Stingray Classica

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) composed 13 symphonic poems, largely inspired by literary texts. The composer himself wrote piano duet arrangements for these pieces, showcasing his incredible ability of imitating a full orchestra on the piano. Liszt, one of the 19th century’s most important piano virtuosos, strongly influenced the further development of piano music. The Romantic period was the era of the virtuoso pianists: the piano was the instrument of choice for countless musicians and listeners alike. No house of standing could do without a piano: it was a status symbol. Piano music was played in concert halls, palaces, salons, churches and public houses alike. Liszt’s symphonic poem no. 4, ‘Orpheus’, breathes a meditative atmosphere. No. 3, ‘Les Préludes’, is best known in its symphonic version – the piano version presented here is rarely heard. The work dates back to the period 1848 – 1854 and was initially meant to serve as introduction to a choral cycle to be based on the texts of the poet Joseph Autran, ‘Les quatre éléments’: earth, air, water and fire. In this broadcast, the Italian piano duo of Marco Sollini and Salvatore Barbatano performs these Liszt piano works. These recordings were made at the beautiful 12th century church of San Marco in the small but picturesque village of Ponzano di Fermo, as part of the 2015 edition of the annual, itinerant festival ‘Armonie della sera’ in the Italian province of Le Marche.

Russian pianist Nikolay Lugansky has received world-wide praise for his interpretations of the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff. In this wonderful recital, the great pianist presents works by the Russian Romantic composer as well as Ludwig van Beethoven and Alexander Glazunov. Lugansky opens his concert with Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, ‘Moonlight’, followed by Alexander Glazunov’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 75. Then Lugansky performs a selection of works by Rachmaninoff: Rachmaninoff’s piano transcription of J. S. Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E major; a selection of Études-Tableaux (Nos. 1, 2, 4, and 8, Op, 33, and Nos. 5 and 6, Op. 39); Lilac (Op. 21, No. 5); Prelude in C minor, Op. 23 No. 7; and Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Lullaby (Op. 16 No. 1). This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on June 4, 2021.

Iván Fischer leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra (BFO) in a concert program dedicated to the music of Ludwig van Beethoven. The program opens with the composer’s Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 21. Afterward, Fischer conducts Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, in which Richard Goode features as the soloist. The acclaimed American pianist (1943) is known for his interpretations of the Beethoven repertoire. Goode recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the BFO and Fischer, earning him exceptional critical acclaim and a Grammy Award nomination. As an encore, Goode performs the Sarabande from J. S. Bach’s Partita in B-flat major, BWV 825. The program closes with Beethoven’s famous Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. This performance was recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary, on January 29, 2017.

American conductor Leonard Slatkin leads the Orchestre National de Lyon in a concert recorded at the Auditorium de Lyon in 2014. The concert opens with William Bolcom´s Circus Ouverture, which was specially composed for Slatkin's 70th birthday. The concert continues with a performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto in C, Op. 56 performed by three female soloists: Olga Kern (piano), Baibe Skride (violin) and Sol Gabetta (cello). The work is the only concerto which Beethoven ever completed for more than one solo instrument. The concert closes with Ravel's beloved orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.

Under the direction of Conrad van Alphen, the Sinfonia Rotterdam Orchestra performs Haydn's Symphony No. 45 at the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in The Hague. This piece is nicknamed "Farewell" because of a funny anecdote. Haydn and his musicians stayed every year from May to October at the magnificent Esterháazy Palace, at the request of Prince Nicholas. In early November 1772, the prince announced his intention to remain at the palace for two more months. The musicians then told Kapellmeister Haydn their disagreement with this forced extension of their stay. The solution proposed by Haydn was to compose a piece delivering a clear message: at the end of the last movement of the Symphony, the musicians were called to blow the candles on their lectern and leave the room one after the other. Prince Nicholas understood the message; the next day a car was waiting for the musicians to take them home.

