Dvorák, Symphony No.9 in E minor, op.95 “From the New World”

The opening of Copenhagen’s new concert hall, the spectacular Koncerthuset, was celebrated with a very special project: to present their new home to a broad public the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor Thomas Dausgaard performed four popular works within the classical symphonic tradition, Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 (Length: 39’), Dvorák’s Symphony No. 9 (Length: 45’), Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 (Length: 49’) and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 (Length: 35’). Additionally, the performances were filmed on highest standards and with an extensive setup of cameras.

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)

Currentzis & Sasha Waltz: Beethoven No. 7 at the ancient theater of Delphi

In the ancient theater of Delphi, against the backdrop of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, musicAeterna, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, in conjunction with a new choreography by Sasha Waltz and her company. Beethoven completed the symphony in 1812. The premiere 1813 at the height of the wars of liberation was a patriotic event and an enormous success. Wagner’s bon mot of this Symphony as the “apotheosis of dance” is legendary. Thae fusion of the symphony with a

dance performance would certainly have been in the spirit of the grand master of this Gesamtkunstwerk. “Currentzis compares the 7th Symphony to classical, ancient architecture […] the original sound orchestra musicAeterna plays with an almost exemplary transparency.” Deutschlandfunk

Eden – Joyce DiDonato sings in Olympia

In the heart of Olympia, the same place where the first Olympic games were held and the Olympic torch is ignited, American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato performs EDEN. Captured on film for the first time, her internationally acclaimed tour and CD concept is more than just a concert program: EDEN not only invites the audience to reflect on the power and beauty of nature, but also to recognize our responsibility for our planet. In several emblematic locations on the ancient site of Olympia, DiDonato interprets pieces

from Cavalli to Handel and from Mahler to Charles Ives together with the ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev, featuring musicians from all around the world.

Portrait Anna Netrebko – Report About Anna

Her rise to international fame may have been meteoric, but her radiance is nothing less than galactic: Anna Netrebko, soprano and superstar. A phenomenal artist, she has been breaking all records in the world of classical music, and has injected a much-needed shot of youthful vitality into the classical scene. She can dominate the musical stage as Violetta Valéry in “La Traviata” or blend seamlessly into an ensemble as Susanna in “Le nozze di Figaro.” She can move audiences to tears with Russian songs or bring down the house with operetta arias. She is versatile, talented, gorgeous – and deserves to be in the spotlight. Yet though she may have all the makings of a diva, she prefers to play with the notion rather than live it out. This documentary shows Anna Netrebko as she really is: a natural, unaffected young woman full of fun, energy and, yes, boundless ambition and self-confidence. We accompany her to her parents’ home in Krasnodar and to her apartment in St. Petersburg. She relates her beginnings at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where she scrubbed the floors of the lobby¿ And we see the visible impact she makes on a dignified public when she is awarded the Russian State Prize by President Putin. In candid conversations, she tells us about her plans for the future, her hobbies, her loves, but also her fears and how fame has changed her life. Revealing insights are also provided by conductor Valery Gergiev, Netrebko’s mentor, and tenor Rolando Villazón, her most important stage partner. The program contains a wealth of excerpts from Netrebko’s most recent performances in operas such as “La Traviata,” “La Bohème,” “Rigoletto,” and “War and Peace,” and features a side-splitting rendering of Lehár’s “Meine Lippen küssen so heiss” that brilliantly spotlights the humor, spontaneity and naturalness of this one-of-a-kind artist.

Eldbjørg Hemsing rediscovers Hjalmar Borgstrøm’s Violin Concerto

Under the mesmerizing northern lights at the Stormen Concert Hall in Bodo, Norway, Eldbjorg Hemsing rediscovers a forgotten national treasure, Hjalmar Borgstrom’s Violin Concerto, in a splendid performance with the Arctic Philharmonic, conducted by Eivind Gullberg Jensen. The violin concerto has only received a handful of performances in 100 years. Borgstrom, who gained inspiration from Wagner and Beethoven, created this work in 1914. Ist notes were found by conductor Terje Boye Hansen, who forwarded them to Hemsing, one of Norway’s biggest musical talents today. And she demonstrates why Borgstrom’s composition has the potential to achieve the same significance among violin concertos in Norway as Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, the Norwegian piano concerto par excellence. Hemsing shines “with a brilliant technique, her tone is bright and soft” (RP Online), breathing new life into the virtuosic music “with her vivacious personality and a wonderfully clear and pure lyrical tone” (Rondo).

Stefan Herheim: The Drama Lies in the Music

One of the world’s most sought-after opera directors, Stefan Herheim, has begun an intense rehearsal period at the MusikTheater an der Wien, where he will shed new light on Johann Strauss II’s classic operetta “Die Fledermaus”. We get unique access to the process behind one of his most ambitious and controversial interpretations, set in Nazi-occupied Vienna in 1938. With the cameras up close, artistic breakthroughs, creative triumphs and moments of deep doubt are revealed. The ensemble is challenged, and expectations are sky-high. The question is as simple as it is dramatic: Will Herheim’s new “Fledermaus” end up as a success… or a scandal?