With their “Janoska style” the four members of the Janoska Ensemble have developed a breathtakingly virtuosic and profoundly personal vision of music, which they interpret in a thoroughly modern way. Among unifying factors are their family ties and an inexhaustible inventiveness that allows them to explore a wide range of works from popular classics to compositions that they have written themselves and, finally, idiosyncratic arrangements of jazz, pop and world music. For Live in Bratislava the four Janoskas have chosen to present a picture of Vienna as a cultural melting pot, lacing it with irony and wit, and evincing a very real delight in music-making that time and again takes them beyond the confines of the Austrian capital. Virtuoso classics by Franz Waxman, Niccolò Paganini and Pablo de Sarasate are heard alongside a Viennese work by Fritz Kreisler and operetta themes by Johann Strauss combined with the strains of a csárdás and music from the Balkans, to say nothing of a number of flights of fancy across the Atlantic to the world of the tango and rumba and of jazz improvisations.
Jonas Kaufmann – My Italy
With this recording Jonas Kaufmann, Italy’s ‘adopted tenor-son’, pays tribute to a culture that has inspired countless immortal melodies for the tenor voice. This recording spans Italian pop, traditional and Neapolitan songs, a heartfelt tribute to Italian music including Caruso, Mattinata, Parla più piano (‘The Godfather’ theme), Core ‘ngrato, Volare & more! “Italian music has this unbelievable way of producing such immortal melodies – full of sun and warmth – that all day long you can’t get them out of your head!” JONAS KAUFMANN
2Cellos at Sydney Opera House
2Cellos at a special Sydney show that see them perform in the iconic Sydney Opera House, accompanied by the prestigious Sydney Symphony Orchestra, playing famous film scores. PROGRAM: Film Music – Now We Are Free (The Gladiator); Cinema Paradiso; Malena; Love Story; For the Love of a Princess (Braveheart); Schindler’s List Main Theme; The Godfather Theme; May it Be (Lord of the Rings); Moon River (Breakfast at Tiffany’s); Rain Man Theme; Cavatina (Deer Hunter); Game of Thrones Medley; My Heart Will Go On (Titanic)
Survival Artists
They live two lives. They work to survive, but music is their passion. At night they perform in sold out concert halls, and clean toilets the morning after. They tickle the ivories and sort out the trash in close succession. They interpret Beethoven just before repairing exhaust pipes. They are survival artists. A musician is asked: “Can you make a living?” The reply: “Some can, others cannot.” This story is about the others: Professional musicians who practise their art with great passion and skill, but still have to work on the side. Either just to make ends meet or to maintain a certain quality of life: As a garbage collector, an auto mechanic or doctor.
Gozo – One Island, Two Opera Houses
Grand opera in an unlikely setting. The small island of Gozo (right next to Malta) has 30,000 inhabitants and two opera houses. This means it has more opera per square mile than any other place in the world. The organization, the staging, and much of the singing are all done by amateurs. The only trouble is, there is no love lost between the two houses. There are two conductors, two choruses, two teams of stage workers and organizers and behind it all two rival clans whose sole ambition every year is to come out on top in the great operatic singing match. But there is one thing they do have to share: the orchestra. Malta only has one to its name. In the middle of the fray we find Maltese star tenor Joseph Calleja. As a teenager he earned his singing spurs in Gozo, and now he comes back to the island every year to act as a mediator. The film observes opera-crazy volunteers and amateur musicians engaging in the annual tussle for the best Verdi performance in the Mediterranean and international tenor Joseph Calleja doing his level best to keep things from getting out of hand. A film about no-holds-barred commitment, a passionate love of music, and how cut-throat rivalry can bring forth genuine art.
Il Volo – Notte Magica “A Tribute To The Three Tenors”
“Notte Magica – A Tribute To The Three Tenors” – on July 7, 1990, a magical night took place in Rome: José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti sang together for the very first time in one of the most evocative temples of opera, the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome giving life to the biggest classical music project of the century, The Three Tenors. Twenty-six years later, worldwide platinum selling artists, Il Volo, pay tribute to the event and to the Three Tenors with a live concert event, “Notte Magica – A Tribute to The Three Tenors”. The concert took place at the Piazza Santa Croce, one of the most beautiful plazas in Florence with the famous Teatro Massimo di Palermo Orchestra. Il Volo performed some of the most famous Neapolitan songs and arias from the Italian and international operatic repertoire all of which were sung by the original Three Tenors. As a special guest, Maestro Plácido Domingo conducted almost half of the program and joined Il Volo singing the classic “Non ti scordar di me”. Although Il Volo were not yet born when The Three Tenors first performed, they grew up listening to them, being fascinated and inspired by their voices and legendary achievements. Now, Il Volo deliver this music to a younger audience so they can experience the same emotions from that long ago magical night.
Currentzis – The Classical Rebel
While the whole world thinks that Europe ends at Perm, Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis starts a classical music revolution together with his orchestra MusicAeterna in the Ural foothills, a fast changing former industrial city now being one of the major cultural centres of Russia. The film accompanies a new opera recording of “Don Giovanni” in studio-like conditions, traces artistic processes and portrays the maverick super-star conductor. The film combines both high standards of journalism and a pleasantly intriguing approach to the world of classical music with fascinating artists, peeks behind the scenes and timelessly beautiful music.
Tango under the Stars at the Hollywood Bowl
Gustavo Dudamel accents the colors, rhythms, and passion of music by leading composers from Argentina in this invigorating evening under the stars. Featuring music by Astor Piazolla, Alberto Ginastera and the world premiere of Lalo Schifrins “Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra”, played by Ángel Romero. PROGRAM: PIAZZOLLA: A selection of Tangos; SCHIFRIN: Concierto de la Amistad (world premiere); VILLA-LOBOS: „The Little Train of Caipria” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2.
Ayham Ahmad – The Pianist of Yarmouk
Surrounded by ruins in Syria’s capital Damascus, Ayham Ahmad sings accompanied by an out-of-tune piano about migration, hunger, and death. Threatened by Assad’s regime and ISIS, the Piano Man is silenced and must flee – to Germany. The documentary film The Pianist from Yarmouk tells the story of this Syrian refugee musician. After his arrival in Munich, we follow the life of a man who sang out against the suffering in his country until his instrument was destroyed. His fate stands for that of thousands – robbed of their hopes and dreams and forced to build a new existence.
Zubin Mehta for his 80th – The Gala Concert in Mumbai
On April 29, 2016, Zubin Mehta will celebrate his 80th birthday. On April 17, however, he will offer himself a birthday present of his own, together with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, which has appointed him Musical Director for Life. The event will take place in the new National Centre for the Performing Arts in Mehta’s birthplace, Mumbai, in India.
It will be a celebratory concert with works by three of Mehta’s favorite composers: The program will include Dvoráks “Carnival Overture”, Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin in D major, Op. 61 as well as Ravels’ “La Valse” and the second suite of “Daphnis & Chloé”. Pinchas Zukerman, one of Mehta’s closest colleagues – who has also always had a close connection to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra – will be the soloist.