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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem in D minor, K. 626 (Sanctus completed by Robert Levin. All other movements completed by Franz X. Sussmayr, edited by Franz Beyer.)

Anna Prohaska, soprano
Sara Mingardo, alto
Maximilian Schmitt, tenor
Rene Pape, bass

Bavarian Radio Chorus
Swedish Radio Chorus
(chorus master: Peter Dijkstra)
Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Center, Lucerne, 8 and 10 August 2012

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Latin, English, Japanese
Running time: 60 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

He is the most performed contemporary composer in the world. And yet he rarely ventures out in public, prefers to keep quiet about his music, feels at home in the forests of Estonia and generates therewith - perhaps involuntarily - the impression of a recluse, which is attributed to him again and again: Arvo P�rt. Adam's Passion is the moving first collaboration between two "masters of slow motion who harmonize perfectly with each other" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). In the spectacular setting of a former submarine factory, American director and universal artist Robert Wilson creates a poetic visual world in which the mystical musical language of the Estonian composer Arvo P�rt can cast it's meditative spell. The Lost Paradise: In The Lost Paradise, we follow Arvo P�rt over a period of one year in his native Estonia, to Japan and the Vatican. The documentary is framed by the stage production of Adam's Passion in which the artistic visions of Arvo P�rt and Robert Wilson mirror each other. Tracing their creative process, the film offers rare and personal insights into the worlds of two of the most fascinating personalities in the international arts and music scene.

On March 14, 1849, 24-year-old Anton Bruckner finished his first major vocal composition. The only requiem of the composer who would later become the architect of big symphonic "castles in the sky" was still created during his work in St. Florian. Some references to older models and some stylistic incongruities in musical stature still refer to the phase of self-discovery of the young composer. But those who listen closely will certainly discover the passages in which the mystical aura and sublimity of the large orchestral scores shine through already, be it in the gently glowing tone of the Benedictus, the intimate creed of the Agnus Dei or the powerful or the masterfully conceived double fugue of Quam olim Abrahae. It is essentially "Bruckner on the way to Bruckner". Goal in sight, full of auspices. After the Missa Solemnis, released in February 2018, this recording marks the second step in the journey of discovery into the cosmos of Anton Bruckner's seldom heard early works.

Next to the big choral works like the Mass in B minor or the St. John and St. Matthew Passions as well as his a-cappella motets, Johann Sebastian Bach’s over 200 preserved cantatas represent the corpus of his sacred choral and orchestral music. Written in an almost weekly cycle for every Sunday of the Christian year, their musical diversity and beauty is astounding. Among the cantatas, three are written for solo-bass, to which Michael Volle regularly lends his warm yet powerful voice in concerts all around Europe. In December 2016, he recorded them at the Christuskirche Berlin, together with the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin, one of the world’s leading orchestras specialized in historic performance. Michael Volle has established an international reputation as a singer through his long-term engagements at the opera-houses of Mannheim, Bonn, Dusseldorf and Cologne and has made guest appearances at major music festivals and opera houses throughout Europe. He is currently engaged at Zurich Opera.

More than 200 years after its premiere at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Martin Helmchen have congenially mastered the artistic challenge of Beethoven’s gemstone. Under Herbert Blomstedt's sensitive direction, the soloists unite chamber musical intimacy together with virtuoso sophistication – and prove once again that the Triple Concerto is an unduly underestimated, much too rarely programmed masterpiece. With the composer's 5th Symphony, Blomstedt succeeds in achieving an entirely new perspective of this work. In the culmination of his three-year, intensive reenactment of Beethoven’s cosmos, the impressive sound that characterizes the Swedish grand seigneur's conducting is heralded by transparency rather than showmanship, relevance instead of pathos, and tenderness in place of sentimentality.

Recorded live at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig in May 2017, this release features a delightful concert by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and conductor Andris Nelsons. For the program, the conductor has chosen works by Antonin Dvorak, including the Othello Concert Overture, and his famous Symphony No. 9 in E minor- "From the New World." Also featured in this concert is young soprano Kristine Opolais. Acknowledged as one of the most exciting sopranos before the public today, she made her debut in October 2010 at the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich in the title role of the new production of Dvorak's Rusalka directed by Martin Kusej. It seems only fitting that she return to Dvorak for this performance. This recording was made during Andris Nelsons first season as Gewandhauskapellmeister.

After his debut solo album with music by Bach, Bart�k and Boulez, Michael Barenboim's second album is also dedicated to works for solo violin and features compositions by Salvatore Sciarrino, Giuseppe Tartini, Luciano Berio, and Niccol� Paganini, sketching a short history of Italian solo violin literature. The four works seem very heterogenous at first glance but what unites them is their rich technical and stylistic spectrum. The juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary music works creates an inimitable sound cosmos and makes the works by Tartini and Paganini sound incredibly modern alongside 20th-century music. Michael Barenboim creatively navigates the sometimes obsessive and diabolical elements of the works and creates an inspired and unique interpretation. This release was recorded at the Jesus-Christus-Kirche Berlin in June, 2017.

