Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony is perhaps the darkest work he ever wrote-it's nickname is "The Tragic." And there is something almost destructive about the final movement. "But strangely enough," says Simon Rattle, "it is also a very classical symphony. Yes, it is extreme, but for long stretches it is less wild than other works of his-although of course it does convey a harrowing message. But it's like a lot of great works: there are always different ways of reading them. I've been conducting the Sixth for forty years now, and over time I've come to realise that it also contains hope." Mahler composed his Sixth Symphony during the summers of 1903 and 1904 at his "composer's cottage" in Maiernigg, near Klagenfurt. At the Vienna performance in 1907 (the third under his baton), he called it the "Tragic Symphony"-a nickname that soon became the stuff of legend. In particular, the darkness and devastating hopelessness of the finale-written at a time when he was at the high point of his life, both professionally and personally-are puzzling. Even his wife Alma could not quite explain the contradiction. As always, it was in and through music that Mahler came to terms with his experiences, exploring themes such as farewell, the meaning of existence, death, redemption, the afterlife, and love. More than other Mahler works, the Sixth Symphony is committed to "classical" symphonic form: it is in four movements and has no vocal parts. Despite all the liberties it takes, the opening movement follows sonata form. The Andante draws on the rondo form, as do the Scherzo and the Finale. Very unusually, even the Scherzo has march-like features and seems like a parodistic paraphrase of the opening, with a change of perspective. The march, which sets the tone from the very first note of the first movement, plays a major role.

It is difficult to say anything about Mozart's famous Requiem – the masterpiece having been described and analysed all too often. It is known to almost everyone in the world, either in its entirety or in large parts, or is familiar to them at the very least from its title. Almost everybody has come into contact with the Requiem’s music, whether from the concert hall or merely from watching Miloš Forman's 1984 film drama "Amadeus". What breathes new life into this work and this music time and again are congenial performances with outstanding casts. A true highlight in the performance history of the Requiem was Mariss Jansons' interpretation of it in May 2017, which absolutely delighted the Munich concert audience and was also highly acclaimed by the trade press. Under Jansons' direction, the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks gave of their best, with an excellent quartet of vocal soloists rounding off the outstanding ensemble. This made the performances of Mozart's Requiem in the popular completed version by his student Süßmayr a truly memorable experience.

The live recording from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz was made on May 11 and 12, 2017 and has now been released on a single CD by BR-KLASSIK.

What made Mariss Jansons different from many of his colleagues? What was the key to his success? And most importantly, after all his artistic experiences, what brought about his maturity and artistic completion In addition to his own willpower and his work ethic, his extraordinary musical life was determined by many factors; they included an open-minded and supportive environment, and an orchestra of outstanding musicians. One important aspect was certainly the fact that Jansons despised any kind of routine. Even when rehearsing Beethoven's Eroica for the umpteenth time, he was always inspired anew by the work - discovering the as yet undiscovered. Routine would have prevented any change in his perspective, and hampered his enthusiasm. Moreover there was Jansons' meticulous and analytical approach to his work, which started long before he mounted the podium. He began by reading biographical information on the composer, scholarly information on the work, texts about its era and its milieu - everything he could lay his hands on. During rehearsals, he then passed on his profound knowledge and his resulting interpretive approach to the musicians. Jansons considered it his task, as early as the first rehearsal, to bring all the musicians up to the same level of knowledge. He wanted them to understand his thought processes, to recognise the explained concept behind the work and, ideally, to be able to feel the same way during their performance as he did on the podium. In the concerts, this synchronous implementation by one hundred musicians of the musical content of a work and of the concept inherent in it duly brought about that incredible pull that almost all of Janson's interpretations exert(ed) on his listeners. In addition to this collective aspect of everyone pulling together, Jansons also worked on the sound that is genuine for each composer. In this regard, for instance, he condemned accusations of kitsch where Tchaikovsky's music was concerned. He was aware of the danger of music being played too sweetly. For him, it was simply Tchaikovsky played wrongly, and was like pouring "sugar into honey". It meant a lot to Jansons to bring out the emotions in Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, of course - the emotional drama, the tragedy, the depression - but he would never force, exaggerate or emphasise them merely for the sake of effect. When the Sixth is performed as sensitively as it is by Jansons, Tchaikovsky's music acquires its true depth of meaning. "A conductor," said Mariss Jansons, "is like a director on the podium" – he analyses, stages and interprets the work. This principle, resulting from his opera conducting, was one that he transferred to the many levels of meaning in symphonic music, and here he developed a kind of directorial concept with precise approaches to interpretation. Works such as Stravinsky's Petrushka or Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique were primarily suited to this, because as programme music they sparked the visual imagination and demanded a certain musical "realism". He wanted the fairground music in Petrushka to sound shrill and out of tune, and asked the musicians to have the courage to articulate their part in just the same manner, rather than trimming it to the expectations of high culture. The contrabassoon was to play roughly, even vulgarly. Jansons was against any attempt to make the music sound pleasant here – he wanted the orchestral barrel-organ to sound out of tune, and the symphonically portrayed drunken passer-by to sound very drunk indeed. Similarly, in Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, the March to the Scaffold passes us by as a musically realistic nightmare, gripping right to the end – when the head of the executed man, severed by the guillotine, falls very audibly to the ground. Jansons also worked especially intensively on modifying the sound of the strings, above all when a phrase had to assume a subtle and psychologically important function. He differentiated playing styles very precisely in individual passages - rough, melancholy, brisk, cynical, gloating, whispering, giggling or radiant – and here he particularly influenced the bow stroke, the pressure on the string and the stroke length.

