This glamerous concert opened the prestigious Dresden Music Festival 2019. Together with Dresden-born singer René Pape the Dresden Festival Orchestra under the baton of Ivor Bolton dived deeply into the romantic repertoire. Highlight of the evening was the world premiere of songs by Franz Schubert arranged for bass and orchestra, including “Prometheus“ D 674 as well as songs from the cycle “Schwanengesang“: Das Fischermädchen, Am Meer, Die Stadt, Der Doppelgänger, Ihr Bild, Der Atlas and An die Musik. Preceeding is Carl Maria von Weber’s overture to his opera “Euryanthe”, which during his lifetime had no easy lot: the music was greatly praised, the libretto however was laughed at. The spring-like first symphony by Robert Schumann was drafted in only four days and written out in three weeks – in a blissful stage of his life shortly after his marriage to Clara Wieck.
Paavo Järvi – Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Inaugural Concert
The Tonhalle Orchester Zürich has appointed one of the best conductors of our time as ist new artistic director: Paavo Järvi takes over the post with the 2019/2020 season. Born in Estonia in 1962, Järvi is currently music director of the NHK Orchestra in Tokyo. In 2009, he worked with the Tonhalle Orchestra for the first time and again most recently in December 2016. Kullervo, Op. 7, is a suite of symphonic movements by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. Although often referred to as a „choral symphony,“ the work avoids traditional symphonic structure and its five movements constitute a set of related but independent tone poems. PROGRAM Sibelius: Kullervo
Nelsons conducts Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich
In May 2019, the principal conductor of the Gewandhausorchester, Andris Nelsons, presented Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in combination with Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with outstanding violinist Baiba Skride as the soloist. With this choice of program, Andris Nelsons continued the Tchaikovsky cycle with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, which he had started as part of the concert series that surrounded his inauguration as Gewandhauskapellmeister in February 2018. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5; Shostakovich: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Luka Sulic: The Four Seasons – Vivaldi & more
After seven years of touring the world as part of the critically acclaimed duo 2CELLOS, Luka Šulic returns to his classical roots. „I‘ve loved Vivaldi‘s Four Seasons since I was a child,“ says Luka Šulic of his newest project, adding, „I‘ve always wanted to play the piece on the cello and love taking on new challenges.“ Even in a Baroque masterpiece, Luka Šulic is ready to defy expectations and shatter boundaries. Though hundreds of traditional recordings exist of The Four Seasons with a violin soloist, Luka Šulic‘s recording is the first complete version – his own painstaking work – that reimagines all four concertos of The Four Seasons for a cello soloist. Joining Luka Šulic for the recording is the Orchestra of Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste.
Nelsons conducts Tchaikovsky and Weinberg
With this concert, Andris Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester continue their Tchaikovsky cycle. They are joined by star trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger who plays Mieczyslaw Weinberg‘s Trumpet Concerto, which Shostakovich described as a symphony for trumpet and orchestra. PROGRAM Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4; Weinberg: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra
ACROSS THE STARS – Anne-Sophie Mutter plays John Williams
With ACROSS THE STARS Anne–Sophie Mutter presents some of the most outstanding works of composer and multiple Oscar Award-winner John Williams in the dream-like scenery of Munich Königsplatz. It’s the first-ever open-air concert of Mutter’s unprecedented career. Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams have been close friends for many years, which imbues this project with a truly special meaning: “Most of the works I perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Munich have been especially arranged for me – the pieces are absolutely new in this form and are performed at this concert for the very first time!” Mutter explains. The program includes pieces from Star Wars, Schindler’s List, Harry Potter, Dracula, E.T., The Witches of Eastwick, The Adventures of Tintin and Indiana Jones.
Nelsons conducts Clara and Robert Schumann
Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto is the composer’s only surviving work with orchestra. She herself premiered the concerto at age sixteen with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Although contemporaries describe the young Clara as shy and reserved, this concert is full of self-confidence, power, and romantic feelings. On the occasion of the jubilee anniversary of Clara Schumann the concerto was recorded with the ensemble that first performed the work. The Gewandhausorchester Leipzig played on her 200th birthday under the baton of Kapellmeister Andris Nelsons. The pianist Lauma Skride took over the technically demanding piano part. The festive concert evening was framed by a world premiere of French composer Betsy Jolas (*1926) and the famous Spring Symphony by Robert Schumann.
Joshua Bell – West Side Story: Live from Central Park
Violinist Joshua Bell pays tribute to Leonard Bernstein‘s West Side Story in New York City‘s Central Park. Under the baton of conductor William Eddins, the New York Philharmonic accompanies Bell in a new suite based on some of the musical theater‘s most enduring melodies. Broadway‘s Kristin Chenoweth duets with Bell on Bernstein‘s „Lonely Town“ from On the Town.
LSO: Antonio Pappano and Seong-Jin Cho
Beethoven’s defiant Symphony No 5 meets the sneering mockery of Shostakovich and Prokofiev in exhilarating mood. In 1945, Soviet authorities expected Shostakovich to use his Ninth Symphony to celebrate Soviet military might. What they got was a subversive, mischievous work that thumbed its nose at Stalin. Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 2 is one of the most powerful and technically challenging of all. Listen out for moments in the opening movement that test the soloist’s stamina to its limits, and a helter-skelter finale that never lets up. Fate rules over Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, a revolutionary work that grows to dramatic, sublime heights from the simple germ of its opening four notes. The LSO is joined by South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho, Sir Antonio Pappano, LSO Chief Conductor, conducts. PROGRAM Shostakovich: Symphony No. 9; Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2; Beethoven: Symphony No. 5
LSO: Alexandre Bloch & Alice Sara Ott
A starburst of musical colour for the new year. Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune opened new worlds of sonic sensuality, while Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra launched dazzling sonic fireworks into the grey skies of postwar Poland. The LSO and conductor Alexandre Bloch present the two masterpieces to bookend a performance by pianist Alice Sara Ott – a regular guest of this orchestra, and a firm favourite of the Barbican audience. She plays the sunlit, jazz-flavoured G major Concerto by Maurice Ravel – and the concert ends with Ravel, too: his unforgettable evocation of a world dancing on the edge, La Valse. Music to thrill the ears and intoxicate the spirit. PROGRAM Debussy: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Ravel: Piano Concerto in G, La valse; Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra