Giordano: Andrea Chenier - Blu-ray - "Kaufmann is performing the title role for the first time, and it's hard to imagine him bettered. His striking looks make him very much the Romantic and romanticised outsider of Giordano's vision. His voice, with it's dark, liquid tone, soars through the music with refined ease and intensity: all those grand declarations of passion, whether political or erotic, hit home with terrific immediacy." - The Guardian Presented in it's Covent Garden premiere in January 2015, this staging - directed by David McVicar and conducted by the Royal Opera's Music Director, Sir Antonio Pappano - shows a bloody tricolour daubed with the words "Even Plato banned poets from his Republic" - written by Robespierre on the death warrant of the historical Chenier, a poet and journalist sent to the guillotine in 1794 for criticising France's post-revolutionary government. Andrea Chenier was a great success at it's premiere at La Scala, Milan, on 28 March 1896. It established Giordano as a leading member of Italy's giovane scuola, and has remained Giordano's most popular opera, with occasional productions at leading opera houses. This production is the first by The Royal Opera since 1984. Of Giordano's later operas, only Fedora (1898) has attracted some continued interest.

Recorded in late 2020 at the Philharmonie in Paris, home city of Quatuor Ebene, this complete DVD cycle of the Beethoven String Quartets, directed by Sebastien Glas, complements the complete audio cycle recorded by the Ebene in 2019 and early 2020; entitled Beethoven Around the World, the CDs drew on performances in Paris and six other great cities on five continents. The impact of the Ebene's approach to Beethoven - both exhilarating and illuminating - was summed up by the respected magazine The Strad, which spoke of "white-hot interpretative intensity and fantasy" as the players "peel back layers of stultifying accretion and rediscover the shock value of this music for a contemporary audience... they play not as they should, but as they feel they must."

Seven DVD set. What made Claudio Abbado stand out was his unpretentious, noble character, his democratic understanding of music making and his ability to celebrate the live moment on stage. Claudio Abbado empathized with his musicians. In order to be able to maintain contact with each individual during the conducting, he usually conducted from memory. "I am Claudio - for everyone" quickly became Abbado's oft-quoted statement.

ARTASERSE

85 Minutes of previously unpublished Richter. Performances from 1984 in Tokyo, and 1976 in Moscow. Haydn and Debussy were particular favourites of Richter and as always, hearing him play on different occasions is always so rewarding.

CONDUCTS SHOSTAKOVICH LENINGRAD PHILHARMONIC ORCH

EIN HELDENLEBEN

Against the picturesque backdrop of the Vesuvius, the ancient Roman Theatre of Pompeii hosts a colourful open air event in honour of Pablo Picasso. Celebrating the centenary of his visit to Italy, two ballets with sets and costumes designed by this legendary Spanish artist are put on stage: "Parade", with music by Erik Satie, and Igor Stravinsky's "Pulcinella". The choreography of both works has been created by Russian ballet star Leonide Massine. It is performed by the Corps de Ballet of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma under the direction of Paris Opera prima ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato and Leonide Massine's son Lorca as choreographer. 100 years ago, together with Jean Cocteau, Picasso undertook a journey to Naples and Pompeii in order to work on "Parade". An avantgarde ballet commissioned by Serge Diaghilev, director of the famous Ballets Russes, which was supposed to be inspired by Neapolitan folklore and the commedia dell'arte. The stage curtain of "Parade" is the largest work Picasso ever completed, measuring about 11 meters high by 17 meters wide. Cocteau's libretto tells the story of a troupe of street artists, who parade in front of a crowd of onlookers, in an attempt to attract an audience for their show. Picasso would have celebrated his 140th birthday on 25. October 2021

Bernstein conducts the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra in rehearsals and performance at the Holsten-Halle, Neumuenster, July, 1988.

In September 2011, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony launched the Orchestra's milestone Centennial Season with a celebratory gala concert at Davies Symphony Hall dubbed "Fanfare for a New Century." the gala concert was broadcast nationally on PBS in March and April 2012 as part of their Great Performances series. The gala was hosted by Bay Area author Amy Tan and directed for television by Gary Halvorson and features one of the leading artists of our time, violinist Itzhak Perlman performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. The concert opens with Aaron Copland's vivid portrayal of American prairie life, the Billy the Kid ballet suite and concludes with Britten's orchestral showpiece the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Capping off the concert is an encore of Bay Area composer John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine featuring moving images of San Francisco projected throughout Davies Symphony Hall. San Francisco Symphony at 100 also includes historical documentary features narrated by Amy Tan highlighting the orchestra's early beginnings, it's rich history of touring and it's commitment to young people and innovations in media.

