The reigning queen of bel canto, Edita Gruberova has laid the cornerstone for a new ‘Norma’ legend in her first stage performance of this virtuoso role. The premiere of Vincenzo Bellini’s opera at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich marked a resounding new triumph in the singer’s career. Sharing the stage with Gruberova were Zoran Todorovich, Roberto Scandiuzzi, Sonia Ganassi and other renowned soloists, along with the chorus of the Bavarian State Opera. Friedrich Haider conducted the production directed by Jürgen Rose.
Nigel Kennedy – Polish Spirit
In 2000, a stranger handed Nigel Kennedy an album of Mlynarski’s concerto in the street and unwittingly launched Kennedy on a major project to revive this forgotten Romantic music. As Kennedy says in his introduction to the concert, “…none of the musicians in the orchestra had ever played this music before, so even in Poland the Mlynarski is a forgotten concerto. So it’s a new discovery not just for me, but for the orchestra. There’s a whole new energy in this music with the Polish Chamber Orchestra playing it. We have this special connection which I’ve never really experienced with any other orchestra … so to be able to bring a new composer from their own heritage and to be able to take it to the world, I think represents the orchestra very well.” Concert programme: Emil Mlynarski’s Violin Concerto in A Major, Mieczyslaw Karlowicz’s Violin Concerto No.2 in D Major, Vittorio Monti’s Czardas (arr. Kennedy) cadenza by Nigel Kennedy, Trad: Danny Boy (arr. Kennedy)
Tiefland
One of the most successful European operas of the first half of the 20th century, D’Albert’s Tiefland has had a long history and this minimalist new staging by Matthias Hartmann and Franz Welser-Möst gives it a welcome revival. Matthias Goerne’s portrayal of Sebastiano’s brings out the essence of evilness. Peter Seifert and Petra Schnitzer – husband and wife in real life – as Pedro and Marta are simply splendid in their roles, both in their singing and their acting. László Polgár is excellent as Tommaso.
Doktor Faust
For Philippe Jordan, the conductor of this production from the Opernhaus Zürich, ‘Doktor Faust’ is one of the greatest operas of the 20th century, ranking alongside ‘Wozzeck’ and ‘Lulu,’ and resplendent with lush, lateromantic harmonies and motivically derived melodies reminiscent of Wagner, Verdi and even Mahler. Director Klaus Michael Grüber has produced a staging that ‘emphasizes the sensuality and operatic quality of the work’ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Adding the final touch to the sensuality
of Busoni’s music, Jordan’s expressive control of the complex score and Grüber’s stage magic is Thomas Hampson in the lead role.
Anne-Sophie Mutter plays Mozart: Trios for Violin, Cello and Piano
All three trios on this recording are lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist‘s bravura. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy.
Mozart, Trio in B flat major, K.502
When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Trio in E major, K.542
When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Mozart, Trio in C major, K.548
When Anne-Sophie Mutter says that Mozart wrote his trios for violin, violoncello and piano for his own enjoyment, then this is not merely a conclusion derived from the artist’s own pleasure in playing these works with talented colleagues. Mozart himself, in a letter of June 1788 to his friend Michael Puchberg, added this postscript: “When are we to have a little musical party at your house again? I have composed a new trio!” He was referring to the Piano Trio in E major K. 542. All three trios on this recording are not only late works, but were also published together in 1788, lending weight to the claim that they are the three finest and most exemplary works in this genre by Mozart. In the earliest of the three, K. 502, Mozart broke through the traditional predominance of the piano to give equal weight to the strings, whereby the violin is given ample opportunity to display the soloist’s bravura. The Trios K. 542 and 548 were both written in the astonishingly fruitful summer of 1788, during which Mozart wrote the great trilogy of his last symphonies. They show Mozart at the very height of his powers. Proof that Mozart thought highly of K. 542 emerges in the fact that he played it at the court of Dresden in 1789 when he was seeking an appointment there. Finally, K. 548 in C major is a more restrained work that concentrates on motivic development and, in its slow movement, foreshadows the chamber music of the early 19th century. Joining Anne-Sophie Mutter on this recording is the internationally acclaimed young cellist Daniel Müller-Schott, who, as a scholarship holder from her Foundation, benefited from Ms. Mutter’s personal sponsorship at the outset of his career. More than one critic is already mentioning his name in one breath with Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the piano is Sir André Previn, pianist, conductor, composer and gifted accompanist. The stunning location of the concert – the late-Baroque Teatro Bibiena in Mantua – bears a subtle connection to Mozart, for it is here that the 14-year-old Wolfgang gave a recital with his father in January 1770 while on his first tour of Italy. Also available is a “making-of” documentary on “The Mozart Project” (45′), in which Anne-Sophie Mutter talks about her relationship to Mozart’s music and is joined by her colleagues André Previn, Lambert Orkis and Daniel Müller-Schott.
Classical Summit 2006 – Three Superstars in Berlin
In the tradition of the original ‘The Three Tenors,’ world-class singers Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón joined forces to entertain a live audience of 20,000 spectators on location and millions more around the world on TV. They sing the most famous arias and duets from the world of opera, accompanied by the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and its conductor Marco Armiliato.
Portrait Fritz Wunderlich – Life and Legend
“Fritz Wunderlich is one of those singers whom I’ve never felt were historical. In his recordings he sounds so much of the present, that it’s as though he were still among us.” These comments by Rolando Villazón make it clear that the book of Fritz Wunderlich’s life is by no means closed. Forty years after his tragic death, he is a far more potent presence through his recordings than he was during his lifetime. He continues to reach his public, whether they be fans who know his recordings inside-out or people hearing his voice for the first time.