The appeal of Margarethe Wallmann’s »Tosca« production has stood the test of time since 1958. The staging has also garnered interest on account of its symbolic allure with the impressive number of renowned artistic personalities who have appeared before the Viennese audience in this very production with these very decorations and in these very costumes in memorable performances. The gallery of outstanding performers will now be continued with Viennese role debut of international audience favourite: Anna Netrebko as Tosca. “Anna Netrebko as Tosca in Vienna: fan-tastic!” (Kurier)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – A Ballet by John Neumeier
Choreographer John Neumeier created his version of Sommernachtstraum in 1977 and the piece has been a steady part of the Hamburg Ballet’s repertory. Proof lies in its unique and thoughtful, virtuosic approach to developing drama. After all, the complex mixture of musical layers would be worth a separate panel discussion. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s atmospheric musical score for Sommernachtstraum reflects the world of the mortals, while Györgi Ligeti’s siren-esque organ pieces bring to mind the fairy kingdom depicted in Shakespeare’s play. The craftsmen’s dance is underlined by dominant opera paraphrases for the barrel organ which satirize even the noblest melodies. As with the musical layers, together with his stage- and costume designer Jürgen Rose, Neumeier mixes the historical settings cleverly. What would be more suited to the sounds of Mendelsohn’s score than a sweet Biedermeier set? An olive tree is a perfect symbol of the antique, mythology and fairy tales in one. John Neumeier’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream always has been a wonderful representation of an full-length classical ballet made in the ladder half of the 20th century, the 1970s in Germany.
Serenata Latina – Rolando Villazón & Xavier de Maistre
At the beautiful Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, Rolando Villazón partners with star French harpist Xavier de Maistre for a concert of intimate arrangements of Latin American songs for tenor and harp. Latin American song-writing, where indigenous, European and African cultures meet, offers a tantalising collage of sounds, rhythm, melody and narrative.
Rachlin conducts Tchaikovsky
Pianist Denis Matsuev and his good friend, the violinist Julian Rachlin, perform in the venerable Moscow Conservatory. On this occasion, the artists dare to try something new: instead of his violin, Julian Rachlin reaches for the conductor’s baton to conduct a piece which he, with his violin, would neve approach. Together and for the first time, they give an interpretation of a work put to paper by Tchaikovsky in the Moscow of 1874: his Piano Concerto No. 1 as well as the Symphony No. 5.
Julian Rachlin & Denis Matsuev in Moscow
Pianist Denis Matsuev and his good friend, the violinist Julian Rachlin, perform in the venerable Moscow Conservatory. On this occasion, the artists dare to try something new: instead of his violin, Julian Rachlin reaches for the conductor’s baton to conduct a piece which he, with his violin, would neve approach. Together and for the first time, they give an interpretation of a work put to paper by Pyotr Tchaikovsky in the Moscow of 1874: his Piano Concerto No. 1. The film accompanies the rehearsals and concert which, together with the youthful and vibrant energy of the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, turns out to be very special indeed.
Magic Moments of Music – Nigel Kennedy and the Four Seasons
It is a recording that is shaking up the classical music scene. Suddenly, an audience feels addressed that until then had heard little of classical music, of Bach or Vivaldi. Nigel Kennedy succeeds in overcoming the fears of an audience for whom Schubert and Beethoven had previously been too elitist and too aloof. He inspires as many and as varied people as probably few classical music stars before him. The CD with a recording of the Four Seasons becomes the best-selling classical album of all time. Nigel Kennedy enter the Guinness Book of Records: more than 3 million records sold. The album stays at the top of the UK classical charts for over a year and also reaches high positions in the pop charts. The tabloids and magazines pounce on the young artist. The recording of this tour, which sells out within minutes, becomes one of music‘s finest moments. With wildly gelled hair and in unusual designer garb, Nigel Kennedy appears before his audience. He succeeds in addressing his listeners simply, without airs and graces, and in introducing them to his world without creating any hurdles.
RCO: Dudamel conducts Mozart & Mahler
After an absence of more than seven years, Gustavo Dudamel returns to the Concertgebouworkest. And how! For the first time, he will be leading the Amsterdam-based orchestra with its illustrious Mahler tradition in a symphony by Gustav Mahler. Relative to the rest of Mahler’s œuvre, the Symphony No. 4 is comparatively short, airy in tone and lightly scored, yet it is no less ambitious in its conception – the final movement, entitled Das himmlische Leben, is a childlike vision of heaven. It is sung in this performance by the Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling. PROGRAM Mozart: Overture “Die Zauberflöte”; Mahler: Symphony No. 4
RCO: Pappano conducts Beethoven & Schumann
Igor Levit returns to the Concertgebouworkest to perform Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano. The outstanding Russian–German pianist made his Concertgebouworkest debut in April 2018. Levit’s performance was ‘self-assured and challenging’, wrote De Volkskrant of his performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto ones again provides an opportunity for another exciting partnership. PROGRAM Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Schumann: Symphony No. 2
Magic Moments of Music – Martha Argerich in Warsaw
Martha Argerich’s appearance at the 1965 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw marks the beginning of an incomparable career. With her flowing hair and impetuous and mysterious demeanour, the 24-year-old Argentinian conquers the hearts of everyone present. For much of the competition, however, her victory is far from certain. Her closest competitor is Arthur Moreira Lima from Brazil. It comes down to the final performance of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto, and a legend is born. The film includes excerpts from the dramatic musical duel between Martha Argerich and Arthur Moreira Lima, and from Martha Argerich’s interpretation of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto in Warsaw forty-five years later. We also hear from close friends of Martha Argerich, including the conductor Daniel Barenboim, pianists Gabriela Montero and Sophie Pacini, violinist Gidon Kremer, her competitor Arthur Moreira Lima, the Polish star pianist Rafal Blechacz, who won first prize in the Chopin Competition in 2005, and other people present at the competition in 1965.
LSO: Harding conducts Dvorak and Widmann
Voices of nature and fabulous tales: Daniel Harding and viola player Antoine Tamestit explore the imaginary realms of Jörg Widmann and Antonin Dvorák. With the music of Antonín Dvorák, there’s always something unexpected going on beneath the gloriously tuneful surface. A gothic Czech folk-tale takes on a truly universal resonance; and an open-hearted celebration of the Bohemian countryside blossoms into something rapturous, in colors reminiscent of Strauss or Mahler. And since Dvorák was a viola player, what better way to set the mood than with the Viola Concerto by Jörg Widmann – the 21st century’s most playful (and inventive) descendant of that great Romantic tradition? ‘Even with the viola’s C-string alone, you can tell stories unimaginable on any other string instrument’, he says, and he wrote this piece, especially for Antoine Tamestit. Music that dreams and then dazzles, performed by artists who just love the sound it makes. Program: Widmann: Viola Concerto; Dvorák: In der Natur, The Golden Spinning Wheel