In addition to his symphonies, Anton Bruckner is best known for his sacred works: his stirring masses and his deeply moving a cappella motets. On this new BR-KLASSIK CD, to mark the Bruckner Year 2024, the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the Münchner Rundfunkorchester conducted by Peter Dijkstra present his Mass No. 2 together with five well-known motets and the two short Aequali for three trombones from 1847. The new studio recordings were made in connection with the opening concert of the 2023/24 season on October 28, 2023. On a second CD, "Bruckner's World" by Markus Vanhoefer offers not only an introduction to the recorded works but also a detailed description of the life and work of this important Late Romantic composer.

After Bruckner's uncommissioned Mass (No. 1) in D minor had brought him to the attention of a wider public – following its premiere on November 20, 1864 in the Old Cathedral in Linz and a repeat performance in the city’s Redoutensaal – Bishop Franz Joseph Rudigier commissioned a second mass from the composer. Bruckner wrote the work between August and November 1866, and it was to be premiered at the consecration of the Votive Chapel of the New Cathedral; due to delays in the construction work, however, the performance could not take place until September 29, 1869. The premiere of the Mass (No. 2) in E minor for eight-part mixed choir and wind ensemble was also a great success, and Bruckner described it as “the most glorious day” of his life. The unusual instrumentation was due to the occasion and the open-air performance venue on the cathedral building site (the new chapel had proven too small for the choir). The work derives its particular tension from the sharp contrasts between archaic, psalm-like monophony and a strictly polyphonic movement structure modeled on Palestrina, combined with the "modern" wind accompaniment in sweeping, romantic harmony.

Bruckner thoroughly revised the Mass (No. 2) between 1876 and 1882, and the premiere of the second version in the Old Cathedral on October 4, 1885, as part of the Diocesan Jubilee in Linz, was once again an outstanding success. The composer "stood at the organ during the performance and gazed rapturously at the vault of the cathedral, his lips moving in silent prayer."

Bruckner's sacred motets are characterized by Catholic worship and the church spaces that were Bruckner's home from childhood. In 1837, at the age of 13, he was admitted as a choirboy to the Augustinian canons' monastery of Sankt Florian near Linz, where he worked as an organist from 1848 to 1855. His religious devotion and early influence meant that he initially saw himself as a church musician, before broadening his scope to include symphonic music - in whose sound architecture the organ also found an audible echo.

Puccini's music touches the hearts of millions. But how well do we really know the man, his work, and his era? What was his life like? What shaped his genius? This new audio biography from BR-KLASSIK - vividly and captivatingly narrated by Udo Wachtveitl and accompanied by lush music - offers the answers. When Mim� utters her last words, Tosca throws herself on her dead lover, or Cio Cio San takes her child in her arms once more, opera audiences worldwide reach for tissues. This was Puccini's goal: far piangere - "to make people cry." His success in this brought him immense fame and fortune, but how did he craft such enduring art? This audio biography reveals the perfectionist behind the works, a man who spent years refining his operas to make them feel as if they were part of real life. Puccini's personal life is often reduced to his notorious passions for women, cars, and hunting, along with the tragedy surrounding the suicide of his maid, Doria Manfredi. He was undoubtedly a "macho" through and through, but as he confided to his soulmate Sybil Seligman, "not even my friends know who I really am." In this audio biography, with it's many quotations, Puccini shares numerous aspects of his story himself, often surprising listeners with his humour, self-deprecation, and critical reflection (though his behaviour remained unchanged). We hear of his affairs, miseries, joys, and struggles. We accompany him on his bicycle, aboard an ocean liner, duck hunting, in family disputes, and in moments of triumph in New York. And we witness his country - Italy, tragically torn by crisis and eventually sliding into war and fascism. The main focus, however, is his music, and not just his famous arias and operas. From the church music of his student days to experimental stage works like La Fanciulla del West and Il Trittico, this audio biography charts the remarkable development of his career and uncovers many musical gems.

