Rising star conductor Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla returns with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to the Royal Albert Hall, setting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony against a world premiere by Gerald Barry. Leila Josefowicz excels as the soloist in Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla is the youngest female conductor to take over one of the world’s leading orchestras: Together with the CBSO, the Music Director from Lithuania – “on the podium a combination of flamboyance and steely poise” (Financial Times) – explores the theme of political and artistic freedom in their concert: Beethoven’s Overture “Leonore” No. 3 celebrates the triumph of truth over tyranny in music of radiant beauty while his Fifth rewrites the rules for the Classical symphony. Allan Clayton’s rendition of Canada, composed by Gerald Barry, completes the programme. “Irresistible!” (The Guardian) PROGRAM Beethoven: Overture ‘Leonore’ No. 3, Symphony No. 5; Stravinsky: Violin Concerto; Barry: Canada
BBC Proms 2017: Rattle conducts Schönberg’s Gurre Lieder
Sir Simon Rattle starts his tenure as the London Symphony Orchestra’s new Music Director with a concert at the prestigious BBC Proms – 40 years after his first appearance with the LSO, in October 1977 at the age of 22. The Royal Albert Hall’s cavernous space provides the perfect surroundings for this supersize scale performance of Arnold Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder. The force of over five hundred voices from the London Symphony Chorus, the CBSO Chorus, and Orfeó Català meet the LSO and a superb lineup of soloists, led by Rattle, putting on “a brilliantly blazing show” (The Daily Telegraph). Their BBC Proms performance is “an intoxicating embrace of the gigantic ebb and flow of Schoenberg’s score … an ecstatic celebration!” (The Guardian)
BBC Proms 2017: András Schiff – The Well-Tempered Clavier (Part I)
Bach specialist Sir András Schiff returns to the BBC Proms in a Piano recital performing Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier (Part I). Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier represents one of Western music’s greatest achievements. Described as the ‘Old Testament’ of the keyboard repertoire, it represents a wealth of musical invention, ingenuity and delight. A supreme technical challenge for any performer, they also offer an astonishing experience for every listener – especially when they are played with the mastery and sensitivity of András Schiff. His recital of the first volume at the BBC Proms is “one of those unforgettable revelations” (Observer).
BR: Mariss Jansons conducts Mahler & Rachmaninov
The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its musical director Mariss Jansons gives ist debut at the Philharmonie de Paris: With Vladimír Sommer’s Antigone, Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, the evening’s programme revolves around the subjects of death, transcendence and the afterlife. Renowned alto and Mahler expert Gerhild Romberger makes Mahler’s ballads a “special and flawless experience” (Wiener Zeitung). The praised Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra shines “bright under their chief conductor Mariss Jansons. Impressive.” (Kurier) PROGRAM Mahler: Kindertotenlieder; Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances; Sommer: Antigone
Quatuor Diotima – Bela Bartók’s Complete String Quartets
At the atmospheric venue of the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, the “brilliant ensemble” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) of the Quatuor Diotima meet the challenge of performing the entire cycle of Béla Bartók’s string quartets. Founded in 1996 by laureates of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, the Diotima Quartet has become one of the world’s most in-demand ensembles. Bartók’s six string quartets, written between 1908 and 1939, are the shortest summaries of his compositional thinking. Limited to four voices and a restricted supply of tonal colours – of which Bartók makes full use – they are of enormous richness and density, which turns every listening into a voyage of iscovery. “The Diotima Quartet performs Bartók’s demanding chamber music with promising commitment, captivating inner activity, depth, poetic finesse and precision.” (Classiquenews)
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Celestial Mechanics
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. Celestial Mechanics brings together the works of the basque composer Ramon Lazkano and his german colleague Matthias Pintscher, who, as different as their musical style may be, share the penchant of getting inspired by nature, the sky, the wind, and the evanescence of all living things.
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Rothko Chapel
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. Rothko Chapel is a musical evening dedicated to the visual arts, which contains reflections not only on the Rothko Chapel in Houston, adorned with 14 paintings by Mark Rothko, but also on works by Markus Lüpertz and Anselm Kiefer.
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Flexible Silence
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. In Flexible Silence, performed at the Théâtre de Chaillot, the Ensemble Intercontemporain becomes part of Saburo Teshigawara’s latest creation. The Japanese choreographer combines the works of two leading 20th century composers, Toru Takemitsu and Olivier Messiaen. Dancers and musicians give an approach to this music as “a sculpture which is born on the spot, which keeps moving and disappearing” (S. Teshigawara)
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Genesis
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. Genesis has especially been commissioned on the occasion of the Ensemble’s 40th anniversary. Consisting of seven orders to seven composers, each one based on one day from the biblical genesis, it aims to question the concept of creation in various nuances.
Ensemble Intercontemporain – Grand Soir Stravinsky
In the year of its 40th anniversary, the Ensemble Intercontemporain, famous for its performances of 20th and 21st century music, presented five very special programmes at the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre de Chaillot in Paris, each one of them dealing with its own particular subject. The single works performed in the 5 concerts are available as 23 individual films. The Grand Soir Stravinsky is dedicated to the legendary 20th century composer Igor Stravinsky, featuring his burlesque pocket-size opéra-ballet Renard, written in 1916.