For Riccardo Chailly, celebrating Rachmaninoff in Lucerne is something dear to his heart. In 2022, the the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and their music director devoted themselves to the Second Symphony and the Piano Concerto No. 2, the most famous of all four Rachmaninoff concertos. "The harmonic ideas are his special hallmark. One need only hear three chords to recognize his creative genius immediately," Chailly once said of Rachmaninoff's timbres. Japanese pianist Mao Fujita took on this grandiose work's emotional power and virtuosity. Since winning the silver medal in the XVI Chopin Competition in 2019, this exceptional artist has been playing in the world's most renowned concert halls.

With Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana; one of the most popular pieces in music history and the most performed choral/orchestral work of the 20th century; Teatro La Fenice returns to the Piazza San Marco in Venice; in front of the magnificent façade of the Basilica di San Marco. Conducted by the great master Fabio Luisi; featuring the word-class singers Regula Mühlemann; Michael Schade and Markus Werba it was a magnificent event. "La Fenice’s orchestra and choir; in this case with the addition of the Piccoli cantori veneziani in the final part; have hit the mark“ (Il Gazzettino) with this concert and "it is noticeable overall the work made by the conductor Fabio Luisi; who managed to maintain the tension of the various historical pages with determination and energy." (Il Gazzettino)

After a life dedicated to music, especially of his hometown Dresden and Saxony, world-renown trumpeter Ludwig Güttler concludes his career around his 80th birthday in 2023. It is hard to overestimate his musical, political and social role in Dresden, but also the impact he had on musical research of the Saxonian court, the development of the Corno da Caccia and any other field he touched in his comprehensive life. This edition is devoted to the headline, the motto he found, that constitutes his firm belief: In all that I do, I am guided by the Lord's counsel. he who can accomplish all and owns all, in all things He must, if they are to succeed, give me advice and counsel. The album features not only a meaningful selection of his extensive catalogue but also 5 completely new recordings from the world-famous Dresden Frauenkirche, in which rebuilding he partook such a vital role. It is therefore logical that the DVD features - for the first time on a physical medium - the festive Gala Concert for the Inauguration of this very house of God, where he leads his own Virtuosi Saxoniae and the Vocal Ensemble Saxony in Hasse's "Ultima" Mass.

Dona Nobis Pacem – give us peace. This title is of great importance to me – even at the risk of seeming naïve; sentimental or even pretentious. In light of the constant and growing tensions in our world; this thought remains an important aspiration and inspires me to approach Johann Sebastian Bach's multifaceted composition with conviction. In my 50th season as artistic director; I consider this creation a great opportunity. John Neumeier; A Historic Document - The film version of “Dona Nobis Pacem” takes us close to the creative evolution of this ballet. Even though there were very high expectations; John Neumeier agreed for the first time in his career to have one of his ballets filmed during the week of the world premiere. Thus; the film became an impressive document of the outstanding quality of the Hamburg Ballet ensemble. It excels not only in terms of technical brilliance; but also expressive intensity and wholehearted dedication.

Herbert Blomstedt is omnipresent on the concert stages of this world. Where others have been enjoying their retirement for decades, the 95-year-old continues to tour the globe as conductor of numerous top orchestras and, in doing so, seems to defy biological laws. His esprit for conducting even seems to have grown over the years; his art, musical ethics, and empathy in dealing with people in general and with orchestra musicians, in particular, have long since made him a living legend.

The feature-length film portrait When Music Resounds, the Soul Is Spoken To was created between his 90th and 95th birthdays. It accompanies Herbert Blomstedt in his work with selected orchestras, which are representative of the many international ensembles he has either led or with which he still works regularly, and observes the gifted communicator during rehearsals and concerts. Blomstedt vividly conveys his clear interpretive ideas, turning every orchestra rehearsal into an experience. When Music Resounds, the Soul Is Spoken To also illuminates the career of the American-born cosmopolitan, who left his Christian and musically influenced home in Sweden to conquer the international concert halls. The film deliberately avoids statements by third parties; only the exceptional artist himself has his say. He shares personal experiences, gives insight into his musical world of thoughts and life, and conveys deeply human insights from a career spanning over 70 years. As an exciting discourse on life philosophies, musical life and experiences as a musician, the film is a portrait of an unpretentious artist who has decisively shaped the classical music world for decades and continues to do so to this day.