You don't have to like every composer - but there's no getting around J. S. Bach. The successful series of BR-KLASSIK audio biographies is now devoted to this central star of the musical firmament. His sparsely documented life leaves plenty of room for the imagination in works of fiction, but the authentic sources – well narrated – are just as captivating in every way. "If ever a tone artist brought the hidden secrets of harmony into the most artistic execution, it was undoubtedly our Bach.” (from the Necrology published by C.P.E. Bach in 1754). Son of a town piper, organist, concertmaster, Kapellmeister, then Thomaskantor in Leipzig for 27 years. Married twice, 20 children. Active in Thuringia and Saxony. When compared with the spectacular biography of Handel (BR-KLASSIK 900911), this one seems rather short on excitement – yet Bach's biography also provides a fascinating insight into an age that is very distant and foreign to us today. An age of proud, aspiring cities, magnificent courts, simple-minded town councillors, music-loving but unpredictable princes, church music that was already somewhat antiquated, and fashionable instrumental music from France and Italy. Bach moves confidently in the field of tension created by these opposing worlds – while creating music that surpasses that of all his contemporaries in terms of its artistry, depth and expressiveness. In Leipzig, Bach intends to raise church music to a completely new level and place it on a par with theology; he wants it to be multi-layered and speak directly to the faithful. Only a few years later, however, this initial enthusiasm wanes. Headstrong and uncompromising by nature, he now becomes restless and dissatisfied due to his frustrating battles with the petty town authorities. He composes a lot of secular music once again, seeks contact with the Dresden court, and finally retreats into his very own world to fathom the final "secrets of harmony". For all its modesty, therefore, the story of Bach's life is nevertheless magnificent, moving, and sometimes even shocking. This audio biography gets as close to the protagonist as the sources allow, also bringing his environment to life – the princes, churchmen and town councillors, and his friends and adversaries. In addition, we are introduced to the frequently bizarre everyday world of the 18th century: not always edifying church services, terrible transportation, lavish dining and drinking, or the horrors of an eye operation. At the centre of it all, however, is the music. "He should not be called brook (in German: Bach) but sea," Beethoven once apparently said, "because of his infinite inexhaustible wealth of tone combinations and harmonies." The numerous musical examples in this audio biography are densely interwoven with the narrative, and literally immerse the listener in this boundless abundance. Famed as an actor in the popular German detective series “Tatort”, Udo Wachtveitl is also a music lover and long-time narrator of the BR audio biographies. He regards the "structure behind music" as highly important, so Bach's life and work are a special source of inspiration to him. The Jena-born and currently highly regarded actor Albrecht Schuch ("All Quiet on the Western Front” plays the role of Johann Sebastian Bach, and several other outstanding BR narrators also shine in a wide variety of roles – making this audio biography a real treat!

A young female singer in 17th-century Venice: she is a virtuoso and extremely charming, and the gentlemen of her select audience are at her feet. They call her the "Singing Venus". But Barbara Strozzi wants more: she regularly publishes her compositions – more than any woman before her. The new BR-KLASSIK audio biography tells her story.

Until the 20th century, female composers had a hard time in a male-dominated art. And in historiography for even longer: it was not until 1978 that a female American musicologist published the first specialist article on Barbara Strozzi. Today, it is generally accepted that she is one of the most important voices in the history of vocal chamber music. She is featured on a growing number of CDs, concert programmes and websites. However, although research has begun, a lively account of her life and work, accessible to a wider audience, has been lacking.

This audio biography brings together all the key documents and research that represent her – and also vividly introduces us to the unique cultural space in which the composer lived. The exuberance of Carnival, the development of the fledgling art of opera, and Venice - the"città galante"- are all linked to the phenomenon of"Barbara Strozzi" and her art. Listeners unfamiliar with this music are invited to rediscover lost treasures – and to get to know one of the great women of music history. Wiebke Puls, an actress at the Münchner Kammerspiele and a singer herself, lends her voice to Barbara Strozzi.

What does the work of a conductor actually involve? They move their hands, arms, and whole body; they make use of their eyes and facial expressions - and they also sing and speak (only during rehearsals, of course). Being able to follow a conductor's interpretation makes for an exciting process, and conveys the basic idea behind a work far more vividly at the same time.

"Conductors in Rehearsal" is a BR-KLASSIK series that takes a closer look at the “orchestral workshop”. One can experience first-hand how the conductor's wishes and instructions are implemented, how their explanations and temperament change the resulting sound, and what concepts lie behind the interpretation of the work. Thanks to this series - which also now being released on album - the special collaboration between Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra can be documented. The second box set presented by BR-KLASSIK documents four rehearsals for concerts in the Munich Philharmonie im Gasteig and the Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich, taken from different phases of the collaboration between Mariss Jansons’ work with the BRSO.

What does the work of a conductor actually involve? He moves his hands, arms, his whole body, he makes use of his eyes and facial expressions - and he also sings and speaks, but only during rehearsals, of course. Being able to follow a conductor's interpretation makes for an exciting process, and conveys the basic idea behind a work far more vividly at the same time. "Conductors in Rehearsal" is a BR-KLASSIK series that takes a closer look at the “orchestral workshop”. One can experience first-hand how the conductor's wishes and instructions are implemented, how his explanations and his temperament change the resulting sound, and what concepts lie behind the interpretation of the work. Thanks to this series - which also now being released on album - the special collaboration between Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra can be documented. The first set presented by BR-KLASSIK documents four rehearsals for concerts in the Munich Philharmonie im Gasteig, taken from different phases of the collaboration between Mariss Jansons’ work with the BRSO.

Handel's journey from Halle via Hamburg, Rome and Hanover to London is the story of an unprecedented ascent: from the auxiliary organist to the child of the High Aristocracy, from the courtly conductor to the free-lancing artist in the most exciting cultural metropolis of Europe. At the age of 26, he was a European celebrity, claiming to be a leading opera composer in the hard-fought music market of London, through his activities for the royal house and his church music, which also played a political role in the Anglican state religion: the king was the head of the church and The glorification of God served at the same time to represent its temporal power. The dramaturgically directed effect of Handel's mighty splendor could and cannot escape. In Jörg Handsteins audiobiography "The Power of Music" in nine chapters and on a total of 3 albums you can hear about the life of Handel, his most famous and most important compositions are heard, which are closely interwoven with the very exciting biography. The numerous musical examples are from well-known interpreters, choirs and orchestras - all of them important baroque specialists. A lively, music-rich portrait of Handel and his time - strictly according to the original sources, but always alive and narrated and inspired.

