Following the complete recordings of the symphonies of Brahms and Schumann, the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann are turning their attention to the work of Richard Strauss. While the Sächsische Zeitung wrote about Morley that she “indulged the songs with great delight and the finest feeling”, Der Standard wrote about Thielemann: “Great clarity, great class. The inner charge of the instrumental, this intensity palpable in every note, with which the Staatskapelle Dresden immediately stormed into Strauss’s Heldenleben, revealed Thielemann’s well-known strengths: he succeeds in uniting impulsivity and balance in the sound as well as expressive melodic surging and structural clarity.” PROGRAM: Strauss “An die Nacht“, “Ich wollt ein Sträußlein binden“, “Säusle, liebe Myrthe!“, “Als mir dein Lied erklang“, “Amor“ from Op. 68 “Muttertändelei“, “Ein Heldenleben“; Hennig: “Nacht“
For the Love of Music in Georgia – The Paliashvili Music School in Tbilisi
The Georgian Republic: An orthodox multi-ethnic mix in the wild Caucasus, the borderland between the East and West. The Paliashvili Music School for gifted children is located on a hill above the capital city of Tbilisi. The plaster is crumbling, and the stairs are riddled with holes. Hardly any instrument can be tuned anymore, and many teachers are so old that they could be the great-grandparents of their students. Those who are allowed to step through the battered main entrance after the strict entrance examination do so with pride because former Paliashvili students regularly conquer the world’s stages. The violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Khatia Buniatishvili were taught here. The children dream of such a success, their parents all the more so. An observant and character-based documentary about a magical place. A film about growing up and aging, about farewells and new beginnings, about great dreams and the art of improvisation.
Blomstedt conducts Reger and Beethoven
Max Reger’s Piano Concerto was created in the summer of 1910 in Leipzig and was there brought into the world by pianist Frieda Kwast-Hodapp and the Gewandhausorchester under Arthur Nikisch. To date, few other artists have dared to undertake this pianistic challenge: The American Peter Serkin, however, is one of those few whose repertoire includes this rare piece. In the second part of the concert, Herbert Blomstedt approached Beethoven’s evocative impressions of nature in the Symphony No 6, the “Pastoral”. PROGRAM: Reger: Piano Concerto in F minor; Beethoven: Symphony No. 6
Nelsons conducts Gewandhausorchester Leipzig: Webern, Wagner and Stravinsky
When Andris Nelsons made his debut with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig in 2011, the conductor and the orchestra are said to have felt a magical connection, which only a few years later resulted in his appointment as the 21st principal conductor of the world-renowned orchestra, beginning in 2018. In 2016, one of his concerts with the Gewandhausorchester featured three works by three composers, each of whom revolutionized the musical traditions of their times. Anton Webern, Richard Wagner and Igor Stravinsky. PROGRAM: Webern: Six Pieces for Orchestra; Wagner: Wesendonck Lieder; Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
Rudolstadt Festival 2016 – Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar was born in London but mainly raised in San Diego, California. She was seven when she first got lessons on the sitar from her prominent father, Ravi Shankar. She grew up with Indian classical music but also but western pop and youth culture which today results in her wish to cross borders and to free the sitar from its alleged limitations as an instrument for Hindustani classical music.
Andris Nelsons conducts Dvorak
When Nelsons steps up to the podium of the Gewandhausorchester in March 2018 as its new musical director, Leipzig will indeed undergo a makeover. Apart from Felix Mendelssohn, his famous predecessor, he is the youngest conductor in the history of the orchestra beingthen only 37 years old. In this program Nelsons focuses on Dvorák – the “Otello” overture is followed by extracts from his opera Rusalka. Nelsons’ spouse, Kristine Opolais, takes over the arias of the title role, which she has already performed at the New York Met and the Bavarian State Opera. The fact that Nelsons also selected Dvorák’s 9th “From The New World” can be seen as a programmatic omen: Nelsons and the Gewandhausorchester now enter new territory, so to speak, on a joint musical journey.
Amid Times and Worlds – Music in Romania
Romania is a country of contrasts and astonishing diversity but its rich musical culture is still completely unknown to most. Amid Times And Worlds takes viewers on a fascinating journey to extraordinary musicians. It travels through the country and visits artists in Bucharest and Timisoara, the 2023 European Capital of Culture. We discover folk music traditions in Maramures and the Carpathians and experience singing in the famous wooden churches in the north of the country. Through conversations and interactions with musicians in Romania, the film paints a picture of the diversity of a country caught between tradition and modernity.
The Three Lives of Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann’s life story has become a legend. Her austere childhood, her extraordinary talent as a pianist, her early love for the composer Robert Schumann, which she imposed on her father, and the upbringing of seven children provide enough material for myths and clichés. But who really was Clara Schumann? The documentary “The Three Lives of Clara Schumann” approaches her personality from different angles – through her letters and diaries, through her compositions, and through musicians who have intensively studied her – as interpreters of her music, as seekers in her biography, as time travellers.
Arvo Pärt Festival
To celebrate Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Concerto Copenhagen present an extraordinary concert at St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Görlitz. Under the direction of Grammy-winning conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, they perform works by the world’s most renowned and widely performed living composer.