This box set documents Riccardo Chailly's first years as principal conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. In summer 2016, he steps into the office as Claudio Abbado's successor with Mahler's 8th Symphony. In a colorful, fresh and stirring performance of the overture and incidental music to William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" Symphony, Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra bring the musical imagery of both works to life. In summer 2018, the performers transport us to Ravel's musical universes full of colors, scents and flavors: from the pulsating three-four time of the waltzes to the ancient love story of Daphnis and Chloé and the relentless rhythm of the Boléro. A recording from summer 2019 of Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony and Third Piano Concerto with Denis Matsuev marks the various stages in the composer's life and demonstrates once again the close bond between the orchestra and their new principal conductor.

On the occasion of the Bruckner bicentenary; the Vienna Philharmonic recorded its first ever complete Bruckner cycle with a single conductor; Christian Thielemann. In addition to the well-known canon of nine symphonies; the two earliest Bruckner symphonies in F minor and D minor were also recorded for the first time in the orchestra’s history. This uniquely complete edition from the Musikverein and Salzburg Festival; featuring 11 symphonies also includes extensive conversations with Christian Thielemann about each symphony and insights into his rehearsal work.

“In this audiovisual edition Bruckner 11; the Vienna Philharmonic pays tribute to the symphonic works of the great Austrian composer Anton Bruckner; whose 200th birthday anniversary will be celebrated in 2024. The Vienna Philharmonic; perhaps more than any other ensemble; can look back on a shared history with Bruckner that was shaped by the composer’s great esteem for the orchestra and which was to have a decisive influence on Austrian musical culture. The premiere of the Symphony No. 2; for example; which Bruckner himself conducted in 1873; was a great success and; despite considerable opposition at the time; led to numerous performances and premieres. The close artistic and personal relationship between Anton Bruckner and the Vienna Philharmonic also contributed to the development of an unmistakable “Brucknerian” sound and style of playing which has had an enduring influence on the composer’s legacy up to the present day.This anniversary provides a welcome occasion to celebrate the music of Anton Bruckner.

For the first time in our orchestral history we have made a complete recording of all nine symphonies and two of his brilliant yet rarely performed early works with a single conductor. We enjoy a very close artistic partnership and friendship with Christian Thielemann; who is an acknowledged expert on the music of Anton Bruckner and one of the most influential contemporary conductors in this repertoire. In this recording; our long tradition comes alive in both sound and images. We hope it will encourage people to rediscover the treasures of Bruckner’s music; a legacy that the composer bestowed upon present and future generations of music lovers.” Prof. Daniel Froschauer; Chairman of the Wiener Philharmoniker

Richard Strauss described his two-act opera 'Intermezzo' as a 'bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes'. The soprano role of Christine with her shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss's wife Pauline, while the successful Court Conductor Robert Storch is Richard Strauss's alter ego in a reality drama that was avant-garde for it's time. This acclaimed production from director Tobias Kratzer brings 'Intermezzo' into the present day, highlighting Strauss's own clever switches between reality and fiction with stunning visual effects and a superbly characterful cast.

Francesco Piemontesi, a BBC Music Magazine award-winning pianist and lauded as a 'wonderful Mozartian', has an intense curiosity about his fellow artists - their pianos, the sonorities they cultivate, the secret elements that animate their playing, and what drives them. In this documentary by Jan Schmidt-Garre, filmed over one year, Piemontesi talks with some of the world's leading performers, including his mentor Alfred Brendel, Maria Joao Pires, Stephen Kovacevich and Antonio Pappano, in a series of revealing encounters that illuminate their individual approaches to the instrument, it's colour and form. The film is complemented by a bonus 60-minute recital by Yulianna Avdeeva, Zlata Chochieva and Francesco Piemontesi, played on Rachmaninoff's Steinway piano at Villa Senar, his home in Switzerland during the 1930s.

Set during the Roman Civil W War (49-45 BCE), Handel's "Giulio Cesare" is an intense drama filled with romance, tragedy and political intrigue. The plot centers on Cleopatra's campaign to seduce Julius Caesar in order to enlist his support in her becoming Queen of Egypt. Handel's music breathes the atmosphere of the Baroque with virtuosic vocal fireworks and subtle arias. This acclaimed production is given a modern setting populated by power-hungry oligarchs who are placed by director Calixto Bieito into 'a digital dream world in a desert paradise'.