For the first time, the successful series of BR-KLASSIK audio biographies is devoting itself to a 20th-century composer: Dmitri Shostakovich. His symphonies are still highlights in the concert hall, and his fate has inspired great novels. But what do we really know about his life? He liked to play his cards close to his chest – and had good reason to do so... Dmitri Shostakovich himself claimed that his life was “rather grey and colorless". In reality, it was the most exciting composer's life of the 20th century. Revolution and civil war, Stalin's murderous terror, then the Second World War, the "thaw" under Khrushchev and finally Brezhnev's brutalist socialism: the whole tragic history of the Soviet Union runs like a thread through his work. As a functionary who seemed to be loyal to the party line, he played along - but his music spoke against the regime and in favor of its victims and of the freedom of art. "This is a game that can end badly," Stalin threatened, probably in person. Shostakovich was thus obliged to fight his own fears as well. He was playing a double game - and knew it was dangerous. This audio biography draws on many sources, some of them still little-known in Germany. The result is a comprehensive, colorful and detailed picture of the composer’s life, and contains several surprises – also with regard to his private life, which should not pale behind the historical panorama. Like every great composer, Shostakovich had his crises and affairs, his great sufferings and small joys.

In the complete edition compiled by BR-KLASSIK, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of its long-time principal conductor Mariss Jansons explores Mahler's symphonic œuvre. This complete recording of Mahler's impressive symphonies is further enhanced by revealing rehearsal recordings and interesting interviews. In his nine symphonies, Gustav Mahler built up an entire world for himself and his listeners. More than almost any other composer, he tried in his symphonic works to get to the very bottom of the cycle of life, that eternal process of becoming and expiring – so what better complete set of symphonies to express the finest qualities of a modern-day conductor and the unique sound of a leading orchestra?

Mariss Jansons found simple and clear words to express what it was that so fascinated and moved him about Mahler's music throughout his life. He said that the composer’s work always related to what was universal and contained absolutely everything that exists in the world. In his symphonies, said Jansons, Mahler captured nature, faith, love, death, pain, tragedy, happiness, humor, utopia, irony, sarcasm - everything that makes up human existence. Jansons regarded his music as posing questions that ultimately every thinking person has to ask, and everyone can find something in it where they recognize themselves as if in a mirror. There are nevertheless no definitive answers in Mahler, "nothing triumphant that is at one with itself." When he first encountered Mahler’s music, this experience struck Jansons like a bolt from the blue. Gradually, he developed into one of the leading Mahler conductors of his era. The fact that he had the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks as a partner here – an orchestra that can look back on a long Mahler tradition - was certainly a very fortunate coincidence.

BR-KLASSIK is dedicating a second portrait edition to the eminent Dutch conductor Bernard Haitink, containing a total of 9 CDs. Bernard Haitink died in October 2021; he would have turned 95 in March 2024.

These exceptional live recordings document the long-standing and intensive collaboration between Bernard Haitink, the Bavarian Radio Chorus, and the BRSO. Since Haitink conducted a subscription concert for the first time in 1958, he repeatedly led the BRSO for over six decades—sometimes in the Herkulessaal of the Residenz, sometimes in the Philharmonie im Gasteig. The orchestras’ musicians and singers were just as happy to work with him as the Bayerischer Rundfunk’s sound engineers.

The box set includes complete recordings of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (CD 1) from 2019, Bruckner‘s Symphonies No. 4 (CD 2) from 2012, No. 7 (CD 3) from 1981, and No. 8 (CD 4 / CD 5) from 1993, as well as his Te Deum (CD 4) from 2010. Also featured are Dvořák‘s Symphony No. 7 from 1981 and his Scherzo Capriccioso (CD 6) from 1981, Mahler‘s Symphony No. 7 (CD 7) from 2011, and Shostakovich's Symphonies No. 8 (CD 8) from 2006 and No. 15 (CD 9) from 2015.

Kyrill Kondraschin and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks: what had been planned as a happy relationship between the significant representative of the Russian conducting school and the first class Munich ensemble ended tragically with the sudden death of the conductor before he could assume the position of Chief Conductor of the orchestra. All the more significant is thus this sound document. The live recording made at concerts in Munich’s Herkulessaal comprises an exciting program that juxtaposes two late romantic works from different symphonic cultures: Rimsky Korsakov’s “Russian Easter” Overture and César Franck’s only symphony, in D minor.

From the outset, Sir Simon Rattle's conducting career has been marked by a spirit of innovation and renewal - and contemporary music in all it's facets continues to play a significant role in his work. So it was only natural that, upon taking up his post as chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra, he should dedicate a concert to musica viva. The programme featured the world premiere of Vito �uraj's "Automatones" as well as Luciano Berio's "Coro". Sir Simon Rattle has conducted the latter piece several times before, but this performance marks the first recording under his baton. This is due to the unique demands that the composition places on recording technology: choir singers and orchestra musicians are positioned in pairs on the podium to overcome the visual and acoustic separation of choir and orchestra voices. This presented a particular challenge to the Bavarian Radio recording team, but they rose to it successfully, as can be heard on the new CD from BR-KLASSIK. Composed between 1975 and 1976, Luciano Berio's "Coro", for forty voices and orchestra, takes anonymous folk poems by the Sioux, the Navajo and the Zuni, as well as song texts from Polynesia, Peru, Croatia, Venice, Piedmont, Chile, and the Song of Solomon - all of them reflecting the deeply human urge for freedom - and combines them with the moving poetry of Pablo Neruda, whose death coincided with the bloody suppression of the Allende democracy in Chile by Augusto Pinochet in September 1973.

