Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3

Michelangeli Plays Chopin

The legendary Italian pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920 - 1995), playing at the height of his powers, performs Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor and other music by one of the instrument's most brilliant and idiomatic writers, in the famously rare 1962 RAI television recording, newly restored and remastered for this release. Michelangeli's fine control and perfect clarity - always present in his playing - have positioned him among the most outstanding recording artists of any generation. ""His fingers can no more hit a wrong note or smudge a passage than a bullet can be veered off course once it has been fired...""

Carmina Burana - Carl Orff in Venedig

The Choir and Orchestra of the La Fenice Theatre, conducted by Fabio Luisi, take over Piazza San Marco in Venice for a grandiose concert. Facing the basilica, the musicians perform the famous cantata "Carmina burana", twenty-four medieval poems set to music by Carl Orff between 1935 and 1936.

Waldbühne 2017 | Legends of the Rhine

For their annual season end concert, the Berliner Philharmoniker take the audience on a dreamy, magically journey through the river Rhine with Schumann’s beloved 3rd Symphony Rhenish. Pieces from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen under the baton of dynamic conductor Gustavo Dudamel complete this evening.

Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8

Leonard Bernstein made these recordings during his wonderfully productive collaboration with the Wiener Philharmoniker in the mid-1970s when he was at the peak of his career. Humphrey Burton's direction is, as always, very fine, giving the viewer/listener both the larger picture and highlighting individual soloists, players or groups of musicians and, of course, the maestro. The video and audio tracks show their age, but are quite acceptable even for today's standards. Bernstein's Seventh is everything one could desire: dark and spooky, highly sensual, but also structurally strong and assertive where needed. Bernstein's reading does not gloss over breakdowns in tonality and the foreshadowing of later musical developments.

Vivaldi Le Quattro Stagioni

In April 1981 violinist Gidon Kremer performed Vivaldi's Four Seasons leading the English Chamber Orchestra recorded in the baroque library of the monastery in Polling, near Munich. It is, as one would expect from a master violinist, a superbly insightful performance. The sound is resonant and satisfying although surely not true 5.1, and those who wish to have this music on video might well investigate it.

Beethoven Piano Concertos 1-5

These recordings, filmed in March and April 1974 for the BBC, occurred at the tail end of the old performance era and the very start of the new. Vladimir Ashkenazy was a graduate of the same Soviet school of piano playing that produced Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Lazar Berman and a host of others of that era. There are simularities that unite them, including a broad romanticism, a degree of Lisztian showmanship coupled with periods of introspection, powerful technique that occasionally borders on pounding and an intellectual streak that produces some deeply insightful playing. Ashkenazy was younger than the others, more modern in his playing.

Mozart Symphonies Vol. I - Nos. 29,34,35,40,41 and Minuet K.409

There are only a couple of DVD recordings of Mozart's Symphony No. 40. Fortunately, this one by Karl Bohm, recorded live in Vienna's Musikvereinssaal, is excellent, as are the other Mozart symphonies on this DVD. Since this disc offers three of the big six last symphonies of Mozart, Nos. 35 (Haffner), 40, and 41 (Jupiter), plus two more, it is an outstanding value. Despite the age of the recordings (1973-74), both the sound and the video are quite good.

Mozart Symphonies Vol. III - Nos. 28, 33, 39, "Serenata Notturna" and Karl Böhm documentary

Almost any recording of a Mozart symphony by Austrian conductor Karl Bohm (1894-1981) is a sure thing: excellent sound, and sensible, solid, non-sentimental interpretation. This DVD has 3 Mozart Symphonies, all conducted by Bohm: Nos. 33 and 39 with the Vienna Symphony, recorded in Studio-Wien in 1969, and a live 1970 performance of Symphony 28 with the Vienna Philharmonic, filmed in the Musikvereinsalle in Vienna. All 3 symphonies have excellent film quality and sound, although some viewers may prefer Symphony 28, as the presence of a live audience really brings out the best in the Vienna Philharmonic.

Mozart Symphonies Vol. II - Nos. 1,25,31,36,38 and "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik"

In the 1960s Karl Böhm (1894–1981) had made his mark as interpreter of Mozart with the the Berlin Philharmonic. Yet his recordings with the Vienna Symphony demonstrate a mutual sympathy and deep love for this timeless music. The musicians are razor-sharp in attack, harmony, and release. Böhm's style is minimalist: a firm downbeat, a ruffled hand here and there, a slight sway, no mugging. Occasionally, when quite excited, he gives a little hop but immediately pulls himself on a tight leash.

Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 4 & 7; Coriolan Overture

From the very first bars of the Coriolan Overture, it is apparent that this is Beethoven at his very best. Vladimir Jurowski and his absolutely brilliant Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment give us a new reading of old favorites that may well blow you out of your chair. There is plenty to discover: sounds and textures never heard before, an orchestral timbre as the composer himself may have envisaged and heard, incredible strength and cohesion and, on the other hand, sensitive nuances that often disappear under a blanket of massed strings in more traditional interpretations.

The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala

In celebration of its 100th anniversary in 1983, the Metropolitan Opera hosts a four-hour performance uniting some of the world's most spellbinding opera singers and conductors. The event includes a ballet from Samson et Dalila and boasts incredible classical performances from Kathleen Battle, Plácido Domingo, Jose Carerras, Leonard Bernstein, Marilyn Horne, Leona Mitchell, Luciano Pavarotti and many more.

Summer Night Concert: 2014 - Vienna Philharmonic

The renowned orchestra presents the world's biggest annual classical open air concert live from their hometown Vienna, Austria on Thursday, May 29th, 2014. The Summer Night Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic is an annual open-air event that takes place in the magical setting of the Schönbrunn Palace Park in Vienna with the palace as a magnificent backdrop. Everyone is invited to come to this unique occasion with free admission. Each year up to 100,000 people can take up the invitation, or enjoy on radio and TV in over 60 countries.

Waldbühne 2009 | Russian Rhythms

Every year, the Berliner Philharmoniker hold a kind of classical-music fête with a bright, cheerful concert to end the season. In 2009 about 22,000 people had come together at the Berlin Waldbühne to enjoy the traditional summer picnic concert. The theme of the evening was “Russian rhythms”, and star conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Yefim Bronfman, one of the most famous pianists in the world today, presented a superb selection of Russian music. Repertoire Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, op. 71, Overture, The Christmas Tree, March, Pas de deux (Intrada) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, op. 30 Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps Lincke: Berliner Luft

Waldbühne 2010 | An Evening with Renée Fleming

Repertoire Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain; Antonín Dvořák: Song to the Moon from “Rusalka”, Op. 114; Aram Chatschaturjan: Adagio from “Spartacus”; Richard Strauss: Final Scene from “Capriccio”, Op. 85; Richard Wagner: Overture to “Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen”; E. W. Korngold: Mariettas Lied from “Die tote Stadt”; Richard Strauss: Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1; Sir Edward Elgar: Salut d’amour; Giacomo Puccini: Donde lieta uscì from “La bohème”; Tu che di gel sei cinta from “Turandot”; Ruggero Leoncavallo: Musette svaria sulla bocca viva from “La bohème”; Mimì Pinson, la biondinetta from “La bohème”; Piotr Tchaikovsky: “Romeo and Juliet” (Fantasy Overture)

Waldbühne 2011: Fellini, Jazz & Co

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With audiences of more than 20,000, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world. Riccardo Chailly is famous for having one of the broadest and most eclectic repertoires. Here, under his baton, the orchestra presents perennial favourites by Shostakovich, Rota and Respighi. Live recording from the Waldbühne, Berlin, 23 August 2011, directed by Kasten Henning, produced by Jan Bremme. TV Producer: Dorothea Diekmann, RBB. Repertoire Dmitry Shostakovich: Suite No. 2 for Jazz Orchestra (Suite for Variety Orchestra), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Suite – Allegretto; Nino Rota: ‘La Strada’ Ballet Suite; Ottorino Respighi: Fountains of Rome • Pines of Rome • Danza gueresca ‘Belkis’; Paul Lincke: Berliner Luft

Karajan in Rehearsal

Karajan conducts rehearsal and performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 4 with the Vienna Symphony in Vienna, Nov. 1965, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic, January 1966. Henri-Georges Clouzot directs.

Barenboim The Warsaw Recital

Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboims stage début, and as a pianist he has decided to devote this year to the great Romantic master of the keyboard. Fryderyc Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in a small village near Warsaw, and on the eve of the 200th anniversary of this date Barenboim gave this wildly acclaimed Warsaw recital as part of an extensive European tour. Recorded live at the National Philharmonic Hall, Warsaw, the programme presents some of the composers best-known works, including the great B flat minor Sonata with its famous Funeral March, which sounded to many as the composer may well have imagined it. Ive been playing Chopin ever since I was a little boy. On the advice of my father, who was also my teacher, I performed some of his pieces in my very first concert, when I was just seven. At that point I was playing the Etudes and the Nocturnes obviously I didnt try and tackle the larger scale Sonatas or the Fantasy until later.

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol. 1

Beethoven Piano Sonatas Vol. 2