Guided by his idol George Balanchine, Hans Van Manen has striven all his life to create meaning in his choreography. Alongside conversations with colleagues and collaborators, in the documentary Moving to Music, van Manen talks about his life and work, and from where his inspiration came in ballets that are charged with drama and eroticism. Also included are three complete works from Dutch National Ballet - the early Metaforen; Adagio Hammerklavier, which presents the slow movement of Beethoven's Op. 106 sonata performed live on stage with three couples in various configurations; and Frank Bridge Variations, a late masterpiece that plays with balance and counterpoint to music by Benjamin Britten. Total playing time: 127 minutes (Documentary: 52 minutes � Ballets: 75 minutes). Language: English � Subtitles: English, German, Japanese, Korean. NTSC 16:9 � PCM Stereo � DVD 9 � Region: 0 (Worldwide). Photos: Front cover � Erwin Olaf; Back cover Courtesy Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam � Erwin Olaf. Documentary � 2022 RM Creative � Ballets � 2017 La Belle T�l� - Festival Montpellier Danse - Mezzo. � 2024 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd � Made in Germany.

Initially a failure when first performed in London in 1750, 'Theodora' has proved to be one of Handel's most enduring and compassionate masterpieces - a work of introspective depth about the redemptive power of tolerance. Theodora's determination to die in defence of her religious freedom offers her the promise of eternal salvation. In this acclaimed Viennese production, award-winning stage director Stefan Herheim contrasts Theodora's self-sacrifice with the lack of spiritual direction of our own times. La Folia Barockorchester and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor are conducted by the acclaimed countertenor and Handel specialist Bejun Mehta.

Tchaikovsky's lyric opera 'Eugene Onegin' is based on Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse - a masterpiece of Russian literature. The narrative tells the story of Onegin's remorse in rejecting the young Tatyana and his instigation of a fatal duel in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is constructed in what Tchaikovsky termed 'lyrical scenes', with music that articulates the feelings of the characters with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist set design, director Laurent Pelly's staging underlines the lightness and sadness of the subject while fully expressing the characters' fantasies and inner torments. After his forays into the Russian repertoire, Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a cast of outstanding singers.

Alessandro Scarlatti's Il trionfo dell'onore (The Triumph of Honour) - his only comic opera - was first performed in Naples in 1718. With it's distinctive recitatives and expressive arias, and a cast including four pairs of lovers, it can be considered one of the forerunners of opera buffa. The central character is the unrepentant seducer Riccardo Albenori, a Don Giovanni-like figure though without the villainous aura. In this opera, Scarlatti ensures not only perceptive psychology but a rich variety of arias, duets and quartets that generate the work's pathos as well as it's humour and eroticism.

Richard Strauss's 'Arabella' is a lyric comedy that portrays hardships and obsessions in a society whose latebourgeois values are crumbling. An addiction to gambling has driven the family of cavalry officer Waldner into financial ruin, and their only hope for salvation lies in marrying off their daughter Arabella into a wealthy family. Strauss's orchestral opulence coupled with it's period Viennese setting has seen 'Arabella' perceived as a light-hearted comedy of errors, but Tobias Kratzer's multi-faceted production also explores the disunity between it's characters, spotlighting tensions that connect 19th-century Vienna to the present day.

Gluck's Orphee et Euridice is a masterpiece of the operatic canon, inspired by one of the most mysterious and cruel stories in Greek mythology. The gods allow Orpheus to descend into the underworld to revive his beloved wife Eurydice, but on condition that he must not look at her while returning. This production from Florence re-imagines this myth as a story for our times. It explores each character anew, highlighting the music and text as a more sophisticated psychological thriller than previously imagined, creating a moving and transformative narrative with which we can all identify.

Roberto Devereux is the fourth and finest of Donizetti's works dedicated to the Tudor period of English history, and is considered by many to be the ultimate masterpiece amongst his Italian operas. The tragic narrative is a tale of intrigue and vengeance in the court of the elderly and weary Queen Elisabeth I, with Donizetti's powerful score expressing all of the intense drama and sorrowful emotion demanded by the opera's finely etched characters. This star-studded Donizetti Opera Festival production received wide critical acclaim.