Helmut Lachenmann, who celebrates his 90th birthday in the music year of 2025, has composed several milestones in contemporary classical music. Sir Simon Rattle and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra are dedicating themselves to some of these exceptional works. In his tuba concerto Harmonica, Helmut Lachenmann explores the limits of sound - with music that oscillates between eruption and silence, by means of "strictly constructed denial" (Lachenmann) and by deliberately disrupting the familiar, and eludes socially preformed listening expectations. This appeal to the audience's self-awareness remains as relevant as ever. The soloist is Stefan Tischler, principal tuba player of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the live recording with the BRSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle was made on March 22, 2025. Klangschatten - mein Saitenspiel by Helmut Lachenmann deals with the "verso" of sound, it's suppressed and "unwelcome" components. The spectrum here ranges from toneless or muffled sounds to differently coloured noise and clear tones. Lachenmann himself described the piece as " an offer of expressive intensity that reflects the bourgeois longing for beauty and seeks to fulfil it, that is, to overcome it." The work was performed by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Matthias Herrmann on May 23, 2025 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. Helmut Lachenmann, born in Stuttgart in 1935, is one of the most renowned German composers of contemporary music. He studied piano, music theory and counterpoint in Stuttgart and composition with Luigi Nono in Venice. The first public performances of his works took place in 1962 at the Venice Biennale and at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. He taught composition in Hanover (1976-1981) and in Stuttgart (1981-1999), and has given numerous master classes in Germany and abroad. His works are performed by internationally renowned players and orchestras all over the world. Helmut Lachenmann has received numerous awards, including the German Music Authors' Prize of GEMA (2015) for his lifetime achievements and, most recently, for his compositional work, the 'President of the French Republic Prize' from the Academie Charles Cros (2025).

The works of violinist and composer Nicolaus Richter de Vroe (*1955) have been and are regularly performed by the most renowned organisers and festivals of new music. The musician began his training at the Special School for Music in Dresden, now known as the Sachsisches Landesgymnasium fur Musik Carl Maria von Weber. After studying the violin at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, he performed with various chamber music, improvisation, and experimental ensembles. In 1980, he joined the Staatskapelle Berlin and completed his composition studies with Friedrich Goldmann and Georg Katzer at the Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic. In 1982, he founded the Ensemble for New Music Berlin (East), which quickly became an important platform for contemporary music in the GDR. From the mid-1980s onwards, Richter de Vroe performed his own works and appeared as a performer at all ARD radio stations, as well as at international festivals. In 1988 he joined the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and, one year later, founded the XSEMBLE Munich - an ensemble characterised by experimental programming and stylistic openness. In 1996, he co-founded the Munich Society for New Music, dedicated to promoting contemporary music. Alongside his work as a composer and performer, Richter de Vroe has been a regular guest at Goethe Institutes worldwide since 1994, delivering lectures and giving portrait concerts and presentations of his work. In 2008 he was admitted to the Saxon Academy of Arts. Richter de Vroe's composition TETRA?b IV for four soloists and orchestra was commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk in 2002. The world premiere, which is recorded on this CD, features Isao Nakamura (percussion), Irvine Arditti, Mike Svoboda (trombone), Isabeella Beumer (voice) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Rundel, and took place on November 15, 2002 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. - Although the large orchestra is joined by four soloists, the work is not a concerto or concerto grosso. The solo parts are so distinct that it would be challenging to have them compete in a concert setting. They also appear successively, each characterising a longer section of the work with their own style, and they can only be heard performing together towards the end. The vocalist's solo is based on a poem by the experimental Russian poet Daniil Kharms. Richter de Vroe's artistic affinity with Kharms' thinking is expressed in the title TETRA?b IV - the Russian word "Tetra", in which only the last letter is written in Cyrillic, means "notebook" - as well as in the composer's experimental approach to the text. Shibuya Movements for orchestra was also commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk in 1991/92. This CD features a recording of the world premiere on May 15, 1992 by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Cristobal Halffter, performed in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. Euforia for orchestra was composed in 2009, and it's world premiere on October 31, 2009 by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons also took place in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz.

