“A Beethoven symphony cycle is a kind of Mount Everest for all of us to climb” Sir Simon Rattle said about his first cycle of all nine symphonies with his Berliner Philharmoniker. The expectations were incredibly high, not only due to the work itself, which is known to be extremely demanding, but also due to the existing legendary recordings of the Beethoven symphonies with Rattle’s predecessors like Herbert von Karajan and latest Claudio Abbado. The concerts in which the Berliner Philharmoniker and their maestro present the symphonies at the Philharmonie are overwhelming indeed. “This is the greatest performance of the Beethoven symphonies as a cycle that I have ever seen and heard” (BBC Music Magazine). “Impressive“ (The New York Times).
Thomas Quasthoff sings Soul – ‘Tell it like it is’
The German magazine Stern describes Thomas Quasthoff as ‘the man with the most beautiful voice in the world’. Furthermore, his power of interpretation and unerring sense of taste go hand in hand not only when performing Italian arias but also when singing famous American songs. After his performance and recording of ‘Tell it like it is’ at the famous A-Trane jazzclub in Berlin, ‘unbounded cheering’ (Die Welt) by the audience had the effect of singling out certain numbers. With each of their appearances in February 2010, Thomas Quasthoff and his hand-picked instrumentalists (Bruno Müller, guitar, Frank Chastenier, keyboard, Dieter Ilg, bass, Wolfgang Haffner, drums) worked their way deeper into these pieces of jazz and soul. Works by Marvin Gaye, Percy Mayfield, Tony Joe White, Stevie Wonder, John Lennon, Ray Charles, Randy Newman, et al.
Chailly conducts Mahler – Symphony No. 8
Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is agruably the grandest and most ambitious piece of symphonic music ever written. The composer himself regarded it as his ‘opus summum’, and an incredible number of partipicians at the hugely successful Munich premiere in 1910 earned it the nickname ‘Symphony of a Thousand’. At Leipzig’s International Mahler Festival 2011, Riccardo Chailly commanded almost 500 musicians. The perfomance celebrated overwhelming success by audience and critics.
RCO: Mahler No. 8
After the two famous Mahler festivals in 1920 and 1995, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam is now presenting a special twoseason Mahler series, which includes ten large-scale symphonies plus ‘Das Lied von der Erde’, performed in chronological order by the world’s greatest orchestra under the direction of great conductors – all brought to life in the wonderful acoustics of the Main Hall of the Concertgebouw.
RCO: Mariss Jansons conducts the Christmas Matinee (Kerstmatinee 2012)
‘Rarely is such a warm, captivating and smooth voice heard here in the Netherlands,’ wrote Peter van der Lint in the Dutch newspaper Trouw following the Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto’s last performance with the RCO, for which he garnered wide acclaim with the orchestra singing Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death on 25 August 2010. Now he returns with his favourite arias from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. After the interval, a truly unique event takes place: for the very first time, a work by Anton Bruckner is performed at one of the legendary Concertgebouw Christmas Matinee’s – and what’s more, it is conducted by chief conductor Mariss Jansons. ——- Program: W.A. MOZART: ‘Madamina, il catalogo è questo’ from ‘Don Giovanni’ KV 527; ‘Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso’ from ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ KV 492; Overture to ‘Le nozze di Figaro’ // ANTON BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7. (Cat. No. UNITEL A865500010000)