Zoraida di Granata, a stirring tale of love, betrayal and reconciliation, set in the Moorish kingdom of Granada in Andalusia in 1480, gave the 24-year-old Donizetti his first major operatic triumph. It marked his establishment as a true musical dramatist with a sure sense of craftsmanship and a flair for the dramatic. The opera's virtuosic central roles, fine choruses and powerful set-pieces show Rossini's unavoidable influence, though it is more a presence rather than imitation. This performance of the 1822 edition, not the 1824 revision, is performed on original instruments by Gli Originali and conducted by Alberto Zanardi.

Donizetti's Don Pasquale is one of a triumvirate of 19th-century Italian opere buffe - L'elisir d'amore and Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia being the others - that continue to enchant the world's stages. Don Pasquale represents the high point of the opera buffa tradition, employing figures taken from commedia dell'arte - the blustering old man, his lovesick nephew, the wily widow and the scheming doctor - and brings new life to the genre in this beautifully constructed comic opera full of cabalettas, cadenzas and coloratura, gently tinged with melancholy. This production employs a new critical edition of the work and stars the seasoned baritone Roberto de Candia in the central role, alongside Giulia Mazzola as Norina.

MacBeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, telling the story of a power couple galvanised by witchcraft and superstition, and obsessed by a craving to conquer the throne by force, even by murder. This French version of Verdi's opera takes us into a sphere of decorum and decency that hides monsters capable of the worst atrocities, portrayed in some of the composer's most blood-curdling and intense passages of music. A genuine rarity on stage, this 2024 production of the French version was acclaimed for it's powerful vocal performances and fine acting.

Rued Langgaard's remarkable opera 'Antikrist' confronts the decline and fall of Western civilisation, critiquing modern lifestyles and ways of thinking, which resonates with our times more than ever before. Never performed in the composer's lifetime, 'Antikrist' blends Romantic and contemporary styles to create a score that is both seductive and opulent, while the lack of a conventional plot creates space for an ironic and sarcastic expos� of contemporary civilisation's weaknesses. This spectacular Deutsche Oper Berlin production was acclaimed in 'The New York Times' as a 'riotously colourful, boldly stylised staging [in] a near-breathless swirl'.

This new production of Tosca from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is set in the late 1920s. Puccini's 'Roman Opera' sees a city bathed in majesty but also curdled by eroticism and sadism, where sartorial elegance and pathological violence co-exist. Taking visual clues from Bernardo Bertolucci's cinematic masterpiece, Il conformista, the cast is led by the passionate Vanessa Goikoetxea and features the magnetic Alexey Markov in the role of Scarpia. Daniele Gatti directs a performance praised for it's 'courageous and surprising' impact.

Bajazet was a work of Vivaldi's late maturity, a dramatic tale that recounts the capture of the Turkish sultan Bajazet by the all-conquering Tartar, Tamerlane. It is a pasticcio, a well-established form, in which Vivaldi incorporated arias by some of the greatest young composers of his time - Johann Adolf Hasse, Geminiano Giacomelli and Riccardo Broschi, brother to the famous castrato Farinelli - to form a generous buffet of musical fireworks. Still, Vivaldi's recitatives, choruses and arias form the backbone of the opera, and constitute the majority of the music, producing a work of kaleidoscopic invention.

Ottorino Respighi's 'mystery in three episodes', Maria egiziaca, started out as a concert triptych. It's intensely dramatic and at times symphonic qualities give it a character somewhere between an oratorio and an opera. Based on the life of Saint Mary of Egypt, the archaic story of Maria egiziaca revolves around faith seen through it's various characters, with Maria's journey from prostitution to sainthood conveyed as an expressive and eloquently immediate musical fresco. This Teatro La Fenice production of Respighi's profoundly moving and deeply sensuous stage work was critically acclaimed.

Gaetano Donizetti had big shoes to fill at his debut in Naples in 1823, arriving at the Teatro di San Carlo just after Rossini's departure, full of talent but still seeking his true voice. Alfredo il Grande is influenced by Rossini, but also shows hints of great things to come. The narrative is a celebration of heroism and magnanimous royalty, taking us to 9th century England where King Alfred the Great is on the run from the Vikings. Revived two centuries after the spectacular failure of it's premiere, this little-known opera seria can now stand as a reflection on humanitarian values and gestures of resistance against the destructiveness of war.