In September 2011, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony launched the Orchestra's milestone Centennial Season with a celebratory gala concert at Davies Symphony Hall dubbed "Fanfare for a New Century." the gala concert was broadcast nationally on PBS in March and April 2012 as part of their Great Performances series. The gala was hosted by Bay Area author Amy Tan and directed for television by Gary Halvorson and features one of the leading artists of our time, violinist Itzhak Perlman performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor. The concert opens with Aaron Copland's vivid portrayal of American prairie life, the Billy the Kid ballet suite and concludes with Britten's orchestral showpiece the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Capping off the concert is an encore of Bay Area composer John Adams' Short Ride in a Fast Machine featuring moving images of San Francisco projected throughout Davies Symphony Hall. San Francisco Symphony at 100 also includes historical documentary features narrated by Amy Tan highlighting the orchestra's early beginnings, it's rich history of touring and it's commitment to young people and innovations in media.

Directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa.

A dangerous concert experience with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. Murder at the Symphony is next in line in their conceptual series, with another exciting concert full of mystery, thrill and popular film music. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra manages to merge the boundaries between classical music and film music like hardly any other orchestra. Discover soundtracks from blood dripping movies and TV series such as Psycho, Vertigo, The Silence of the Lambs, Twin Peaks and Babylon Berlin. It includes an extraordinary interpretation of the hit single Where the Wild Roses Grow, the most successful single release by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue. It also features the theme song Open Spaces from movie drama There will be Blood scored by Radiohead's lead guitarist and keyboardist Johnny Greenwood. The concert includes soundtracks from hit composers such as Leonard Cohen, Hans Zimmer, Bernard Herrmann and Nino Rota.

Directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa. Starring San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas.

Shostakovich may have hidden a subversive cipher beneath the surface of his life-saving Symphony No. 5. After his opera Lady MacBeth was publically condemned as immoral by Pravda, the Soviet newspaper, Shostakovich knew he only had one chance to redeem himself. When he penned this fifth symphony, the composer was literally writing for his life. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony explore the hidden language of this masterwork. As a bonus, the DVD includes a full-length concert performance of this symphony.

Directed by David Kennard, Joan Saffa. Starring San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas.

In this recording, Jana'ek's great choral work, the Glagolitic Mass, is performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Vaclav Neumann, with Jan Hora on the organ. The soloists are Gabriela Benackova (soprano), Drahomira Drobkova (

Seven DVD set. What made Claudio Abbado stand out was his unpretentious, noble character, his democratic understanding of music making and his ability to celebrate the live moment on stage. Claudio Abbado empathized with his musicians. In order to be able to maintain contact with each individual during the conducting, he usually conducted from memory. "I am Claudio - for everyone" quickly became Abbado's oft-quoted statement.

MATA HARI: A BALLET BY TED BRANDSEN

The Danish Radio Big Band joined in with Curtis Stigers to celebrate the iconic legendary Frank Sinatra concerts that took place at The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. This concert recording presents the most beloved evergreens from the American songbook classics of the 1950s and 1960s. 50 years ago, magic was made on the stage of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when the timeless Frank Sinatra met the robust swing of the Count Basie Orchestra. Sinatra at the Sands has remained a beloved classic ever since, the perfect marriage of old-school pop and big band jazz. Singer, songwriter and saxophonist Curtis Stigers brings those worlds together in his own music since the last three decades, which makes him the perfect candidate to reinterpret Sinatra's cherished repertoire for modern ears. He captures the rare alchemy of hipness, elegance, playfulness and feeling that made Sinatra's renditions of these songs immortal while adding his own unique twist.

SYM 5

George Szell conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from a December 1961 TV broadcast.

BERLIOZ: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

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This production of Bellini's famous masterpiece Norma was extraordinary in many aspects. Staged by Italian director and filmmaker Roberto Ando at the Teatro Regio in Parma, it gathered international stars like American soprano June Anderson and shooting s