New Year’s Gala from Dresden – Kálmán, Die Csárdásfürstin

“A great conductor and great singers in a jewel of the great operetta tradition” was the verdict of the press, converging on the Semperoper in Dresden to celebrate this operetta in grand style. Anna Netrebko sings Sylva Varescu in a concert performance of Emmerich Kálmán’s popular operetta “Die Csárdásfürstin”. Accompanied by the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden under the direction of its conductor Christian Thielemann, Anna Netrebko is teamed with the Peruvian star tenor and darling of the public Juan-Diego Flórez, also making his role debut as Sylva’s lover Edwin. Yet again the Semperoper has produced “deluxe operetta for television” (Die Welt).

Haitink conducts Shostakovich and Webern

Bernard Haitink begins the musical programme at the rostrum of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Anton Webern’s early and seldom played orchestral work “Im Sommerwind”. It is followed by Dmitri Shostakovich’s 15th Symphony.

The Odeonsplatz Concert – “Spanish Night”

The ballet music “El sombrero de tres picos” by Spain’s Manuel de Falla, with its three dances that characterize three Spanish regions, opened the lively proceedings in the open air. It was complemented by the Iberian influences in the other works written by composers outside Spain, such as Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto (performed by star violinist Julia Fischer), that shows clear signs of Spanish influence in the rhythm and melody. The musicians rounded off this Spanish night in Munich with Claude Debussy’s homage to Spain, “Ibéria”, and Maurice Ravel’s “Alborada del gracioso”.

Nelsons conducts Mahler & HK Gruber

Mahler’s Fifth is among the best loved of his symphonies; not least thanks to the Adagietto, made legendary as the soundtrack to Visconti’s Death in Venice. Andris Nelsons on the rostrum of the the Berliner Philharmoniker made this symphony into “a true celebration of beauty and the phenomenal Philharmonic string sound” wrote in Der Tagesspiegel delight. The concert got off to a racing start, too: the “master trumpeter” (Berliner Zeitung) Hakan Hardenberger carried the audience with him in HK Gruber’s trumpet concerto Aerial. After all his showpiece: the composer wrote this BBC Proms commission specially for him. “Hardenberger, the virtuoso supersonic, thrills his audience through and through.” (Berliner Morgenpost)

Paavo Järvi conducts Mahler: The Symphony Cycle

„Mahler’s heaven’s gates open“ exults the press on the occasion of Mahler’s first symphony, presented by Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra during the Rheingau Music Festival, as part of a multi-year cycle “at the highest niveau” (FAZ). Not only with this one, but with each individual symphony, succeeds Järvi, “the musical dramatist of superior vision” (FAZ) to excite the audience. Also in Mahler’s Eighth, he creates “richness of colour, depth and a visionary force that literally sweeps the listener” (FAZ). And so it is this very cycle that „contributes significantly to the rise of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra into the top group of German Radio Orchestras” (FAZ) and with which they reinforce their reputation as Mahler specialists. The Rheingau Music Festival provides for the Mahler cycle, not least for the “Symphony of a Thousand” the ideal stage: it is one of Europe’s largest music festivals with numerous concerts in churches and palaces, among others the very prestigious performing arts centers Kloster Eberbach and the Frankfurt Opera House. Programme includes Symphonys 1-10.

Richard Strauss – Birthday Gala

Richard Strauss premiered nine of his fifteen operas at the Semperoper Dresden – this unique relationship was celebrated with a special gala in honour of the composer’s 150th birthday in 2014, featuring the famous arias from Elektra, Salome, Arabella, Die ägyptische Helena and Daphne as well as orchestral music from Der Rosenkavalier, Intermezzo and Die schweigsame Frau. —– Program: Der Rosenkavalier, Waltz Suites 1 & 2 / Elektra, Monologue / Feuersnot, Love Scene / Salome, Final Scene / Arabella, Final Scene Act I / Intermezzo, 2nd Orchestral Interlude / Die ägyptische Helena, “Zweite Brautnacht” / Die schweigsame Frau, Potpourri Overture / Daphne, Final Scene

The Odeonsplatz Concert – “Russian Night”

The 2014 open air concert with Mariss Jansons and the Balalaika-ensemble Terem-Quartet from the stunning Odeonsplatz in Munich includes works by Pjotr Iljitsch TCHAIKOVSKY: Capriccio Italien op. 45, Alexander TCHAIKOVSKY: Garden Symphony – Concert for Balalaika-quartet and orchestra (dedicated to Mariss Jansons – world premiere) / Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH: Festive Overture, op. 96 / Aram KHATCHATURIAN: Music from “Spartakus” and “Gayaneh” / Alexander GLASUNOV: Music from “Raymonda” / Nikolai RIMSKY-KOSRAKOV: Capriccio espagnol

Strauss, Four Last Songs / An Alpine Symphony

“Renowned soprano Anja Harteros demonstrated she had ample vocal power to rise above the orchestra.” She “was able to colour her production of the text with a range of autumnal shades together with such impeccable diction”. “Maestro Thielemann with the world class Staatskapelle Dresden sets such a consistently high standard of performance and attending one of its concerts is a joy to treasure.” (Seen and Heard International) —– Program: Richard STRAUSS: Four Last Songs, Malven / Wolfgang RIHM: Ernster Gesang (Serious Songs) / Richard STRAUSS: An Alpine Symphony.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Gil Shaham in Concert

Sunday, the 29th of June, 2014, marks the 100th anniversary of Rafael Kubelík’s birth, Chief Conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks from 1961 to 1979. Violinist Gil Shaham and conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin have dedicated this concerts to the memory of the great artist and human being, Rafael Kubelík, who has left an indelible mark on the orchestra for many years right to the present day. On the program Béla Bartók’s Violin Concerto No. 2 and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan”.