Following Giuseppe Verdi's "Luisa Miller", with which Ivan Repušic made his debut as principal conductor of the Münchner Rundfunkorchester in September 2017, and "I due Foscari" in October 2018, the conductor’s successful cycle of early masterpieces by the famous Italian opera composer now continues with “Attila”. In the recording of the concert performance from the Prinzregententheater, outstanding performers provide authentic fluidity and vocal splendor. This highlight of Munich musical life from the end of last year is now already being released on BR-KLASSIK as a double album. Like its predecessors "Nabucco" and "I Lombardi", Verdi's early masterpiece "Attila" is a choral opera in the best sense, and gained an enthusiastic reception from the Italian unification movement: its themes reflected the aspirations of the Risorgimento in the restless Italy of that time. The line "Avrai tu l'universo, resti l'Italia a me" ("You may have the universe, but let Italy remain mine") was enthusiastically received right from the start, helping to pave the way for the opera on the stages of Italy and Europe. It was not only the audience at the premiere at the Teatro La Fenice in Habsburg-ruled Venice who understood the full import of those words. Hardly any other opera by Verdi was received in Italy with so much euphoria. Outside the country, of course, it failed to make a lasting impression – probably also due to the extremely difficult role of Odabella.

Two great symphonic organ concertos can be heard on the new album from BR-KLASSIK: the famous Organ Symphony by Camille Saint-Saëns and the lesser-known but highly impressive Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani by Francis Poulenc. The Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is conducted by Mariss Jansons, and the organ soloist is the excellent Latvian musician Iveta Apkalna, one of the most renowned concert organists of our time. In his Symphony no. 3 in C minor, op. 78, the so-called ”Organ Symphony” of 1886, Camille Saint-Saëns succeeded in integrating the organ into the musical fabric of a symphonic work. Of this, the last of his five symphonies, Saint-Saëns wrote: “Here, I gave everything I was able to give. What I have here accomplished I will never achieve again.” Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor was composed in 1938. At a time when it was no longer customary to present a solo concerto for organ, the work, with its unusual choice of instruments, is a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. In contrast to the organ compositions by the Baroque master, of course, Poulenc wrote for a large organ that could achieve impressive sound effects. The Latvian concert organist Iveta Apkalna debuted in 2007 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado. As the titular organist of the new Klais organ at the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, she played at the opening of the new concert hall in 2017 with world premieres of works by Wolfgang Rihm, together with Thomas Hengelbrock and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. In 2018, she received prestigious music awards in Latvia in the “Musician of the Year” and “Concert of the Year” categories, and that same year, as part of the centennial celebrations of the Republic of Latvia, she was awarded the highest state order of merit in the country.

The music of the Croatian composer and conductor Igor Kuljeric (1938-2006) is not yet well-known beyond the borders of his home country – but this recording will probably change all that. The "Croatian Glagolitic Requiem" - composed between 1995 and 1996, first performed in the Croatian town of Zadar in July 1996 by the chorus and symphony of Croatian Radio, and conducted by the composer himself - is an impressive and moving example of contemporary sacred music. According to Kuljeric, the Requiem was created "out of a deep desire to transform something I had heard in my youth, and carried inside me from then on, into music – when the Glagolitic rites re-echoed miraculously within me.” The church music of the Catholic Croat majority, who have been allowed to celebrate religious services in their own language ever since the Middle Ages, dates back to orally transmitted melodies that also reveal a folk-music influence. Kuljeric has dealt with this tradition in his music on several occasions. His Glagolitic Requiem can be seen as a symbolically charged musical confession to his nation and its culture, and was written at a time when Croatia had managed to finally end a bloody war of independence. The Requiem dates from a period when, for Croatia's population, mourning must have been very much a part of everyday life. The hymns set to music were written in Glagolitic, the first ever Slav script. In the introit, ringing bells and chanted choruses already set the basic religious mood. Kuljeric sets the other parts of the requiem to music in six sections. - The vivid and suggestive power of this composition enjoyed great popularity. The album also contains a recording of the "Himna Slobodi" by the Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac (1895-1982), based on a text by the baroque poet Ivan Gundulic.

The lavishly produced audio biographies in the BR-KLASSIK WISSEN series tell the life stories of famous composers in an entertaining and amusing way. Who were Mozart, Mahler, and Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn? In what period were their works written? And how did their lives influence their music? This box set contains the twelve audio biographies published to date by the music publicist J�rg Handstein. Great actors and actresses bring the past to life: Matthias Brandt, Martina Gedeck, Gert Heidenreich, Brigitte Hobmeier, Cornelius Obonya and many others. As the narrator, Udo Wachtveitl is the main voice of the series. Numerous musical examples as well as several complete works, recorded by leading musicians at an outstanding level, bring the composers' work to life. All quotations are from genuine sources - after all, what really happened is more exciting than all the anecdotes invented later. In this way, and captivatingly, well-founded knowledge becomes listening pleasure.

Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion was written for Holy Week in 1724, directly after Bach was appointed as cantor of St. Thomas's Church in Leipzig. St. John's Passion is a true Baroque masterpiece, and still retains all of it's vivacity and brightness nearly three centuries after it's composition. This recording is brilliantly performed by the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks alongside Concerto K�ln, both highly recognized and admired ensembles.

Part of BR Klassik’s Paths to Music series, this new release showcases Handel’s most famous work, The Messiah. Markus Vanhoefer provides an enlightening introduction to the work, which is performed here by the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the B’Rock Belgian Baroque Orchestra Ghent. Thanks to its special homogeneous sound and its stylistic versatility, covering every area of choral singing from the medieval motet to contemporary music, and from oratorios to operas, the Bavarian Radio Chorus enjoys top prestige throughout the world. Its main points of focus fall on the great choral symphonies, contemporary vocal music and joint performances with such period ensembles as Il Giardino Armonico, Concerto Köln and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

A recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Ninth" is always a great event, especially because the symphony's final chorus, Schiller's "Ode to Joy", is understood around the world as a plea for peace and international understanding. It was no coincidence that the catchy melody to the text "Joy, beautiful spark of divinity" was chosen as the Hymn of the European Union. This recording of Beethoven's great choral symphony under the direction of Bernard Haitink and with excellent instrumental and vocal soloists is not only an outstanding interpretation of the work but also very much an event in itself -because these recordings document Haitink's last ever concerts with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Only a few months after his two Munich concerts on February 21 and 22, 2019, the great Dutch conductor -who celebrated his 90thbirthday on March 4 -announced the end of his career.

Christmas carols are indeed numerous, ranging from church hymns from the Middle Ages to naïve children’s songs, pastoral pieces and festive Lutheran chorales all the way to spirituals and even pop songs. The repertoire is vast and constantly expanding- as is also clear from the wealth of requests received every year by the Office for Christmas Carols in the city centre of Graz, Austria. During Advent, and for over 25 years now, the Styrian Centre for Folk Music has provided valuable support and advice, helping people fill gaps in texts or remember forgotten melodies, and providing information on all issues concerning Christmas customs. The current album, with the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and the Munich Rundfunkorchester conducted by Howard Arman, is full of festive Christmas music. It contains a compilation of all kinds of different carols and songs from Poland, Greece, and Germany, as well as compositions by Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn and Berlioz. Whether popular, traditional, sophisticated, or closer to pop music, the songs and the melodies radiate all the power and the charm of Advent and Christmas- bringing festive magic and a solemn grandeur to our modern, enlightened times.

The Italian composer Gioachino Rossini is best known for his operas. Many of their overtures and arias were catchy tunes at the time and have remained so to this day. Although it is Rossini’s comic operas that are primarily performed today, more than half of his stage works are in fact based on serious themes. One veritable rarity is the stage work "Sigismondo", which premiered in 1814 at the famous Teatro La Fenice in Venice but was only ever rarely performed afterwards. Presumably, the story on which it was based had no appeal for the audience at that time, because musically, the work is hardly less impressive than the "Italian Girl in Algiers", written during the previous year, or the "Barber of Seville", which followed two years later. The subject of the opera is, however, based on a long tradition. Rossini shows his protagonist, the fictional King Sigismondo, in extreme states of mental distress. Confusion and insanity reveal inner feelings, and it is only delirium that finally brings the truth to light. This "madness opera" is highly topical, both in its subject matter and its musical language – after all, Rossini is among the top ten most-performed composers of our time. A concert performance of this little-known and unjustly neglected masterpiece was given at Munich’s Prinzregententheater on October 14, 2018 - in the original language, and by performers highly familiar with Rossini’s music, which seems so easy but is in fact extremely difficult to sing. This extraordinary opera event – a festival of singing that received tumultuous applause as well as great critical acclaim – is now being released on BR-KLASSIK as a live recording.

 

REVIEW:

 

It would appear at first glance that the release of this recording of one of Rossini’s more egregious operas has been primarily designed as a promotional exercise for the conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson. How else does one explain that hers is the only artist biography in the 36-page German-English booklet?

 

She is good. But the singers are good too: an exceptional cast to be assembled for a Sunday radio transmission. But that’s Germany for you, the one country in Europe which still has the desire and the wherewithal seriously to invest in opera.

 

Singing Rossini live under a skilled if sometimes hard-driving conductor is not without its perils, as is occasionally evident with the one soprano in the cast, the gifted Hera Hyesang Park, who sings the role of the exiled wife of the delusional Polish king Sigismondo. But she, too, generally acquits herself with distinction, not least in Aldimira’s striking Act 2 aria.

