere” from Don Carlo
Daniel Hope performs Vivaldi’s Four Seasons recomposed by Max Richter
Famous British violinist Daniel Hope presents his exciting project: “The Four Seasons Recomposed,” a modern version of Antonio Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ by award-winning British composer Max Richter. The performance takes place at an equally exciting location: the former ‘Shipyard Hall 207’ of the legendary “Neptunwerft” in Rostock, Germany. Hope is joined by the Early Music Band l’arte del mondo and the composer himself at the synthesizer. “An intelligent, even reverent, updating of Vivaldi” (London Times).
Season Opening Concert: Christian Thielemann & Staatskapelle Dresden
Hanns Eisler believed that “if you wish to possess the future you must first conquer the past”. And so it is with his “Ernste Gesänge” (Serious Songs), which are not only concerned with memory, but also with the hope of future happiness. 50 years after the Dresden premiere, Christian Thielemann and Thomas Hampson perform this final work by Eisler at the Season Opening Concert 2013/2014 of the Staatskapelle Dresden. Not untypically for Bruckner, his Fifth Symphony is a confrontation with the past, in this case resulting in a “polyphonal masterpiece”. —– PROGRAM: Hans Eisler: Ernste Gesänge for Baritone and String Orchestra / Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, WAB 105
Wagner vs. Verdi – the Battle
Who was the greater composer, Richard Wagner or Giuseppe Verdi? Carlus Padrissa and La Fura dels Baus let the two great composers come face to face in the form of giant puppets, cheered on by a crowd at nearly 10,000 spectators. The two giant puppets were the centerpieces of an extravagant spectacle featuring more than three dozen aerial acrobats, fireworks, a chorus line and two wind orchestras and two brass bands totaling about 240 musicians.
From Berlin to New York – Works by Gershwin, Bernstein and Weill
“From Berlin to New York” is the motto of German Television’s traditional New Year’s Eve Concert in 2013. And true to the motto Maestro Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the two world stars Reneé Fleming and Klaus Florian Vogt celebrate the New Year’s Eve 2013 with great hits and works from Eduard Künneke, Paul Lincke, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and others.
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2013
Program: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Paulus: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate / Tu virginum corona / Alleluia; Camille Saint-Saëns, Oratorio de Noël: Domine, ego credidi / Tollite hostias; Pietro Mascagni, Ave Maria; Max Reger, Unser lieben Frauen Traum; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker: Decorating the Christmas Tree / A Pine Forest in Winter; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Great Mass in C minor: Domine Deus / Cum sancto spiritu; Giacomo Puccini, Salve Regina; Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Elias: Denn er hat seinen Engeln befohlen; Adolphe Adam, Cantique de Noël / Macht hoch die Tür
Lorin Maazel and Alice Sara Ott: Fauré, Ravel, Stravinsky
Music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is on the program of this concert given by the Münchner Philharmoniker under its principal conductor Lorin Maazel and with pianist Alice Sara Ott. The young German-Japanese soloist dazzles in the main work of the program, Maurice RAVEL’s Piano Concerto in G major, a sparkling work in the spirit of Mozart and Saint-Saëns. Also on the program is Gabriel FAURÉ’s “Pelléas et Mélisande”, a poetic orchestral suite. Closing the concert is Igor STRAVINSKY’s exuberant “Pétrouchka” for solo piano and orchestra, and, as an encore, RAVEL’s vibrant “La Valse”. —– Program: Gabriel FAURÈ: Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 80; Maurice RAVEL: Piano Concerto in G major; Igor STRAVINSKY: Petrushka – Burlesque in four scenes (Original Version of 1911), Maurice RAVEL,La Valse
Festive Advent Concert at the Frauenkirche Dresden 2012
Program: J.S.BACH: Orchestra Suite No. 4: Réjouissance / G. F. HANDEL: Messiah: “Alle Tale macht hoch erhaben”, “Denn die Herrlichkeit Gottes des Herrn”, “Halleluja” / W. KIENZL: Weihnacht (Kulman) / W. A. MOZART: Great Mass in C minor: Gloria in excelsis Deo, Laudamus te / A. BRUCKNER: Locus iste (Chor a cappella) / J. MASSENET, Méditation aus „Thais“ / MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY: Weihnachtskantate „Vom Himmel hoch“ / E. HUMPERDINCK: Christmas Cantata: “Vom Himmel hoch”, Hänsel und Gretel: Abendsegen und Traumpantomime, CH. GOUNOD: Saint Cecilia Mass: Sanctus
The Kálmán Gala
With this Gala Concert from the Semperoper in Dresden, Christian Thielemann gives eloquent testimony to an early love of his, the operetta. Since the beginning of his conducting career he has had a fascination for this genre. Time and again he has drawn parallels between the heavyweight Wagner and lighter works, his principal aim being to demonstrate the skills he acquired while conducting operettas: “Anyone who can handle The Merry Widow,” he says, “will have no problems with Lohengrin.” For this gala he turned his attention to Lehár’s contempory Emmerich Kálmán. He found two enthusiastic partners in Ingeborg Schöpf, the leading soprano from the Dresden State Operetta company, and internationally acclaimed tenor Piotr Beczala, and was frenetically applauded by the audience. They are joined by the Dresden State Opera Chorus and the Dresden Opera Ballet dancing in the beautiful interiors of the Semperoper.
Sol Gabetta and Hélène Grimaud in Concert
Two outstanding artists, pianist Helene Grimaud and the cellist Sol Gabetta, performing a highly acclaimed recital in Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall. On the programme cello sonatas by DEBUSSY (D minor), BRAHMS (No. 1 op. 38) and SHOSTAKOVICH: op. 40., and furthermore SCHUMANN’s Fantasiestücke op. 73. “Both bestselling artists it’s very easy to see why they’ve joined together. There are four extremely different composers featured, each one calling for a completely different musical approach. What is particularly brilliant is that these two capture the essence of each composer and their world. Lyrical and light Debussy, heartwrenching Shostakovich, dark and brooding Brahms and the strangely whimsical Schumann. I look forward to hearing how this musical partnership matures over the coming years”.(Readings, Australia)