The works of violinist and composer Nicolaus Richter de Vroe (*1955) have been and are regularly performed by the most renowned organisers and festivals of new music. The musician began his training at the Special School for Music in Dresden, now known as the Sachsisches Landesgymnasium fur Musik Carl Maria von Weber. After studying the violin at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, he performed with various chamber music, improvisation and experimental ensembles. In 1980, he joined the Staatskapelle Berlin and completed his composition studies with Friedrich Goldmann and Georg Katzer at the Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic. In 1982, he founded the Ensemble for New Music Berlin (East), which quickly became an important platform for contemporary music in the GDR. From the mid-1980s onwards, Richter de Vroe performed his own works and appeared as a performer at all ARD radio stations, as well as at international festivals. In 1988 he joined the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and, one year later, founded the XSEMBLE Munich - an ensemble characterised by experimental programming and stylistic openness. In 1996, he co-founded the Munich Society for New Music, dedicated to promoting contemporary music. Alongside his work as a composer and performer, Richter de Vroe has been a regular guest at Goethe Institutes worldwide since 1994, delivering lectures and giving portrait concerts and presentations of his work. In 2008 he was admitted to the Saxon Academy of Arts. Richter de Vroe's Violin Concerto was composed between 2018 and 2020 as a commission from musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk, kindly supported by the Friends of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The world premiere, recorded on this CD, was performed by Ilya Gringolts and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Johannes Kalitzke on October 28, 2022 in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. - The initial inspiration for Richter de Vroe's Violin Concerto came from Ilya Gringolts' interpretation of Gyorgy Ligeti's Violin Concerto. The concerto begins with an introduction, followed by a first cadenza accompanied by individual instruments in a drone-like manner. This is followed by the first nocturne, which features sounds reminiscent of natural lutes. In the so-called 'Main Movement', "things get pretty crazy! There's a real frenzy with lots of momentum and variety, not to mention a lot of - how shall I put it - 'nasty surprises'!" (Richter de Vroe) Avenir for organ, choir and orchestra was also commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk in 2013/14. This CD features the recording of the world premiere on June 6, 2014, performed by Wolfgang Mitterer on the organ and accompanied by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Johannes Kalitzke.

For Nikolaus Brass, the "concrete confrontation with the existential fragility of human existence, with new beginnings and happiness, but also pain, infirmity and death" acted "like a compass in the search for expression." He refers to his music as characterised by "flowing time processes, questions of order and disturbance, the scanning of the acoustic outer surface for what it harbours as an echo, as well as aspects of human existence, " within a "permanent circle of losing and finding again." This musica viva CD features three of his compositions, created between 2012 and 2023. Nikolaus Brass studied medicine and composition in Munich and Berlin, and with Helmut Lachenmann in Hanover. He took part in the Darmstadt Summer Course from 1980 to 1986. His works have been regularly performed at festivals since 1981. In addition to his profession as a medical doctor, which he practised for many years, he has composed numerous works, including several commissioned by the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (as part of the musica viva series), the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Donaueschingen Music Days and the Wittener Tage fur neue Kammermusik. In 2009, Brass was awarded the Music Prize of the City of Munich. He has been a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts since 2014. Brass' composition "In der Farbe von Erde" ("In the colour of earth") - music for viola, 44 strings and two percussionists" was first performed on February 17, 2023, with Tabea Zimmermann and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vimbayi Kaziboni. The work was commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk. The title of the composition refers to a short text by the French-speaking Swiss poet Philippe Jaccottet (1925-2021). "Der goldene Steig" ("The Golden Path") - A narrative for soprano and orchestra" is based on a text by Peter Kurzeck. The fourth part of his novel cycle "Das alte Jahrhundert" has an impressionistic feel to it - and served as a mood painting for Brass' sound fantasies. In addition to the richly scored percussion, the entire orchestra also contributes to the sound development with meticulously prescribed tapping and rattling instructions. The work was commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk and first performed on December 16, 2016, with Sarah Maria Sun and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Peter Rundel. Brass' "Der Garten" ("The Garden") - music for orchestra with four obbligato male voices (vocalises)" was also commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk. The first performance, with the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Eotvos, took place on June 16, 2012. The new BR-KLASSIK CD documents the live recordings of each of the three first performances, recorded in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz.

Musica viva KALITZKE AND FERRARI Johannes Kalitzke: Zeitkapsel - Totentanz fur gro�es Orchester ("Time Capsule - Dance of Death for large orchestra") Luc Ferrari: Histoire du Plaisir et de la Desolation ("A Story of Pleasure and Desolation") On November 10, 2023, Johannes Kalitzke presented himself in a double role as conductor and composer ("the one makes you want the other") in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz with the world premiere of his Zeitkapsel - Totentanz for large orchestra ("Time Capsule - Dance of Death for large orchestra"), commissioned by musica viva, as well as with Luc Ferrari's Histoire du Plaisir et de la Desolation, a sonic search for "new sensuality". - Both compositions can be experienced in this CD live recording of the musica viva concert. Johannes Kalitzke (born 1959) is a renowned German conductor and composer. Zeitkapsel - Totentanz for large orchestra was commissioned by Bavarian Radio's musica viva in 2022-2023. The world premiere documented on this CD took place on November 10, 2023 in Munich. Sebastian Schottke was responsible for the sound direction. Representing time capsules in the material sense, the orchestral piece contains musical artifacts from different times and cultures that were rediscovered at a later date and that characterise the sonic context of the piece, above all the first ever acoustic recording in history: a recording of sound waves on wax paper from 1860. Fragments of it can be heard at the end of the piece, like a revelation. Histoire du Plaisir et de la Desolation for orchestra by Luc Ferrari (1929-2005) was written in 1979-1981 as a Radio France commission for the Orchestre National de France, and was premiered in Paris in 1982 by that orchestra under the direction of Michael Luig. Orchestral music is not necessarily what one associates with the name Luc Ferrari. The composer, who died young, became known primarily as an exponent of musique concrete, opening up new creative paths in his use of tape technology. His sonic quest leads from the promising opening movement Harmonie du diable to the double-edged nature of pleasure (Plaisir-Desir), only to fail brilliantly with the "rupture of all logic" in the final Ronde de la desolation. ? Johannes Kalitzke conducts the world premiere of his orchestral piece Zeitkapsel - Totentanz for large orchestra; live recording from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz as part of Bavarian Radio's musica viva concert series ? He also conducts the impressive and rarely performed orchestral piece Histoire du Plaisir et de la Desolation by the French composer and sound artist Luc Ferrari ? The conductor and composer Kalitzke conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Johannes Kalitzke, conductor