In this concert, Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Gewandhaus Orchestra and Kammerchor for the last time as the Gewandhaus Music Director at the Leipzig Bachfest 2005. After seven successful years in Leipzig, the maestro performs J. S. Bach's Mass in B minor (BWV 232), one of the greatest works of church music ever written. Soloists are Ruth Ziesak (soprano), Anna Larsson (alto), Christoph Genz (tenor), and Dietrich Henschel (bass). The mass is a musical setting of the complete Ordinary of the Latin Mass and is one of last compositions Bach completed, just one year before his death, in 1750. Blomstedt's reading of the work is conceived and executed on the highest level with the performance pulsating with life. Since 1999, the Leipzig Bachfest has been regarded as the world’s leading festival celebrating the music of Bach.

Italian conductor Andrea Vitello leads his Ensemble BIOS in a performance of ‘Someone Out There is Praying for Peace (Let Us Not Be the Reason), I’, by contemporary Canadian composer Rita Ueda. This piece is written for strings and tar, a traditional plucked string instrument of Persian music, played here by Saeed Mirzazadeh. Ensemble BIOS specializes in 20th and 21st century music. This performance was recorded at Chiesa di San Cristo in Brescia, Italy.

Few Italian theatres can boast of being an absolute point of reference for national and world culture. The Teatro Regio in Turin is both a symbol of excellence in the national operatic tradition and a prestigious stage hosting operas, ballets, concerts, and musicals of great substance. This short documentary offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the Teatro Regio Torino and bears witness to the enviable reputation that has prevailed since its opening in 1740.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester was founded in 1986 at the initiative of Claudio Abbado and has since become the world’s best youth orchestra. Named after the great composer, the programme is marked by the special relationship between the maestro and the young orchestra, as well as their special relationship to Gustav Mahler. Claudio Abbado is undeniably the supreme Mahler conductor of our time and his long-time association with this repertoire culminates in this stirring performance of Mahler’s last Symphony, written shortly before the composer’s untimely death. Recorded at Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome 2004, the film vividly shows the joy, talent, and professionalism of the young musicians drawn from all over Europe and their devotion to Claudio Abbado. A wonderful homage to orchestra, conductor, composer and to a triumphant master work - Gustav Mahler’s magnificent 9th symphony.

Although the great Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi applied unsuccessfully to study at the Milan Conservatory, this renowned college of music was eventually named after him. Today, the ‘Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi’ counts numerous successful musicians among its alumni: from Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalani, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Luigi Einaudi and Daniele Gatti, to Gianandrea Noseda. The acclaimed conductor Noseda (*1964) is one of the most important conductors of his generation. Recently, he taught a conducting masterclass at his alma mater for promising students from all over the world. For three days, Noseda joined forces with a hand-picked group of students to work on a varied concert programme. This documentary shows you these young, talented musicians rehearse compositions by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky under the enthusiastic guidance of Maestro Gianandrea Noseda himself.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence Musical May) is Italy’s oldest opera and arts festival. It was founded in 1933 with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas. Over the years, the scope widened, and orchestral concerts have long been an integral part of the festival. As part of the festival’s 2021 edition, maestro Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program featuring Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major, ‘Titan’. Mahler completed his first symphony in 1888. Originally a five-movement piece, the composer discarded the second movement ‘Blumine’ some years later, resulting in the final four-movement version we know today. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

Pianist Mikhail Pletnev is accompanied by the Russian National Orchestra led by Kirill Karabits in a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 22. At its premiere in 1868, the orchestra was led by Anton Rubinstein, with the composer himself at the piano. The current concert was recorded at the Moscow Philharmonic Society and opens with a performance of Sergei Prokofiev's symphonic picture 'Dreams'. The concert was part of the Ninth Russian National Orchestra Grand Festival from 2017.

