The Wiener Kammerensemble was established in 1970 by several prominent members of the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra as the “Wiener Philharmonisches Kammerensemble.” In alternating formations – from trio to nonet – it performs its wide repertoire of works at many of the world’s most important venues. Unitel recorded Schubert’s Octet on 31 January 1997 at a concert which the ensemble gave at the 1997 Salzburg Mozartwoche.
Brahms, Ein deutsches Requiem, op.45
Leonard Bernstein: The Gift of Music
This 90-minute special tribute was produced to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth on 25 August 1993. Narrated by legendary screen star Lauren Bacall, it also relies extensively on Bernstein’s own words to provide the counterpoint to the abundant visual material. The special draws on the nearly 120 hours of programming with Leonard Bernstein produced exclusively by Unitel, as well as on material from the extensive Bernstein archives and earlier television ventures. Highlights include excerpts of Bernstein conducting masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler, as well as of the maestro with the New York Philharmonic in Moscow in 1959 before an audience which included composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the dissident poet Boris Pasternak. It also contains never-before-seen footage, such as outtakes from televised concerts and interviews. Among these special treats: the dashing 28-year-old maestro representing the U.S. at the 1947 Prague Spring Festival – possibly the earliest extant film of Leonard Bernstein.
Strauss, Lieder
The internationally acclaimed baritone Hermann Prey was born in Berlin in 1929. He made his breakthrough in 1956 as Figaro in the Vienna State Opera’s production of Rossini’s “Barber of Seville”. He has since Hermann performed at all of the world’s great opera houses and festivals. Hermann Prey has always loved lieder, especially the works of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. In spite of his many engagements on the opera stage or in the concert hall, in the TV and recordings studios, Hermann Prey always takes the time to pass his knowledge and experience on to younger generations by giving master classes in lied singing all over the world. In this selection of Strauss songs, Hermann Prey spans a broad arch from Strauss’s extensive romantic repertoire – for he also set to music poems by Heinrich heine – to his early modern works. Accompanying him is the renowned pianist Oleg Maisenberg.
Bruckner, Symphony No.6 in A major
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. Although this is the only one of his symphonies that Bruckner never revised, the Sixth still managed to be mangled by well-wishing friends and conductors who felt they knew what Bruckner had really wanted to express… Not until the mid 20th century was the work published in its original version. The composer himself never heard a complete performance of his Sixth, which did not take place until 11 February 1899, more than two years after the composer’s death. It was conducted by Gustav Mahler, albeit in a radically cut and reorchestrated version.
Beethoven‘s Nine: Ode to Humanity
In early 2023, filmmaker Larry Weinstein set out to make a documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was supposed to be about how far we have come in the two undred years since it was written. But when world events pull Larry into his own film, the question becomes a deeply personal one. Beethoven’s Nine is a documentary about music, but also about war and hope. It follows nine unique individuals, including Ukrainian musicians, a deaf composer, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist and Weinstein himself, as they try to better understand the legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth, the composer’s own struggles, the inspiration music can provide and how humanity continues to look for hope even in the darkest times.
Festive Gala at the Semperoper Dresden: Beethoven Symphony No. 9
“Everyone loves Beethoven’s ‘Ninth’,” says Christian Thielemann. Performing it with the Sächsische Staatskapelle was “one of the most beautiful things that has happened to me in my life”. For many it is the soundtrack for New Year’s Eve ever since Arthur Nikisch conducted this landmark in symphonic history over the turn of the year 1918/19 and established a tradition that has spread worldwide. New Year’s Eve was also the occasion for this concert performed in the festively lit Semperoper. Camilla Nylund, Christa Mayer, Klaus Florian Vogt and Georg Zeppenfeld form the vocal quartet of this performance, Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden. “Thielemann led the orchestra with composure […], made the music […] a sound speech, celebrated the melody in the slow movement. [The finale] culminated in a veritable thundering of joy.“ (Sächsiche Zeitung)
Nelsons conducts Beethoven No. 9
Performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony have a long tradition in Leipzig: as early as 1826, two years after the premiere in Vienna, there was the first complete performance
in Leipzig with the Gewandhausorchester. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy then finally established the symphony in the orchestra’s repertoire. The custom of performing the work on New Year’s Eve goes back to Arthur Nikisch in 1918. Later, conductors such as Hermann Scherchen, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Bruno Walter continued the New Year’s Eve concerts that take place regularly since the turn of the year 1945/46. Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons is now continuing this tradition at the highest level.
Yutaka Sado conducts Mahler No. 5
During their first tour of Germany together, the Tonkunstler-Orchester and their music director Yutaka Sado give their acclaimed debut in the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with Gustav Mahler’s impressive Symphony No. 5. Mahler described his Fifth Symphony as a “cursed work” that “no one understands”. While the extreme variety of expression actually overwhelmed the audience at the time, the symphony enjoys the highest popularity today, especially thanks to its gossamer-like Adagietto movement.
Of Miracles and Superheroes – Documentary on the Stuttgart Ballet
The documentary traces the extraordinary success story of the Stuttgart Ballet, from its rise to fame as the “Stuttgart Ballet Miracle” during the Cranko era to the ensemble’s acclaim of today. Harold Woetzel accompanied the company for one year, capturing the season’s highlights as well as everyday life at the Stuttgart Ballet. Woetzel accompanied the company for one year, capturing the season’s highlights as well as everyday life at the Stuttgart Ballet. By interviewing choreographers, dancers and fans, Woetzel paints an overall picture of the current company as well as the fabled Ballet Miracle and discovers the ballet’s famous team spirit and its exceptional personalities – superheroes in the service of art.