A spectacular concert at the site of Beijing’s Forbidden City. The concert features the renowned Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Long Yu, who perform Orff’s Carmina Burana with Aida Garifullina, Toby Spence and Ludovic Tézier, before being joined by Daniil Trifonov for Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Mari Samuelsen for Max Richter’s Violin piece “November”. Length 114′ (complete repertoire) / 71′ (Carmina Burana & Jasmine Flower Song) / 43′ (Piano Concert & November)
Veni Domine – Advent & Christmas at the Sistine Chapel
The Vatican Library is home to the most important and extensive collection of sacred music manuscripts in the world and the Sistine Chapel Choir has unlimited access to this extraordinary archive. The Sistine Chapel choir, the oldest choir in the world, has sung this music for centuries, and in recent years has reached new musical heights of excellence. The Director of the Sistine Chapel, Monsignor Massimo Palombella, has taken on an exciting double challenge. On the one hand, he is presenting polyphonic works from the Vatican Library in new editions reflecting the very highest standards of contemporary academic scholarship in polyphony. On the other hand, he is also developing performance practices for the choir to bring even the most intricate and impossibly difficult motets to life in a way which respects and clarifies the liturgical meaning of the music. Many of the works on this recording by famous names such as Palestrina and Desprez, all written to form part of Papal Celebrations for Advent and Christmas, have never been heard before.
Trifonov plays Chopin
Daniil Trifonov, the current Gramophone Artist of the Year and today’s top young classical pianist, offers Chopin’s two piano concertos in collaboration with his fellow pianist-composer Mikhail Pletnev, who conducts the Mahler Chamber Orchestra in his freshly re-orchestrated editions of Chopin’s piano concertos.
SCHILLER: Symphonia
Symphonia, a unique recording of an open-air performance at the legendary Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin – SCHILLER’s musical language knows no bounds, which may explain why he has achieved such huge success over the last 15 years. His endless musical and visual curiosity has won him legions of fans around the world. With anthems like DAS GLOCKENSPIEL – a UK top-5 hit – SCHILLER creates electronica with an emotional core. Since he started taking his live shows on the road, SCHILLER has made a worldwide name for himself. His sell-out tours have delighted hundreds of thousands of fans with their stunning and sophisticated use of surround-sound and breathtaking, state-of-the-art light shows. The one-off live event is also a very special premiere: for the first time, SCHILLER (Christopher von Deylen) performs the most striking songs of his repertoire with a large symphony orchestra. In addition to the orchestra of over 60 musicians, SCHILLER also invites international guest artists: Midge Ure (frontman of the british electropop pioneers Ultravox), the swiss Jael, as well as the exceptional Russian soprano Eva Mali. Symphonia is a unique sound-experience and an exciting highlight in SCHILLER’S output.
Claudio Abbado’s inaugural concert from 1989
It was only logical that Claudio Abbado should start his tenure with the Berliner Philharmoniker in December 1989 conducting Mahler’s First Symphony. Firstly, because Abbado was even then considered one of the great Mahler conductors of his time, and secondly because this symphony by the still young composer is infused with an irresistible expression of freshness and new beginnings. Even today we can feel the special magic of this new beginning in this video document. The election of Claudio Abbado came as a surprise to the music world – not least to the conductor himself. In many ways he embodied a contrast to Herbert von Karajan who, particularly in his later years, had became ever more remote from his musicians. Claudio Abbado, however, made it clear from the outset that he was simply “Claudio” to everyone. Furthermore, he followed new musical directions; he aimed at a more transparent sound, and put an emphasis on new music – and also on Mahler who had only occasionally appeared in Philharmoniker concerts under Karajan.
Abbado in Berlin – The First Year
The vote was over, and a decision had been made: Claudio Abbado was the new chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker. So it was in 1989, when – for the first time – the orchestra itself decided who was to be its leader. The result was a surprise for the music world – and also for Abbado himself. This documentary from 1990 traces the first year of the new chief conductor in Berlin, the special atmosphere of new beginnings and the diverse expectations the musicians had of Herbert von Karajan’s successor. Other than this, many insights are provided into the first artistic projects of the new man at the helm, starting with the rehearsals for Mahler’s First Symphony with which he ushered in his tenure in December 1989. We are also taken behind the scenes to see among other things Abbado’s first visit to Karajan’s room – which was now to be his – and to a first birthday party with the musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Of course, the members of the orchestra have their say, and tell of their hopes and what they expected of their new boss. Even today, these impressions convey the special magic that was in the air at that time.
Yuja x Hockney at Lightroom London
One remarkable pianist, one remarkable artist: Yuja Wang presents a very special concert from London’s Lightroom. She performs music by composers ranging from Bach to Berio, carefully selected in response to a series of artworks by David Hockney, which are shown in stunning 360-degree projections as she plays. The result is an all-encompassing audio-visual experience that seeks out connections between the senses, between art and music, and between two major cultural figures of our time.
Julius Asal plays Scriabin, Scarlatti and Brahms
Live from the Seoul Arts Center, pianist Julius Asal presents a recital juxtaposing repertoire from his acclaimed first album with one of the great piano sonatas of the Romantic repertoire. The first half sees him perform works by Scriabin and Scarlatti, woven together into a compelling musical whole through the inclusion of brief transitions created by Asal himself. For the second half, it’s the monumental Piano Sonata No. 3 by the 20-year-old Brahms. Cast in five movements it represents a powerful test of any performer’s technique, stamina as well as their sensitivity and musicianship – and promises to provide a rousing finale to this concert.
The Passenger
Though composed as early as 1968, Mieczylaw Weinberg’s opera The Passenger received its first full staging only in 2010. The work – based on an 1962 novel by concentration-camp survivor Zofia Posmysz – was quickly recognised as one of the most important operas of the second half of the 20th century, and one whose themes are now as important as they’ve ever been. That first staging, by David Pountney, has gone on to receive classic status, and is here seen for the first time at Madrid’s Teatro Real, conducted by an artist who has been instrumental in the recent Weinberg revival, Mirga Gražinytè-Tyla.
Alice Sara Ott: Nocturne
Dive into the beguiling world of John Field’s Nocturnes as interpreted by world-renowned pianist Alice Sara Ott. This film, directed by filmmaker and tenor Andrew Staples, immerses viewers in Alice’s imagination and her connection to Field’s music, offering a rare glimpse into the artist’s mind during the creative process. The interplay between historical venues and the custom-designed digital landscapes at Munich’s Hyperbowl LED studio creates an atmosphere where the intangible becomes vividly real, resulting in a film that is much more than just a performance; it is an exploration of a performer’s journey through the music of a neglected composer who left the world one of its most beloved musical forms: the nocturne.