J. S. Bach’s six Brandenburg Concerto’s belong to his best-known works. The composer wrote these concertos between 1711 and 1720 and dedicated them in 1721 to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg. In celebration of the pieces’ 300th anniversary, Czech harpsichordist and conductor Václav Luks and the renowned Baroque ensemble Collegium 1704 recorded all six Brandenburg Concertos on historical instruments in 2021. The concertos are based on the Italian concerto grosso form, in which a group of solo instruments is set against a large ensemble. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos feature remarkable combinations of solo instruments and virtuoso solos. In this performance at the Hall of Mirrors in the Köthen Castle, Germany, Luks and his Collegium 1704 present Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046. This concerto was written for strings, woodwinds, and brass, and features solos from each instrument group.

In a 2019 performance from the Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven, Hartmut Haenchen conducts the philharmonie zuidnederland for this performance of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7. The German-born conductor, who became a Dutch citizen through naturalisation, was chief conductor at the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra before he was finally knighted for his services to the Dutch music landscape. The majestic opening theme of the first movement of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 7 foreshadows a momentous work, lasting over 20 minutes. The doubt and turmoil felt throughout the Adagio, the second movement, are supposedly Bruckner's response to the news of the death of his idol, Richard Wagner. Bruckner's use of Wagner tubas and double bass tubas creates an even more solemn and grandiose air within the Adagio. Trumpet signals refer to crowing cockerels as they interrupt the grim and clamorous Scherzo. In the Finale, Bruckner employs a persistent rhythmic pulse that starts softly yet builds up towards the explosive final bars.

Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus in a concert performing Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen (A Study for 23 Solo Strings) and Mozart's Requiem, K. 626. Soloists are Siobhan Stagg (soprano), Avery Amereau (contralto), Ben Bliss (tenor) and Anthony Robin Schneider (bass). Recorded at Severance Hall, Cleveland in March 2023.

Swiss conductor Ludwig Wicki leads the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the DR Junior Choir in a sparkling concert program of film music. The program features a selection of music from great and Oscar-winning Hollywood films, including Titanic, The Bodyguard, Pirates of the Caribbean, Braveheart, and Moulin Rouge, written by major composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Klaus Badelt. Highlights include ‘He’s a pirate/Davy Jones’ from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest; ‘Now We Are Free’ from Gladiator; ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic; and ‘Shallow’ from A Star Is Born. Featured soloists in this concert are the young talented singers Andrea Lykke Oehlenschlæger and Diluckshan Jeyaratnam. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2022.

After recording all 32 Ludwig van Beethoven piano sonatas to celebrate the composer's 250th birth anniversary, celebrated Italian pianist Riccardo Schwartz decided to record solo piano works by Robert Schumann. In this performance, Schwartz presents Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22. The composer completed the work in 1838. Of Schumann’s three piano sonatas, Piano Sonata No. 2 is performed and recorded most frequently. It opens with an energetic first movement, followed by a beautiful, slow Andantino based on Schumann’s song ‘Im Herbste’ (1828). The third movement is a short Scherzo. At the request of his future spouse, Clara, the composer replaced the original finale by a less demanding movement. Acclaimed pianist Riccardo Schwartz (1986) has performed as a soloist with many world-renowned conductors, including Gustav Kuhn and Yuri Temirkanov. His acclaimed performances include recitals and concertos for piano and orchestra in many prestigious concert halls.

Maestro Bernard Haitink leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a performance of Igor Stravinsky's Le sacre du printemps (‘The Rite of Spring’). Stravinksy composed the ballet’s score in 1913 for Sergei Diaghilev's itinerant ballet company Ballets Russes. The work’s sensational première at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris caused a riot in the audience in response to the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography. The score, written for one of Stravinsky’s largest orchestras, features harsh dissonances and complex rhythms. Despite its scandalous premiere, the work gained great critical acclaim. Le sacre du printemps is now considered one of the great masterpieces in classical music history, which influenced many 20th-century composers. This performance was recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK, as part of Europakonzert 1993.

One of the first Christmas carols ever written is Perotin the Great’s Salvatoris Hodie. This brilliant 12th century composition, one of the first works ever written for four voices, opens First Snow: the atmospheric Christmas concert by the Brussels Philharmonic. Straying from ‘ars antiqua’, the program also features a performance of two contemporary melodies penned by conductor Bo Holten based on texts by the Icelandic poet Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889-1975). As an added bonus, a hand-picked selection of various Polish and French Christmas songs rounds off this enjoyable yuletide program.