Zhang Cheng was born in China. He began his studies at the Shenzhen Conservatory and from 2007 to 2011 continued at the Texas Christian University School of Music with Tamas Ungar before studying at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Klaus Hellwig. He was advised by Menahem Pressler, Leon Fleisher, Paul Badura-Skoda, Dmitri Bashkirov and Elisso Virsaladze. Zhang Cheng was awarded the Clara Haskil Prize (and the Audience Prize) in 2011 and the Schumann Prize in 2016, prompting him to study the complete canon of his favorite composer. About his preference for Robert Schumann and his music, Zhang Cheng says: “There was no specific moment where I decided that I should study Schumann’s complete oeuvre. The reason that keeps me exploring his music is his humanity. In my opinion, Schumann is an extraordinarily free and generous personality. Most importantly, he allows himself not to be perfect and first and foremost to be who he is. Schumann was also an endless resource of inspiration for me in my search for my own identity.” In Europe, Zhang Cheng has performed at the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Chopin Festival in Nohant, the Verbier Festival, the September Music Festival in Montreux-Vevey, the International Music Festival in Berlin and at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. This recording was realized by Accentus Music in partnership with the Académie France-Chine. The academy was launched in 2018 by the outstanding pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei with the support of Cartier. The purpose of the academy is to promote music education and training, to encourage the emergence of highly talented young artists and to foster cultural exchange between Europe and China.

Dealing with the Bach cantatas is a lifelong and wonderful task and challenge. Despite decades of experience with the works, new aspects are being discovered every day, says Gotthold Schwarz, 17th Thomaskantor after Johann Sebastian Bach. The cantatas on this first recording of the Thomanerchor Leipzig under the musical direction of Schwarz, speak about the human certainty of being secure in and with God (BWV 17: "How a father has mercy on his young children") and the confidence that God will deliver man from all trouble (BWV 33: "I call on thee in whom I trust"). There is no better credo that the Thomanerchor Leipzig and their Thomaskantor could base their joint path on.

Conceived like a solo recital, Michael Barenboim's first solo album features the works of three composers that have had a profound impact on his musical upbringing. On paper, these pieces could not seem any more different, but together they create an unexpectedly astonishing listening experience. J. S. Bach’s Sonata No. 3 for solo violin demands the greatest artistic and technical skills of the violinist and yet its melodic simplicity remains unmatched in its beauty. Béla Bartók’s Sonata Sz.117 was clearly inspired by Bach’s works for solo violin, carrying Bach’s ideas into the music of the 20th century. Filled with contrasts and yet bearing a uniquely poetic aura, the work is equally demanding for the violinist - if not more so - as the Bach. Finally, in his "Anthèmes", Pierre Boulez explores the boundaries of what can actually be played on the violin. The abstractness of Boulez's "Anthèmes 1" is surpassed by "Anthèmes 2", where live electronic elements that Boulez helped to develop at the IRCAM studios in Paris are added into the music. These two works create an entirely new sonic experience that serves as a musical frame for this exceptionally unique and extraordinary recording.

Both already accomplished soloists, violinist Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel began an outstandingly successful collaboration in 2006, devoting their partnership to chamber music and cultivating uncommon repertoire. The music on this album is dedicated to composer Louis Vierne (1870-1937), whose life was marked by unfortunate events and was influenced greatly by the first world war. This album includes Vierne’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, and his Piano Quintet in C minor. Ingolfsson and Stoupel are joined by violinist Rebecca Li, violist Stefan Fehlandt, and cellist Stephan Forck for this recording.

Turandot, the late gem of Italian opera, is a celebration of the sounds and the mythical figures intimately associated with Chinese culture. The dramatic punch of the libretto inspired Giacomo Puccini to imagine a sound world of unusual splendor. The score is entrancing and unique, featuring original Chinese melodies, Asian pentatonic scales, and colorful orchestration with percussion writing that is strongly reminiscent of traditional Asian music. The NCPA’s production of this popular opera is a compelling feast for the senses. Chinese composer Hao Weiya gave this Turandot a new finale, performed for the first time in Beijing. In this captivating staging by director Chen Xinyi and under the musical direction of Daniel Oren an excellent cast offers a unique musical experience.

This new release is an outstanding recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elias. This work was recorded live at Konzerthaus Berlin in July of 2015. Soloists featured include soprano Marlis Petersen, mezzo-soprano Lioba Braun, tenor Maximilian Schmitt, and baritone Thomas Oliemans.

The story of Shakespeare's star crossed lovers has been adapted and retold by composers, librettists, playwrights, and choreographers for centuries. Since the Renaissance, everyone seems to have put their own spin on the story. This release features Vincenzo Bellini's frequently overlooked gem "I Capuleti e i Montecchi." This work is unique in that it is not simply a retelling of Shakespeare's story set to music. Rather, the opera tells the account of the last 24 hours in Romeo and Juliet's lives. Desperation and melancholy draw to a tragic cataclysm as the young lovers choose to end their lives. This production, directed by Christof Loy and conducted by Fabio Luisi, originates in Zurich, and was wonderfully received by both audiences and critics. Joyce DiDonato dazzles in the role of Romeo alongside Ukrainian soprano Olga Kulchynska, who plays Giulietta.

Classical Music