450 Years Staatskapelle Berlin

On the occasion of its 450th birthday, the Staatskapelle Berlin under the baton of its chief conductor Daniel Barenboim embarks on a journey through music history. With Wagner and Beethoven, two composers are represented who have shaped the Staatskapelle’s repertoire decisively, in both opera and symphonic works. The programme is complemented by advanced music from the 20th and 21st centuries by Boulez and Widmann, the latter having dedicated a newly composed work to the Staatskapelle. PROGRAM Boulez: Initiale for seven brass instruments; Wagner: Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Widmann:Zeitensprünge – 450 Takte für Orchester (World premiere of the commissioned work); Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Daniel Barenboim plays Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Daniel Barenboim is one of the most accomplished Beethoven experts of our time. From the very beginning of his career, he has been intensively and repeatedly engaged with the composer’s manifold works. Barenboim marked the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth by recording his thirty-two piano sonatas at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal. The exceptional musician has been exploring Beethoven’s music for more than seven decades and his fifth complete survey of the sonatas arose from a period of deep immersion in Beethoven’s scores due to the cancellation of public concerts because of the coronavirus pandemic. With this sonata cycle, the great Daniel Barenboim has set himself a legacy!

The Christmas Tree Concert – Martha Argerich & Daniel Barenboim

Long-time artistic partners and close friends Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim bring their extraordinary artistry to the Pierre Boulez Saal in a piano duo recital, which features Bizet’s charming “Jeux d’enfants” alongside Ravel’s work for four hands “Ma Mère l’Oye” and Liszt’s rarely heard “Weihnachtsbaum suite”, an arrangement of Christmas carols written for his granddaughter. When Argerich and Barenboim invite the children in the audience to sit on the floor around the piano for their performance of Weihnachtsbaum, it is in the spirit of Christmas, when families come together, and reminiscent of the work’s premiere: First performed in a Rome hotel room on Christmas Day 1881 by Liszt’s granddaughter Daniela, the suite of 12 pieces brought the composer a family reunion with his beloved daughter and granddaughter.

Ballet of Difference – ON BODY

The choreographer Richard Siegal, “sought-after worldwide as the most innovative, the most exciting dance-maker of his generation” (Süddeutsche Zeitung), sets out to cross boundaries with his new company Ballet of Difference, founded in 2016. With drive and virtuosity, exceptional settings and energetic sounds, the diverse troupe merges classical ballet tradition, contemporary dance and pop culture in an extraordinary dance event and forges a unique vision of ballet’s present and future. On Body is spectacularly opened by BoD, a work that celebrates dancing on pointe and the individual’s joy to dance. In Made for Walking pale colours and austere forms dominate the stage and robust boots replace the pointe shoes. It is followed by UNITXT, a trailblazing piece of contemporary dance, in which “Richard Siegal perfects seemingly impossible movements – you can hardly believe your eyes!” (BR Klassik). Also available the Documentary Draw a Line about Richard Siegal and his Ballet of Difference A05050606

Prokofiev – The Complete Piano Sonatas Vol. 1-4

On the occasion of Sergej Prokofiev’s 125th birthday, building on the success of the 2015 Prokofiev marathon, which featured all Piano Concertos of the Russian composer, Prokofiev specialist Valery Gergiev presented two concerts at the MPHIL 360° festival containing Prokofiev’s complete piano sonatas as well as selected sonatas by Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti. Four emerging, prizewinning piano talents from Russia and the USA were invited: Dmitry Masleev, George Li, Lukas Geniušas and Sergej Redkin. A “cunning and excentric” show, “brilliantly played” by the pianists (Süddeutsche Zeitung). PROGRAM: Vol. 1 (A 055 50614 0000, appr. 35′): Prokofiev Sonatas No. 1, No. 2 & No. 3 and Scarlatti Sonata K. 141 – Dmitry Masleev; Vol. 2 (Cat. no. A 055 50615 0000, appr. 50′): Prokofiev Sonatas No. 4 & No. 6 and Scarlatti Sonata K. 380 – George Li; Vol. 3 (A 055 50616 0000, appr. 45′): Prokofiev Sonatas No. 5 & No. 7 and Scarlatti Sonata K. 450 – Lukas Geniušas; Vol. 4 (A 055 50617 0000, appr. 60′): Prokofiev Sonatas No. 8 & No. 9 and Scarlatti Sonata K. 193 – Sergej Redkin

Nelsons conducts Bruckner 3

Nelsons lives up to his deep adoration of Richard Wagner, his favourite composer, in this concert, where he is conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, with the Prelude to the First Act and the “Karfreitagszauber” from the Third Act of Wagner’s Parsifal. The second part of the concert is dedicated to another great composer: Anton Bruckner and his 3rd symphony. “With Nelsons conducting, everything diverged into beauty.” (Der Tagesspiegel) “Nelsons worked his magic. Every repetition is a new reason for amazement, from the intimate Trio to the triumphant Final.“ (Berliner Morgenpost) PROGRAM: Wagner: Parsifal Prelude to Act I ; Good Friday Spell from Act III; Bruckner No. 3