Introduction to Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen

The “Introduction to Wagner’s ‘Ring des Nibelungen'” describes the origin of the monumental work and provides biographical information on the protagonists of this gigantic saga in addition to information on the construction and opening of the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, the world premiere of the Ring and the production history of the work up to Harry Kupfer’s Bayreuth staging of 1988 under the musical direction of Daniel Barenboim and with sets by Hans Schavernoch. “Harry Kupfer has created a production of great coherency, hard, cutting, transparent, which will delight those who see in Wagner a contemporary and will displease those who consume Wagner like some consecrated artifact in a museum. The entire mythological apparatus is demolished bit by bit: what remains is what Wagner himself wanted: the ‘pure humanity’ of the myth. […] The entire ‘Ring’ unfolds like an intellectual adventure that provokes unforgettable emotions.” (La Repubblica)

Interview with Leonard Slatkin

Leonard Slatkin was born in Los Angeles, the son of two musicians. He now takes his place among the leading conductors of the United States both in the domain of symphonic music as well as in the opera. His repertoire comprises the great standard works as well as the music of the 20th century and is documented in over a hundred recordings. Slatkin was music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for many years and became the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington in 1996/97. He has guested at the head of just about every major orchestra in the U.S. and Europe.

Sir Georg Solti practises with the Wiener Philharmoniker

Sir Georg Solti (1912-1997), one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, was a testament to the elegance and impeccable tastefulness of Central European music-making. Born in Budapest in 1912, he studied with Béla Bartók, Ernö von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály and Leo Weiner. In 1937, Toscanini chose him to be his assistant at the Salzburg Festival. After the war, Solti was appointed Music Director of the Bavarian State Opera. Further stations in his career were the Frankfurt Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the London Philharmonic. His remarkable partnership with the Chicago Symphony began in 1954; he was named Music Director in 1969 and held this post for a phenomenal 22 years. He is credited with greatly extending and enhancing the orchestra’s worldwide reputation. Solti died in September 1997, just before his 85th birthday.

Sharing – Leonard Bernstein’s last video recording

After his unforgettable work with young musicians in Tanglewood and Salzau, Leonard Bernstein was invited to conduct a similar summer academy in Asia. His enthusiastic acceptance led to the founding of the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. Rigorous auditions were held, and young musicians brought together to form an orchestra. They were chosen from all the nations bordering on the Pacific: the U.S., Canada, the South American countries, China, Japan ,Taiwan, Korea, etc. Just before the Pacific Music Festival was inaugurated in June 1990, Leonard Bernstein fell ill. But despite his doctors’ warnings, and marked by his serious illness, he refused to let his “kids” down and flew to Japan. With unbelievable intensity, passion, wit and charm, Bernstein worked with the youths on Schumann’s Symphony No. 2, one of the Maestro’s favorite orchestral pieces. This production is the last visual record of the Maestro at work.