To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dmitri Shostakovich’s death in 2025, the Leipzig Gewandhaus organized a unique festival featuring world-class artists and orchestras. The opening concert was the first highlight: the Gewandhausorchester, under the baton of its music director Andris Nelsons, performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov as well Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4. PROGRAM Shostakovich: Festive Overture, Piano Concerto No 2, Symphony No 4
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Mahler
In his internationally acclaimed interpretations of Mahler’s symphonies, Riccardo Chailly focuses on the musical quality of the works, avoiding false pathos and sentimentality while retaining the music’s dramatic intensity. Together with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and Elina Garanca, he opened the 2025 festival summer festival with Mahler’s poignant, unfinished 10th Symphony and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder. The concert opened with Pierre Boulez’s Mémoriale, in reverence of the inaugural director of the Lucerne Festival Academy, who would have celebrated his 100th birthday in 2025. PROGRAM Mahler: Rückert-Lieder, Ssymphony No 10; Boulez: Mémoriale
Lucerne Festival 2025: Chailly conducts Rachmaninoff
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly continued their journey into Sergei Rachmaninoff’s emotional world. With the rarely performed The Rock, Op. 7, they immersed themselves in the composer’s early work. In his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninoff counterposes his own piano virtuosity against the brilliance of the legendary violinist Paganini. The piece was performed by the exceptional pianist Beatrice Rana, renowned worldwide for her electrifying playing. To conclude the evening, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under Riccardo Chailly’s direction, presented Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1. PROGRAM Rachmaninoff: The Rock, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No 1
Der Rosenkavalier
When Strauss and Hofmannsthal wrote «Der Rosenkavalier» – setting it in an imaginary Rococo Vienna and yet closely linked to the decadent fin de siècle – they created a profound social comedy. It is not without melancholy that the Marschallin lets her young lover Octavian go when he falls head over heels with Sophie, who hails from Faninal’s bourgeois household. As voluptuous as Strauss’ score is, it contains tender moments of dream and melancholy. Director Lydia Steier stages Strauss’ opera according to an aesthetic concept by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. Diana Damrau sings the Marschallin. Joana Mallwitz conducts the Orchester der Oper Zürich.
Arvo Pärt Festival
To celebrate Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Concerto Copenhagen present an extraordinary concert at St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Görlitz. Under the direction of Grammy-winning conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, they perform works by the world’s most renowned and widely performed living composer.
Elina Garanca Recital
The new season of the Opernhaus Zürich opened with an extraordinary recital. The celebrated mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and the new artistic director Matthias Schulz transported the audience into a world of songs and arias with works by Saint-Saëns, Berlioz, Brahms, Schumann, and other romantic and late romantic composers. The centerpiece of the evening was the aria “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila,” which Garanca, as “Dalila,” knows to masterfully and emotionally interpret on the world’s greatest operatic stages and with full orchestras. Matthias Schulz’s sensitive piano accompaniment left nothing to be desired in terms of this emotionality and artistry. The two musicians have a longstanding musical collaboration, and their recitals delight European audiences.
RCO: Mäkelä conducts Mahler 5
The chief conductor designate Klaus Mäkelä is once again following in the footsteps of Gustav Mahler. Since Mahler led the orchestra in his Fifth Symphony in 1906, they performed it 130 times. The kaleidoscopic symphony evokes emotional extremes. ‘Each movement has its friends and foes,’ Mahler once said. Yet the Adagietto, the symphony’s very lifeblood, seems to have only friends. According to Willem Mengelberg, the orchestra’s then chief conductor who maintained close contact with the composer, this movement was a pure declaration of love to Mahler’s wife Alma. The young violinist Daniel Lozakovich joins the Concertgebouw Orchestra for the first collaboration together. He shines in Max Bruch’s legendary First Violin Concerto. PROGRAM Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1; Mahler: Symphony No. 5
Luciano Pavarotti – The man who moved the world
Not even the rain stopped Luciano Pavarotti’s passionated fans from attending the Maestro’s 90th birthday at the Arena di Verona: this emotional concert from the famous opera temple brings the famous tenor back to life. Enchanting visuals blended with the most famous Italian arias and duets sung at the beloved Pavarotti & Friends concerts, create the special atmosphere of an unforgettable night. Companions and stars of the classical and pop music scene such as Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Jonathan Tetelman, Umberto Tozzi, Il Volo, HAUSER, Yusif Eyvazov, Angela Gheorghiou and more are accompanied by the brand new Orchestra Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti under the masterful direction of Matteo Parmeggiani – a unique collaboration blending pop, opera, and orchestral music into a mesmerising tapestry of sound.
Das Rheingold
The Zurich Opera’s production of Das Rheingold, directed by Andreas Homoki and conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, presents the cosmic struggles between gods, giants, and Nibelungs over a cursed ring. Homoki emphasizes character and narrative, portraying these figures as reflections of human nature grappling with themes of love, power, and sacrifice. Noseda’s conducting, paired with Philharmonia Zürich, revitalizes Wagner’s score, while Christian Schmidt’s set design enhances the story’s timelessness. The cast, featuring Tomasz Konieczny as Wotan and Christopher Purves as Alberich, delivers powerful performances that bring the mythic characters to life.
Die Walküre
In Wagner’s Die Walküre, separated twins Siegmund and Sieglinde embark on a forbidden love that disrupts Wotan’s intentions to manipulate fate. Fricka demands Siegmund’s death due to marriage laws, prompting Wotan to command his daughter, Brünnhilde, to allow this. Defying Wotan, Brünnhilde aims to protect Siegmund, which leads to tragic consequences as Wotan intervenes, resulting in Siegmund’s demise. Andreas Homoki’s Zurich production highlights emotional depth, with Gianandrea Noseda’s conducting enhancing Wagner’s nuances. The performances by Eric Cutler, Daniela Köhler, and Camilla Nylund are exceptional, supported by Christian Schmidt’s evocative set designs that reflect the majesty of Wagner’s world.