Pianist Bruce Liu is the winner of the prestigious 2021 Chopin Competition and has been on the path of a stellar career ever since. Influenced by different cultures, he developed into one of the most musically expressive and technically gifted pianists of his generation. Bruce Liu made his grand debut in his native Paris with a Chopin program at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
RCO: Gardiner conducts Brahms Symphony No. 3
Who was Johannes Brahms? In a new cycle of four concerts, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, is investigating Brahms’s œuvre through the lens of the four symphonies performed over two seasons and accompanied by other works by the composer. The Third Symphony is juxtaposed with choral works sang by the Monteverdi Choir. Under the baton of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Brahms is instilled with a new radiance and vitality. PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No. 1, Choral Works
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, by Chi-chi Nwanoku
Chi-chi Nwanoku CBE, the double-bassist and founder of the extraordinary Chineke! Orchestra, explores the remarkable and tragic story of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – one of the greatest composers of the early 20th century (born 1875, died 1912). “He was brilliant, he was British, and he was black.” She asks why he’s been forgotten and questions the ongoing lack of diversity in the world of classical music. World-renowned for his choral work ‘The Song of Hiawatha’, Coleridge-Taylor – a contemporary of Elgar, Holst, and Vaughan-Williams – also enjoyed fame in America for his arrangements of negro spirituals, and was invited to the White House in 1904 by President Theodore Roosevelt – a rare honour for a man of colour so soon after the abolition of slavery in the USA.
RCO: Myung-whun Chung conducts Mahler 5
Myung-whun Chung adds a new chapter to the Concertgebouw Orchestra’s deep bond with Mahler’s kaleidoscopic Fifth Symphony. The Concertgebouw Orchestra has given no fewer than 127 performances of this symphony, the first time under the baton of the composer himself in 1906.
Sleeping Beauty – A ballet by Christian Spuck
In 1890, Sleeping Beauty, choreographed by Marius Petipa, was premiered in St. Petersburg with Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s immortal music. In his version for Ballett Zürich, Christian Spuck revives the ballet classic in his own personal artistic style. He takes the old Sleeping Beauty story and scrutinizes every aspect of it. With a great deal of humor, Christian Spuck addresses the complex process of growing up, relating themes such as generational conflicts with one’s parents, the difficulties of becoming a mature adult, and, last but not least, love and sexuality. Whenever possible, he frees the characters from their traditional role clichés. Petipa’s version becomes a model that Christian Spuck occasionally cites yet repeatedly questions and counteracts with irony and occasionally irritating moments.
RCO: Mäkelä conducts Mozart & Sibelius
The Finnish conductor Klaus Mäkelä, who will become the orchestra’s eighth Chief Conductor in 2027, is leading the orchestra in Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony and in Mozart’s emotional Requiem: it’s fascinating music surrounded by speculation. The work thus became a requiem for Mozart himself, as well as a universally loved masterpiece which still serves as a source of comfort, reflection and pure listening pleasure to many. Jean Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony, a work full of menace and darkness – yet the work is not all doom and gloom: Sibelius’s Fourth contains beautiful moments of hope, light and mystery. PROGRAM Sibelius: Symphony No. 4; Mozart: Requiem
Hope on the Road – Ireland
Daniel Hope is on a very personal journey: At the wheel of an old Morris Traveller, the internationally acclaimed violinist explores Ireland, Irish music – and the history of his family. His first stop takes Daniel Hope to medieval Kilkenny, where he meets the „Queen of the Irish Harp,“ Siobhan Armstrong. She explains to him how the harp became a symbol of resistance to foreign domination. He continues on to ocean-washed Galway on the west coast, the capital of street music. This is the home of Seán Smyth, fiddler of the band Lunasa and master of Irish folk. And, of course, there‘s Dublin, where Daniel Hope premieres a piece by the long-forgotten Irish composer Ina Boyle with the National Symphony Orchestra. The emotional highlight of the trip is the violinist‘s visit to Waterford. Here, together with his father, the writer Christopher Hope, he sets out to find the last address of his great-grandfather Danny McKenna: „Without this Danny, I might never have discovered the violin for myself. Because it was only because of him that we were entitled to an Irish passport when my father had to leave South Africa because of his opposition to the apartheid regime. And it was only because of that Irish passport that we were able to settle in London, where my mother found a job with Yehudi Menuhin, the violinist of the century.“ Daniel Hope‘s journey through Ireland thus also becomes a journey to his own roots.
Hollywood in Vienna – A Celebration of Disney Classics featuring Alan Menken
Alan Menken, is one of Hollywood’s most successful film composers and a true Disney legend. Alan Menken wrote melodies that are known around the globe and are beloved by generations. Stars from Broadway and West End pay tribute to 8-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken with a spectacular gala concert. Menken’s longtime music director, Michael Kosarin, conducts the ORF Radio-Symphony Orchestra Vienna. The program for the gala includes highlights of Alan Menken’s career including, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tangled, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pocahontas.
Jan Lisiecki plays Chopin
Polish-Canadian star pianist Jan Lisiecki together with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra play the two enchanting Piano concertos by Frédéric Chopin and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, in one of Oslo’s most beautiful venues: the University of Oslo’s ceremonial hall. Edvard Munch completed his Aula paintings in 1916, and they have decorated the walls of the Aula ever since. It is also home of Det Norske Kammerorkester (DNK), the most famous chamber orchestra in Oslo that was founded in 1977. The ensemble was founded by violinist Bjarne Fiskum, who got the idea after a summer course for young string talents in the summer of 1975. Polish-Canadian Jan Lisiecki is considered one of the most promising young pianists in the world. As the youngest musician ever he received Gramophone’s Young Artist Award in 2013. PROGARM Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2; Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony
Jonas Kaufmann: Christmas with Friends
For the third time, the star tenor invites viewers to „Christmas with Jonas Kaufmann“ on Christmas Eve on ZDF – this time to one of Germany‘s most traditional „Christmas regions,“ the Erzgebirge. The festively illuminated candle arches and revolving Christmas pyramids are world-famous examples of the traditional craftsmanship and carving art of this region. The magnificent St. Annenkirche church in Annaberg-Buchholz, richly decorated with works of art, is the setting for a concert with a prominent cast. In addition to top stars of classical music, artists from the pop genre spread a joyful and festive mood for the holiday with Christmas songs. In small detours, Jonas Kaufmann also lead the audience to other sights of the region, from a carving school to a historic hammer mill, from a lace-making workshop to the tunnels of a historic mine – and of course he also visits one of the major Christmas markets.