Joe Hisaishi wrote the score for some of his country’s most successful films, Japanese Anime movies, popular around the globe. In this concert, he presents and conducts some of his best-known compositions: the scores of Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, as well as a symphony of his own. Joe Hisaishi is without doubt the most popular Japanese composer in the world. His collaboration with director Hayao Miyazaki has been compared to that of director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams. “As a composer, I have chosen not to restrict myself” (Joe Hisaishi). PROGRAM Hisaishi: Symphony No. 2, Woman, Princess Mononoke, One Summer’s Day, World Dreams
Looking for Beethoven – On the Paths of the Beethoven String Quartets
What seems to be the predominant impulse driving this music,” explains viola player Krzysztof Chorzelski of the Belcea Quartet, “is man’s yearning for freedom, the unquenchable desire to expand his limits and to learn the truth about himself in this process Beethoven inspires us as performers to take up this challenge.” The Belcea Quartet’s response to this challenge took place in the Vienna Konzerthaus. The ensemble embarked on the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets, playing the whole program within twelve days, each concert featuring one work from the early, middle and late quartets.
Camille Saint-Saëns – The elusive composer
The film follows the life of a man who is said to have been a revolutionary for 40 years and then a conservative for 40 years who considered Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky and Webern (among others) as naughty punks… However, as a composer and a pianist Camille Saint-Saëns was incredibly talented in music as in various sciences and arts. The film contains archive material, original drawings, musical excerpts and interviews with specialists, with a light comment made from Saint-Saëns’ personal writings as if he commented himself some parts of his long and rich life.
Médée
Luigi Cherubini’s most famous opera Médée is based on the universal and timeless tragedy Medea by the Greek poet Euripides. With a mother who exacts revenge for her husband’s betrayal by killing their own children, it is undoubtedly one of the most violent and frigid myths that Antic Greece has left us. French stage director Jean-Yves Ruf chose the original French version of Médéefrom 1797, instead of the more frequently performed Italian translation, to be presented at Dijon Opera. He highlights the libretto through a dark lightened stage set (created by architect and stage designer Laure Pichat), which perfectly fits the gloomy mood of the play. The Dijon Bourgogne Orchestra, under the baton of Nicolas Krüger, performs brilliantly with lyrical and beautiful playing.
Pablo Picasso at Pompeii – Parade & Pulcinella
Celebrating the centenary of Picasso’s visit to Italy, the Teatro Grande di Pompeii hosts two ballets with sets and costumes designed by this legendary Spanish artist. 100 Years ago, Picasso made a journey to Naples in order to work on Parade, an avant-garde ballet for the famous Ballets Russes with a libretto by Jean Cocteau, music by Erik Satie and a choreography by Léonide Massine. Three years later, Picasso and the Ballets Russes joined forces again for Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella” at the Opéra de Paris. Performance only: Length 63′ // Narrated Performance Version: Length 67′