 

Sigismondo, an old-fashioned travesti role, is sung by Marianna Pizzolato. Both she and Kenneth Tarver as the king’s devious and sexually ambitious Prime Minister are class acts. It’s also good to hear the young Irish mezzo Rachel Kelly in the comprimario role of the minister’s sister, Anagilda.

 

Keri-Lynn Wilson — or Mrs Peter Gelb as one’s probably not allowed to call her — is an experienced conductor who has worked in leading houses across the world. Here the drive and authority of her conducting work wonders for the piece. I like the way she rescues the Overture from buffo banality by giving it a rumbustious, even dangerous feel. I also like the way the performance culminates in an electrifying account of the Act 2 quartet. Identifying and realising any work’s one true climax is a skill that eludes all too many stick-wavers.

 

Rossini wrote Sigismondo for Venice’s Teatro La Fenice in the autumn of 1814. He was 22 and on the cusp of a move to Naples and the second great phase of his career. The impresario of La Fenice warned him that the libretto wasn’t up to much and Rossini seems to have agreed. Still, he set to and came up with some vital and at times forward-looking music that had the singular merit of appeasing the first-night audience. Which is why it doesn’t perhaps matter that BR-Klassik has been negligent in its presentation—no text and translation, such as one has with Bongiovanni’s highly recommendable 1992 Rovigo theatre recording conducted by Richard Bonynge, nor the kind of track-by-track synopsis such as Naxos provides in its altogether less well-sung and less efficiently recorded 2016 Rossini in Wildbad performance.

 

 

– Gramophone

It was thanks to his father's penchant for organizing musical concerts in his family's Berlin apartment on Sunday mornings that the 11-year-old Felix Mendelssohn began to compose quite a long series of string symphonies, and also that the works were initially performed. The study of music and composition spurred the young composer on greatly; his diligence as well as his youthful creativity developed early, and he made astonishing progress. In 1821, he wrote the first half of his string symphonies, which together took less than two years to complete. During performances that formed part of the concerts at home, he always took over the direction of the chamber orchestra, which consisted of amateur and professional musicians from the Berlin court orchestra. Ever since their long-lost manuscripts were successfully rediscovered in 1950, Mendelssohn's early string symphonies have been a fixed part of the string and chamber orchestra repertoire. In the youthful freshness and carefreeness of these early works, one can already hear echoes of the instrumental masterpieces by this important symphonic composer of early Romanticism that were soon to follow. This release contains the first six of Mendelssohn's string symphonies in the form of studio recordings made by the M�nchner Rundfunkorchester under it's leader Henry Raudales, a violinist who has won several awards and has made numerous recordings with the orchestra as a conductor and a soloist.

Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the most important composers of the 20th century. With his works - most notably his fifteen symphonies, which took Late Romantic music and transferred it to the modern age – he has shaped the repertoire. His aesthetic is determined by the impact of the Second World War and also by the political conditions in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Forced to work for the dictator, he also had to make numerous concessions to him. It was in the war year of 1941 that Shostakovich composed his Symphony No. 7 in C major, opus 60. It comes in the approximate middle of his oeuvre and was named the “Leningrad” symphony because Shostakovich dedicated it to his native city (today’s St. Petersburg). The marching theme in the first movement was composed even before the outbreak of the German-Soviet war, in around 1939 or 1940. He wrote further movements in Leningrad, during its siege by German troops from September 8, 1941 onwards, and finally completed the symphony in Kuibyshev (Samara) on the Volga, having been evacuated from the war-torn city together with his family on October 1, 1941. It was there on March 5, 1942 that the symphony received its world premiere, performed by the similarly evacuated orchestra of Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre under the direction of Samuil Samossud. The Moscow premiere on March 27 took place in perilous circumstances, but even an air raid alert could not convince the audience to go to the shelters, so captivated were they by the music. The music has retained its fascination to this day, and the Seventh Symphony is considered Shostakovich's best-known work. Mariss Jansons, who himself ranks as a specialist in the Slavic repertoire as well as the symphonic music of the 19th and 20th centuries, has tackled this masterpiece on numerous occasions. This performance, released for the first time, was recorded at concerts on February 11 and 12, 2016 at the Philharmonie in Munich’s Gasteig. Here, under Jansons' baton, the musicians of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks interpret Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony as a shattering testimony to the epoch in which it was written as well as a profound expression of our present age. The live recording of those concerts is now being released by BR-KLASSIK in an exemplary interpretation of one of the most important symphonic works of the 20th century.

This outstanding album contains 15 famous arias from the operas of Verdi, sung by the most influential Verdi voices of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. All of the recordings featured on this album are radio recordings, and were made between 1962 and 1984. The live recordings offer an interesting alternative to the studio recordings of the same works by the same performers. The selections are arranged chronologically by date of composition, and are a broad representation of the career of one of the finest operatic composers in history.