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809): Symphony No. 94 in G major "Surprise". Berliner Philharmoniker; conductor: Mariss Jansons. The European Concert has been a tradition of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 1991. The musicians commemorate the anniversary of the orchestra's founding on May 1st, 1882, playing in different European cities. This concert was recorded in the church "Hagia Eirene" in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir take you on a musical journey through the greatest Oscar-winning films, from timeless classics like Casablanca to monumental masterpieces like The Godfather and iconic blockbusters like Forrest Gump —epic movies with music that deserves its very own place in film history. These are famous soundtracks that, for nearly a century, have made us shiver, melt, and cry in the darkness of the cinema. Christian Schumann conducts The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir and soloists are Silas Bjerregaard and eee gee with host Caspar Phillipson as special guest.

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra takes us on a spectacular symphonic space journey in an out-of-this-world concert program of film music. Under the direction of Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, the orchestra guides us through the musical universe, performing a selection of music from iconic sci-fi movies, such as Avatar, Gravity, Interstellar, and Star Wars, written by major composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and James Horner. Featured soloists in this concert are Tuva Semmingsen, Christine Nonbo Andersen, Steffen Bruun, and David Bateson. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2021.

Italian cellist Silvia Chiesa and Italian pianist Maurizio Baglini perform a wonderful recital of works by Ferruccio Busoni, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. On the program are Busoni’s Kultaselle – 10 variations on a Finnish folksong; Liszt’s Two Elegies for cello and piano; Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3; and Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in G minor for cello and piano, Op. 19. As an encore, the duo plays Leonard Bernstein’s iconic composition ‘Tonight’ from the musical West Side Story. This performance was recorded at Sala Verdi of the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, Italy, on November 4, 2024.

Philippe Herreweghe conducts his Collegium Vocale Gent in this chamber music program dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach. On the program are Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 4 in D major, BWV 1069; Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79; and Missa brevis in G major, BWV 236. The soloists are soprano Dorothee Mields, tenor Thomas Hobbs, countertenor Alex Potter, and bass Peter Kooij. The program continues with a fine selection of Bach’s works performed by French lutenist Thomas Dunford. On the program are Suite for lute in G minor, BWV 995; Suite for solo cello in G major (arr. for lute), BWV 1007; and Chaconne from Partita for solo violin in D minor (arr. lute), BWV 1004. This concert was recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, in 2017.

Maestro Herbert Blomstedt makes his debut with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra at 2020’s Lucerne Festival conducting Ludwig van Beethoven’s celebrated Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55, “Eroica”. The sprightly Swedish conductor celebrated his 93rd birthday just one month before this performance. This remarkable performance was recorded at the Lucerne Culture and Congress Center (KKL), Switzerland, in August 2020.

One of the world’s most popular pieces of classical music, Maurice Ravel’s Boléro (1928), was no longer copyrighted as of May 1, 2016. Up to then it had made Ravel and his heirs millions. Ravel died in 1937 and left all he owned to his brother Edouard. Edouard’s death in 1960 unleashed a complex legal battle over the rights, involving among others Edouard’s nurse and her husband. This 2017 documentary gives a fascinating account of what happened to one this iconic piece of music right under the nose of the public. Filmmaker Fabien Caux-Lahalle underpins this investigative story with clips of the Boléro in various guises.

Rodolfo Barráez conducts the Orchestra and Choir of the Academia de Musica del Palacia de Mineria in a performance of Carl Orff's cantata Carmina Burana. Soloists are Anabel de la Mora (soprano), Andrés Carrillo (tenor) and Daniel Cerón (baritone). Carmina Burana, composed in 1935 and 1936, is based on 24 poems from a medieval manuscript of the same name. The full title is "Songs from Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images". It was first performed at the Oper Frankfurt on June 8, 1937.