A new queen of the blues comes to Basle: Grammy-nominated singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi, who began her ambitious career in the nineties, has risen to fame with her powerful singing voice, fearless stage presence and her marriage to Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band. She is also known for the Soul Stew Revival, a conglomeration of both her band, that of The Derek Trucks Band, and other talented musicians.
Magic Moments of Music – Maria Callas & Tosca
The beginning of 1964 held a great surprise for the music world: Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Not even the Beatles received more press coverage. All this, for an artist whose glorious career was said to be over, with the singer herself passing over to legend. It is no longer her performances, but her scandals that, are dominating the headlines. Unlucky in love with her billionaire boyfriend Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas wants to show them all that the title of ”Primadonna assoluta” is still rightfully hers. On condition that famed stage director Franco Zeffirelli takes on the production, the exceptional vocalist is prepared to take on the role of Tosca. Her fans queue outside the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden for four, even five nights. To get their hands on the sought after tickets, they spend the freezing winter nights in sleeping bags and on fold up chairs. A British broadcaster has recorded the opera’s second act. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history – to save the artist Cavaradossi from his torturer; Tosca ends up murdering the chief of police Scarpia. The film recording is one of the few opportunities to see Maria Callas on stage and witness her emotional dramatics and vocal competence.
Tosca – 2nd act
Maria Callas & Tosca features the famous 1964 performance of Puccini’s Tosca at London’s Royal Opera House whose 2nd act marks one of the very rare video documents of Maria Callas’ stage performances.
Beethoven: Violin Concerto – Znajder, Chailly
Muscular yet elegant, eloquent and charismatic – terms that flow from journalists’ pens when referring to Nikolaj Znaider. The Danish artist once again affirmed his reputation as one of the most distinguished violinists of our time with his performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s violin concerto with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of its musical director Riccardo Chailly. Znaider himself speaks of Beethoven’s popular work as “the bible in a violinist’s concert repertoire.”
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
“Gerstein’s blistering technique is matched only by his deeply soulful connection to standard repertoire,” the Time out New York says about the Russian pianist. With the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Gerstein testified to these qualities: He put emphasis on expression and effect in Sergei Rachmaninov‘s Second Piano Concerto. Thus, the concerto gained a new life in music, whose impact can sometimes be blunted by its own popularity: Finely balancing constructive rigor and thoughtfulness this performance becomes a fresh, fruitful artistic joint venture.
I’m a creative animal – Barbara Hannigan
She crosses boundaries and loves to explore new territory. Barbara Hannigan is one of the most fascinating and multi-facetted artistic personalities of our time. She sets new standards as a singer, conductor, and performance artist. The intimate portrait “I’m a creative animal” takes the viewer into the world of an exceptional musician – a world of both passion and discipline. Her performances possess a breathtaking intensity because of her exquisite vocal technique and virtuosity, musical and theatrical expressivity, and uncompromising engagement.
Classical Music for Everyone? A documentary about the popularization of classical music
Although the aesthetics of staging and broadcasting classical music haven’t changed much within the past 30 years, a parallel universe driven by a new event culture, marketing strategies and stardom has developed. With the first CD in 1982 as the starting point of the “popularization of classical music” the phenomenon found ist peak in the 1990s with the overwhelming success of the “Three Tenors.” Günter Atteln’s documentary “Classical Music for Everyone?” offers a close look at the origin and development of classical music presentation. Interviews with insiders in the field provide a unique insight and outlook on the future of this genre.
Speak The Music – Robert Mann
Robert Mann has been a legendary force in music for seventy years. As founder and first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet in 1946, he brought an astonishing new sense of energy to chamber music worldwide. “Speak the music” traces Mann’s career as performer, and as composer and devoted teacher. It includes performances of Haydn and Beethoven quartets, as well as Bartok and Elliott Carter, whom the Juilliard Quartet championed. The film also highlights Mann working with young quartets in his typically no-holds-barred master classes. Appearing in the film are Seiji Ozawa, Elliott Carter, and Itzhak Perlman.
The Return is the Movement of Tao: Zhu Xiao-Mei and the Goldberg Variations
“The Return is the Movement of Tao” pays tribute to one of the most renowned interpreters of J.S. Bach’s music: the outstanding Chinese pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei. Shot in places that are dear to her, such as Paris, Buenos Aires and the winter beauty of the Alps, Michel Mollard’s documentary centers on music and its mystery, on the links between Bach and Lao-Tze and on the dialogue between the cultures, especially between the West and China. It offers profound insight into the mind of a fascinating artist, her vision of the Goldberg Variations and on what makes this great masterpiece so powerful.
Lucerne Festival: A World Premiere with Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky
At one of the rare appearances with orchestra, Martha Argerich, the grande dame of the piano, joined forces with world-famous cellist Mischa Maisky and the fabulous Lucerne Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Russion composter Rodion Shchedrin – ‘Romantic Offering’, a double concerto for piano, cello and orchestra dedicated to its very first soloists. The programme was rounded off by late-Romantic masterpieces by Cesar Franck, Antonin Dvorak and Dimitri Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of renowned maestro Neeme Järvi. Also available: Making Of (16′).