The music of the composer, educator and musicologist Liza Lim, who was born in Perth, Australia in 1966, has a collaborative and transcultural focus. Her recent works have explored beauty, anger and noise, ecological issues, and women's spiritual traditions. Liza Lim has received commissions from leading orchestras and institutions worldwide, and her works continue to be performed at prestigious festivals. In 2024, she was named "Composer of the Year" by OPUS KLASSIK. Liza Lim is Professor of Composition and Australian Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. As part of a Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, she will lead a five-year program starting in 2025 to promote the exploration of pressing climate and social issues through music. Her gender equity initiatives through Sydney Con's Composing Women have had a significant impact on commissioning, performance and next-generation leadership in Australian music. A Sutured World for cello and orchestra was commissioned in 2024 by musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Casa da Musica Porto. The world premiere recorded on this CD took place in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz on October 25, 2024, with Nicolas Altstaedt (cello) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner. The orchestral work Mary - Transcendence after Trauma was commissioned by musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk in 2020/21. The world premiere of the work at musica viva, originally scheduled for January 28, 2022, had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. In the meantime, the triptych was premiered at the Cologne Philharmonie on April 29, 2022 as part of "Musik der Zeit" with the WDR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Cristian Macelaru. This CD features the musica viva recording of May 12, 2023 in Munich's Herkulessaal by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Franck Ollu. The Compass for flute, didgeridoo and large orchestra was commissioned by musica viva of the Bayerischer Rundfunk and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2005/06. The premiere took place at the Sydney Opera House on August 23, 2006 with Rosamund Plummer (flute), William Barton (didgeridoo) and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alexander Briger. This CD features the musica viva recording of the European premiere of the work on January 12, 2007 in Munich's Herkulessaal, with Carin Levine (flute), William Barton (didgeridoo) and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Christoph Poppen. ? The main work on the CD is Liza Lim's latest composition: a live recording of the world premiere of the cello concerto "A Sutured World" (2024) as part of the musica viva concert series by the Bayerischer Rundfunk from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz - with the famous cellist Nicolas Altstaedt ? The CD also features Liza Lim's compositions "Mary - Transcendence after Trauma" (2020/21) and "The Compass" (2005/06) as live recordings from the musica viva concert series ? Performed and conducted by renowned musicians, all of them experts in contemporary music

To mark the 75th anniversary of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO) in 2024, the BR-KLASSIK label is now making previously unreleased recordings of concerts available on CD and as a stream. The six-part composition My Melodies for eight horns and orchestra was composed between 2016 and 2018, revised for the first time in 2019, and then again in 2023 as the musica viva Munich version. It was commissioned by Bavarian Radio’s musica viva with the support of the Friends of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra e.V. This is a live recording of the premiere of the Munich 2023 version on June 23, 2023, from the Herkulessaal, again as part of BR's musica viva concert series, with the horn section and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Matthias Hermann.

Helmut Lachenmann, born in Stuttgart in 1935, is one of the most renowned German composers of contemporary music. He studied piano, music theory, and counterpoint in Stuttgart and composition with Luigi Nono in Venice. The first public performances of his works took place in 1962 at the Venice Biennale and at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music. He taught composition in Hanover (1976-1981) and in Stuttgart (1981-1999), and gave numerous master classes in Germany and abroad. His works are performed by internationally renowned players and orchestras all over the world. Helmut Lachenmann has received numerous awards, most recently the GEMA German Music Authors' Prize for his life's work (2015).

The phenomenon of melody has long preoccupied Helmut Lachenmann. He went to study in Venice at the end of the 1950s with Luigi Nono, a teacher who strictly insisted on a critically reflective approach to musical material. Nono had objected to any trace of linear progression in Lachenmann's compositional sketches as a "tonal cell" – a melodic object that was seen as a recourse to a romanticizing tonal language that had to be overcome. The impetus for the scoring of My Melodies came from a rehearsal of Lachenmann's opera The Little Match Girl in Madrid in 2008: eight horns forming a homogeneous yet at the same time complex instrument. The premiere took place ten years later. In 2023, My Melodies was extended by 77 additional bars since that first performance, with Lachenmann drawing on further sketch material. It is rare for the composer to alter his own works after their premiere - but the sound ideas for the eight horns seem to have retained a special fascination for him. The bonus tracks offer short excerpts from this concert recording of My Melodies. They present characteristic passages of the work, inviting listeners to detect specific noises or sequences and to familiarize themselves with Lachenmann's world of sound.

