Pique Dame

As one of the highlights of the Holland Festival 2016, renowned director Stefan Herheim staged Tchaikovsky’s much-loved opera about a young man who, for the prospect of earthly wealth, gambles away his chance for love and happiness. Herheim gives an exciting visualisation of how Tchaikovsky’s unspeakable homosexuality and passion rises through the music to the surface of the story of gambling and love. The life he has acted and forfeited is played out against the drama. Mariss Jansons returned to Amsterdam to conduct Pique Dame with “his” Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He encounters a noteworthy cast, including star tenor Misha Didyk, a sought after interpreter of the Russian repertoire, who was making his Amsterdam debut in the role of Herman. The critics agree about the production’s quality: “A Pique Dame of extraordinary musical and scenical power” (Avant-Scène Opéra), which it is “absolutely worth seeing!” (Die Welt).

Pique Dame

Former Music Director Mariss Jansons returns to Amsterdam to conduct Pique Dame at the Dutch National Opera with “his” Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. He encounters a noteworthy cast and under his baton the orchestra sounds “brilliant and splendid“ (Der Tagesspiegel). Renowned director Stefan Herheim staged Tchaikovsky’s much-loved opera about a young man who, for the prospect of earthly wealth, gambles away his chance for love and happiness. Herheim, whose stagings are famous for their multi layered levels of interpretation, attempts to reflect on the composer’s hidden love for men. “The Latvian maestro, the intriguingly performing orchestra, the smartly-chosen soloists, and director Stefan Herheim have succeeded in staging an extraordinary production” (Die Presse). “Stefan Herheim makes a great picture show out of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pique Dame’” (NMZ). “A masterpiece” (Der Standard).

Beethoven, Missa Solemnis

With this majestic performance of Beethoven‘s Missa solemnis, Nikolaus Harnoncourt once again demonstrates why he is to be ranked as one of the very few truly significant musicians of our time. Created between 1819 and 1823, the Missa solemnis is the most extensive non-stage work that Beethoven wrote. This magnificent choral piece represented a great personal struggle for the composer, who famously inscribed the top of the score with the words “From the heart – may it return to the heart.” Tim Ashley, reviewing a repeat concert at London’s Barbican, wrote in The Guardian: “This shattering performance ranked among the greatest I have heard.”

Andris Nelsons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Shostakovich Symphony No. 8

The Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons is already one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. In the present recording of the first of these concerts (which are both available on DVD and Blu-ray from C Major Entertainment), orchestra and conductor demonstrate their brilliance in some of the most spectacular orchestral works ever written. “A profoundly moving interpretation” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung).

Andris Nelsons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Yefim Bronfman at Lucerne Festival

The Latvian maestro Andris Nelsons is already one of the most sought-after young conductors in the world and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. In the present recording of the second of these concerts (which are both available on DVD and Blu-ray from C Major Entertainment), Beethoven’s majestic Fifth Piano Concerto proves a memorable encounter between Nelsons and master pianist Yefim Bronfman, who remains calm and composed despite the piano part‘s virtuoso passage-work and knuckle-breaking chords. “A return to the magician of the podium: a conductor bursting with temperament and capable of conjuring up the most magnificent orchestral sonorities” (Neue Luzerner Zeitung).

Symphony No.7

This ballet, choreographed and designed by Toer van Schayk, is set to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7. Described by Wagner as a “grand apotheosis of the dance”, a celebration of man’s delight in his own physical energy, the symphony was composed in 1812, and van Schayk hears in the music the composer’s ecstatic longing for the sublime future he supposed would follow the Napoleonic Wars. 7th Symphony was recorded in studio and the music is played by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink.

Silent Cries

Jiri Kylián uses Claude Debussy’s dreamlike Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune for this stylised portrayal of a process of self-discovery and acceptance. He created the solo work in collaboration with his wife, the dancer Sabine Kupferberg, who performs in this studio recording.

Symphony No. 3 in D minor

In this live concert recording from the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Haitink conducts the NOS Women’s Choir, the North Holland Boys’ Choir and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in D minor, with soloist Carolyn Watkinson (contralto).