Introduction: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major BWV 1046

“It is very unusual that a three-movement Baroque concerto should suddenly give way to a four-movement piece, as is the case here. In my opinion, this has medical reasons: the audiences of the Baroque era were much more passionate listeners, they were more deeply moved by what they heard, and I think that Bach wanted to calm the listener with a little suite after this exciting third movement. The first Brandenburg Concerto is the one with the largest orchestral scoring, and the orchestra shows up a few peculiarities with respect to the instruments used: it is one of the first pieces in which the bassoon is treated as a solo instrument. In the first movement the hunting horns (immediately recognizable as such) are introduced into art music, and this movement is one of Bach’s most refined little pieces altogether. Then he uses a ‘violino piccolo’, a little violin – not to be confused with a child’s violin – which sounds a lot cheekier than its big sister.” (Nikolaus Harnoncourt) Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, named after their dedicatee the Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg, have been part of Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s permanent repertoire ever since he founded his Concentus musicus ensemble. The ensemble has recorded them and played them on their tours throughout the world. The impulse which led Harnoncourt to establish the Concentus musicus in 1953 was his dissatisfaction with the traditional way of interpreting early music. The uncommon and sometimes radically different style of the Concentus musicus, as well as its exclusive use of historical instruments, secured the ensemble its international reputation. Harnoncourt introduces the concerto with a moving and fascinating analysis of the piece. Interesting musical examples, which Harnoncourt inserts in a humorous and relaxed manner, make this introduction an informative and entertaining guide to this masterpiece of music. The production was filmed in the historical Baroque monastery library in Wiblingen, Germany.

Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F major, BWV 1046

“It is very unusual that a three-movement Baroque concerto should suddenly give way to a four-movement piece, as is the case here. In my opinion, this has medical reasons: the audiences of the Baroque era were much more passionate listeners, they were more deeply moved by what they heard, and I think that Bach wanted to calm the listener with a little suite after this exciting third movement. The first Brandenburg Concerto is the one with the largest orchestral scoring, and the orchestra shows up a few peculiarities with respect to the instruments used: it is one of the first pieces in which the bassoon is treated as a solo instrument. In the first movement the hunting horns (immediately recognizable as such) are introduced into art music, and this movement is one of Bach’s most refined little pieces altogether. Then he uses a ‘violino piccolo’, a little violin – not to be confused with a child’s violin – which sounds a lot cheekier than its big sister.” (Nikolaus Harnoncourt) Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, named after their dedicatee the Margrave Christian Ludwig von Brandenburg, have been part of Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s permanent repertoire ever since he founded his Concentus musicus ensemble. The ensemble has recorded them and played them on their tours throughout the world. The impulse which led Harnoncourt to establish the Concentus musicus in 1953 was his dissatisfaction with the traditional way of interpreting early music. The uncommon and sometimes radically different style of the Concentus musicus, as well as its exclusive use of historical instruments, secured the ensemble its international reputation. Harnoncourt introduces the concerto with a moving and fascinating analysis of the piece. Interesting musical examples, which Harnoncourt inserts in a humorous and relaxed manner, make this introduction an informative and entertaining guide to this masterpiece of music. The production was filmed in the historical Baroque monastery library in Wiblingen, Germany.

Beethoven‘s Nine: Ode to Humanity

In early 2023, filmmaker Larry Weinstein set out to make a documentary about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It was supposed to be about how far we have come in the two undred years since it was written. But when world events pull Larry into his own film, the question becomes a deeply personal one. Beethoven’s Nine is a documentary about music, but also about war and hope. It follows nine unique individuals, including Ukrainian musicians, a deaf composer, a Polish rock star, a best-selling author, a legendary cartoonist and Weinstein himself, as they try to better understand the legacy of Beethoven’s Ninth, the composer’s own struggles, the inspiration music can provide and how humanity continues to look for hope even in the darkest times.

Magic Moments of Music – Harnoncourt conducts Monteverdi

L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi is one of the earliest operas. It tells the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, a young couple separated by fate and put to the test once again. In 1975, it was to be performed as faithfully as possible to the original, as it had been when it premiered more than 350 years earlier. First on stage in Zurich and later as a film production in Vienna. A radical vision by Austrian conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, directed by star director Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Harnoncourt brought back the historical sound experience. He meticulously sought out musicians who played period instruments and brought them together to form an ensemble. He succeeded in making the opera not only comprehensible but also captivating. Outstanding singers such as Anna-Lucia Richter, Rolando Villazón, Elsa Benoit, Äneas Humm and also Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s son Philipp comment on the legendary production from 50 years ago. The film is a testament to the artistry of the great musical innovator Harnoncourt.

Magic Moments of Music – Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim at Teatro Colón

In 2014, a memorable concert took place at the Teatro Colón: Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim as a piano duo on two pianos. Since their youth, the two have enjoyed an artistic friendship rich in magic moments of music. What happens when these very different personalities form a piano duo? The two superstars had already performed together almost everywhere in the world – but not in their hometown. Their first joint performance in Buenos Aires was a magic moment of music and a kind of folk festival in equal parts. During their stay in Buenos Aires, Argerich and Barenboim went in search of traces of the places where they met as children. And how does Daniel Barenboim himself remember the concert? He laughs: “It’s totally easy with Martha. It’s not like that with everyone. You can only fall in love with her.”

Die schweigsame Frau

Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman), the first and only joint work by Richard Strauss and Stefan Zweig, was performed for the first time at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. The opera embodies comic opera in a new and unexpected way, starting with the genre name, which Strauss used here for the first and only time in his career. Compositionally, it is his most progressive work. With his new production of Richard Strauss’ opera, director Jan Philipp Gloger places social issues such as loneliness and housing shortages at the centre of the opera. The superb cast brings his ideas to life with “energetic performance and balanced vocal power” (Süddeutsche Zeitung). “What Thielemann conjures up from the orchestra pit is classical cinema at its finest.” (BZ)

Der Dreispitz

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) was one of the last brilliantly creative composers of the Romantic, nationalistic tradition. The original version of “The Three-Cornered Hat” was composed for a pantomime, “The Corregidor and the Miller’s Wife”, which was adapted from a short story, “El Sombrero de tres picos”, by Pedro de Alarcon. This was produced in Madrid in 1917. Soon after, when Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes were touring Spain, Diaghilev urged him to arrange it as a ballet. The first performance of the ballet version with choreography by Massine took place in July, 1919 at the Alhambra Theater in London. The choreographer, dancer and ballet director Antonio (born Antonio Ruiz Soler in 1922) was the most famous Spanish dancer of his generation. A purist in his solo dances, he has tried in his ballets to create a synthesis of classic-academic and Spanish dance. His choreography of “The Three-Cornered Hat” was produced for television in 1974.

Impressions about Herbert von Karajan

Commanding the podium with his slender figure, theatrical shock of hair and penetrating blue eyes, Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) projected the hieratic image of the conductor as officiant of some quasi-mystic rite. And anyone who ever saw him conduct live or on his many audiovisual recordings will agree that in his performances, music did indeed become a religion and Karajan its high-priest. Karajan embodied classical music in the general consciousness as an epoch-making conductor, media star, opera producer, festival director and festival founder. But in spite of his Promethean and widely varied activities, he remained a superb conductor, with a grasp of the standard orchestral and operatic repertory from Mozart to Schoenberg that was unsurpassed among his peers.