Premiered in Paris in 1859, Gounod’s Faust was an instant success and even today remains one of the most popular of all French operas. Its libretto was based on Michel Carré’s adaptation of his own stage play Faust et Marguerite, which in turn was loosely fashioned after Goethe’s two-part tragedy. “The staging was entrusted to a visionary director, Stefano Poda” (La Stampa). “A triumph that will long remain in the annals as one of the most brilliant stagings not only in this theatre but in any of today’s opera houses … An extraordinary spectacle” (ResMusica).
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol. 3
Beethoven’s opus of 32 piano sonatas, known as “the New Testament of piano music”, is a landmark in piano literature. Spanning Beethoven’s entire life, the sonatas reflect his whole development as a human being and a musician, moving from one century into the next, from one epoch in music in to another. With the sonatas “Pathétique”, “Moonlight”, “Waldstein”, “Appassionata”, “Hammerklavier” and the final sonata op. 111, the cycle contains some of the most known piano pieces of all time. Now, for the first time in its history the complete cycle was performed at the Salzburg Festival. For this challenge the Festival asked no less than the world-renowned and influential Beethoven expert and pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. With more than 45 performances of Beethoven’s complete sonata cycle in concert halls all over the world and his relentless drive to discover new details and facets in the sonatas through meticulous study of the scores, “Buchbinder has set new standards in the interpretation of Beethoven’s works” (Bayerischer Rundfunk).