Star pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard presents Landler, a collection of delightful dances composed by Franz Schubert. Rustic and cheerful, these miniatures display a fascinating side of Schubert's musical persona. Their simplicity is deceptive, as these dances are frequently shaken up by Schubert's harmonic wandering soul, yet remaining lyrical, picturesque and tuneful. For Aimard, there is a kinship between Schubert's Landler and Kurtag's Jatekok, pieces that he often performs side by side, sharing a combination of playfulness and Modernism that also calls the great twentieth-century miniaturist Anton Webern to mind. By avoiding almost any repetition, Aimard evokes a sleepwalker's journey rather than a series of dances. 8717306260343 PNTA5187034.2 44281755 .00 17.99 .16 PENTATONE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/24/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/42/4327442-3147656.jpg 64 1 N MOZART / STEBER / TUCKER / MET COSI FAN TUTTE 074646065228 SNY60652C.2 38091094 .00 29.99 .27 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL OPERA / OPERETTA / ORATORIO 08/30/2012 2 1 N BACH / BYLSMA SUITES FOR CELLO 2 074646181225 SNY61812C.2 38092008 .00 17.99 .21 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHAMBER MUSIC & RECITALS 03/31/2012 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/69/4333469-3177773.jpg 2 1 N HAYES,LOUIS LOUIS HAYES 090431717028 VEJA7170.2 37363390 .00 15.99 .20 VEE JAY RECORDINGS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 01/01/1993 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/85/4333585-3407278.jpg 2 1 N CARRERAS / DOMINGO / MCGOVERN / VON STADE VOICES OF CHRISTMAS 074646630020 SSRM66300.2 38094705 .00 17.99 .24 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH 08/14/2008 5 1 N MADAME BUTTERFLY / O.S.T. MADAME BUTTERFLY / O.S.T. 074646925829 SSRM69258.2 38095443 .00 44.99 .50 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL SOUNDTRACKS & FILM SCORES 11/17/2014 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/78/4334078-3334903.jpg 2 1 N MENDELSSOHN / FRANCESCATTI / ORMANDY / SZELL SYMPHONY 4 / VIOLIN CTO / MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 074646325124 SSRM63251.2 37572082 .00 24.99 .25 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 04/30/2012 3 1 N BERNSTEIN / COLUMBIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PRELUDE FUGUE & RIFFS / ON THE TOWN 074646055922 SSRM60559.2 38090875 .00 17.99 .25 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 05/30/2012 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/16/4334116-3177770.jpg 2 1 N SCHUBERT / SERKIN / VALENTE / MARLBORO FESTIVAL OR QUINTET IN C / SHEPHERD ON THE ROCK 074644590128 SSRM45901.2 37567330 .00 17.99 .25 SONY SRM EXCLUSIVE COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 06/13/2011 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/34/4334134-3177757.jpg 2 1 N MOZART / HORENSTEIN / VIENNA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA REQUIEM 047163781124 VOX7811.2 38242175 .00 19.99 .21 VOX COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 01/01/2001 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/04/4334604-3177972.jpg 27 1 N MANHATTAN / O.S.T. MANHATTAN / O.S.T. 074643602020 SYNX36020.2 38085062 .00 17.99 .24 SONY MASTERWORKS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL SOUNDTRACKS & FILM SCORES 01/31/2012 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/37/4334837-3271927.jpg 0 1 N BACH,J.S. / BYLSMA CELLO SUITES COMPLETE 074644804720 SYNX48047.2 37568641 .00 24.99 .40 SONY MASTERWORKS COMPACT DISCS CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL & SYMPHONIC 11/23/2011 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/05/4335005-3177762.jpg 0 1 N BRUCKNER / MATTHEWS / TROFIMOV MASS IN F MINOR At the end of January 2019, for the first time in his Munich era, Mariss Jansons, highly regarded as an expert on Anton Bruckner's symphonies, conducted one of the composer's masses: the magnificent Mass No. 3 in F minor (1867/68) for vocal soloists, chorus, organ and orchestra. - Jansons' interpretation is one of those in which he was able to make full use of his extensive experience and with which he also, in a sense, spoke his final word with regard to the performance tradition of Romantic music - the eminent conductor died only a few months later, in December 2019. Bruckner's monumental symphonic mass offers the Bavarian Radio Chorus and the young quartet of vocal soloists rewarding tasks, ranging from lyrical cantilena to the most magnificent jubilation. The fact that the music's spiritual side is reminiscent here of Bruckner's great model, Beethoven's Missa solemnis", is no coincidence. This live recording from the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz was made between January 21 and 25, 2019 and has now been released on CD by BR-KLASSIK.

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.

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.