The music of composer Milica Djordjevic, born in Belgrade in 1984, is based on an exuberant and imaginative use of sound. She has full command of the entire arsenal of contemporary sound and performance techniques, which never cease to surprise. She began her composition studies in her native city of Belgrade, where she was already working with electronic music, then went on to Strasbourg and IRCAM in Paris before completing her studies from 2011-2013 in Berlin with Hanspeter Kyburz at the Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler. Her already extensive oeuvre, which is performed by leading international soloists and ensembles, includes pieces for solo instruments, chamber music works in a wide variety of formations, vocal works, and large-scale orchestral compositions. The diversity of her work highlights her versatility and technical virtuosity. Djordjevic has received numerous prestigious prizes and awards for her compositions, including the Belmont Prize for Contemporary Music (2015), the Composition Prize of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation (2016) and the Claudio Abbado Composition Prize of the Berlin Philharmonic (2020). In Milica Djordjevic's short orchestral work Mali svitac, �estoko ozaren i prestravljen nesnosljivom lepotom (Little firefly, brightly lit and shocked by unbearable beauty), commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic in 2023, the composer is concerned with "the immense energy it takes to make things glow". Her extended orchestral work Quicksilver was commissioned by musica viva of Bayerischer Rundfunk and premiered on December 16, 2016 by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Peter Rundel in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz. It is precisely the strict limitation of the melodic movement to very few, narrow interval steps that makes it "all the richer and more colourful on the inside". Cvor (Knot) for winds, piano and percussion, a work commissioned for the Donaueschingen Music Festival, briefly but very intensively describes a knot that squeezes and twists and finally bursts. The fourth work on this BR-KLASSIK CD - Mit o ptici (Myth of the Bird) for choir and orchestra - was commissioned by musica viva in 2020 and premiered on October 28, 2022 with the Bavarian Radio Chorus and Symphony Orchestra under the direction

Born in Heidelberg in 1968, Arnulf Herrmann is considered one of the most renowned German composers of contemporary music. He studied piano, music theory and composition in Munich, Dresden, Paris and Berlin, where he completed his studies in 2002. In 2003, he was entrusted with a teaching position for theory, analysis and aural training at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin; from 2004, he was the main teacher for composition there and, from 2006, also lectured on instrumentation and analysis. Since 2014, he has held the chair of composition at the Hochschule für Musik Saar. Herrmann mainly composes ensemble and chamber music, but also pieces for orchestra and the stage. In 2012, his opera "Wasser" (“Water”) premiered at the Munich Biennale; excerpts from it had already been heard in 2011 as part of the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik. In 2017, his opera "Der Mieter" (“The Tenant”) premiered with great success at the Frankfurt Opera, which had commissioned the work. Numerous international contemporary music ensembles perform his works at music festivals such as the Donaueschinger Musiktage, the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, and Wien Modern.

"Drei Gesänge am offenen Fenster" (“Three Songs at the Open Window”) for soprano and large orchestra, based on texts by Händl Klaus and Arnulf Herrmann, was commissioned by musica viva/BR. This release documents the live recording of its premiere on October 24, 2014. The performers are Anja Petersen (soprano) and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Stefan Asbury. "Tour de Trance" for soprano and piano, on a text by Monika Rinck, was commissioned by the Musiktage Hitzacker, and premiered in 2017. This studio recording from September 19, 2022 is one of the new versions of the song cycle from the year 2022. Anja Petersen sings, with Björn Lehmann accompanying on the piano.

Born in Münster/Westphalia in 1956, Klaus Ospald is one of the most renowned German composers of contemporary music. He studied composition in Detmold and Würzburg, and as a master student with Helmut Lachenmann. His works are played by internationally renowned performers and orchestras, and premieres of them are arranged by leading promoters and contemporary music festivals. Klaus Ospald has received numerous awards – most recently the International Hanns Eisler Scholarship of the City of Leipzig 2022. - This BR-KLASSIK CD presents Ospald's "Más raíz, menos criatura" in a live recording of a performance on November 22, 2019 in a musica viva concert from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz, and also his "Quintett von den entlegenen Feldern" (Quintet from the remote fields), recorded on May 25, 2019 in the Laboratory for Fluid Mechanics and Turbomachinery at Coburg University of Applied Sciences. The ten-part composition "Más raíz, menos criatura" (loosely translated: "More root than man") ("Entlegene Felder III"/”Remote Fields III”) for orchestra, piano and eight-part chamber choir, based on the poem "El niño yuntero" (“The child as draught animal") by Miguel Hernández, was written in 2014/15 and revised in 2017. Ospald composed it as a commission from the SWR for the ECLAT Festival 2017, and it received its world premiere at the ECLAT Festival on February 5, 2017 at the Theaterhaus Stuttgart, with Yukiko Sugawara (piano), the SWR Vokalensemble and the SWR Sinfonieorchester conducted by Peter Rundel. The composition is part of a triad of works that Ospald wrote between 2012 and 2016 and placed together under the title "Remote Fields". This bundling together of works of different physiognomy is a basic characteristic of Ospald's oeuvre. Musical content is more important to him than performance standards or genre conventions. Such content determines the form and structure of the works and reflects the consciousness of a critical contemporary who has preserved his independence as an artist and human being, and who uncompromisingly defends the rights of the individual. The eight-part "Quintett von den entlegenen Feldern" for string trio, clarinet, piano and live electronics was commissioned by the SWR Experimental Studio in 2012/13, and revised in 2014. It received its world premiere (without live electronics) on May 31, 2014 at the SWR Studio Freiburg, Schlossbergsaal, with the Ensemble Experimental and its world premiere with live electronics on October 3, 2015 at the same venue by the same ensemble, featuring live electronic realisation by the SWR Experimentalstudio. It is important to Ospald that extended sounds become an integral part of the composition and are given their space. This form of live electronics requires a sound director in the performance who – like the musicians – "plays" the electronics according to the score.