Stingray Classica

Indian conductor Zubin Mehta (1936) became Music Director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) in 1977 and was appointed Music Director for Life in 1981. On July 18, 1996, Mehta led the IPO in its first-ever performance of Richard Strauss’s tone poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28. Renowned as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the great symphonic repertoire—especially the Romantic works of Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss—Mehta had conducted this popular masterpiece many times before. However, this was the first occasion he rehearsed it from the very beginning with the orchestra. This episode of ‘In Rehearsal’ offers an intimate look at the dialogue between Mehta and the musicians as they explore Strauss’s tone poem together.

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, Sir John Eliot Gardiner leads the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a wonderful concert program that includes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17, ‘Little Russian’, and Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, better known as the Enigma Variations. Written in 1872, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 bears the nickname ‘Little Russian’, as the composer used folk tunes in his work from Ukraine, then known as ‘Little Russia’. Completed in 1899, Elgar’s Enigma Variations is an orchestral work comprising a theme and fourteen variations, each variation being a musical sketch of one of the composer’s friends. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.

In 1722, when Johann Sebastian Bach lived in Köthen, Germany, he published a book of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys. This collection became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, BWV 846–869. About two decades later, Bach compiled a second book in Leipzig, which became known as The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book Two, BWV 870-893. Bach intended these pieces for the clavier, which includes the harpsichord, clavichord, and organ. Despite this unclarity, these pieces are regarded as some of the most important works in the history of Western classical music. In this broadcast, Joanna MacGregor plays Preludes and Fugues Nos. 13 to 24 (BWV 858-869) from Book One of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, recorded at the Palau Güell in Barcelona, Spain, in 2010.

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.

For this exceptional recital, recorded in 2019 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Camille (cello) and Julie Berthollet (violin) are accompanied by pianist Guillaume Vincent and the Ensemble Appassionato under the direction of Mathieu Herzog. The two musical sisters have chosen a repertoire which crosses genres and eras to explore the expressive palette of the violin and cello, from the baroque of Vivaldi to the jazzy notes of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grapelli. Among the works on the program are Brahms Hungarian Dances No. 5 and No. 6, Karl Jenkins' Palladio, 'Theme from Forrest Gump' by Alan Silvestri, Schumann's Piano Quintet, Op. 44, The Red Violin by Corigliano, Hungarian Rhapsody, op. 68 by Popper, Minor Swing by Reinhardt/Grappeli and Csárdás by Monti.

At St. Bartholomew Church in Dornheim, Germany, where composer Johann Sebastian Bach married his first wife Maria Barbara, renowned Dutch cellist Anner Bijlsma performs the composer's Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011. It is likely Bach wrote his collection of six Suites for unaccompanied cello during the years 1717-1723. His cello suites are an essential part of the cello repertoire, highlighting the instrument's manifold polyphonic possibilities. As customary in a Baroque suite, each movement is based on a dance type. Bach's Suite No. 5 opens with a prelude, and is followed by six dance movements, divided over five sections: an allemande, a courante, a sarabande, two gavottes, and a final gigue.

Andreas Spering conducts Philharmonie Zuidnederland in a performance of "Overture Rosamunde" (D. 644), by Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Recorded in Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, the Netherlands in 2015. Schubert initially composed the Overture for Georg Ernst von hofmann's play 'Die Zauberharfe' ('The Magic Harp'), which premiered on August 19, 1820. Three years later, the overture was used again, this time for Helmina von Chézy's play Rosemunde. Chézy's (1783-1856) librettos enjoyed little succes, and it is said that Schubert's contribution to Rosamunde saved the production.

The film Jaroussky sings Bach & Telemann is a portrait of a very special vocalist, and of two exceptional composers. When Philippe Jaroussky - whose angelic voice seems almost timeless, not belonging to any one epoque or decade - sings works by Telemann and Bach, it becomes abundantly clear that the sheer emotional force and the purifying power of their music have not diminished over the centuries. The works performed in this film are Telemann's Jesus liegt in letzten Zügen and Sinfonia from Brockes-Passion; Der am Ölberg zagende Jesus, and Bach's Sinfonia from Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis and Ich habe genug.

In this splendid 2013 concert from the Church of Verbier, Switzerland, Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos and Chinese pianist Yuja Wang join forces to interpret three sonatas by Johannes Brahms. Leonidas Kavakos rose to fame in 1985, when he became the youngest musician to ever win the first price of the prestigious Sibelius Competition. With Yuja Wang, an accomplished artist at young age herself, he forms a masterful duo of chamber music interpretation. The programme features Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, also known as the "Regensonate," Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 2 in A major, Op. 100, the "Thuner Sonata," a portrait of the Swiss lake of Thun's peaceful scenery. It comes to a fiery and passionate finale with Brahm's Sonata for Piano and Violin, No. 3 in D minor, Op 108.

The Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen (1958) was Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1992 until 2009. Under his dynamic leadership, it was recognized as one of the world's most outstanding orchestras. The exciting musical partnership Salonen established with his musicians was widely acclaimed in the international press. The conductor's lucidity, efficiency, and lack of pretension, promoted a relaxed collaboration between himself and the orchestra, which is particularly evident in the rehearsal process. This ‘In Rehearsal’ episode features Salonen rehearsing Claude Debussy's Impressionistic orchestral piece La Mer with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Center of Los Angeles County. It gives a fascinating insight into Salonen’s rapport with his musicians and also into Debussy’s masterpiece.

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.

In this splendid concert, exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a program for two pianos comprising works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Maurice Ravel, Anton Arensky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Nikolai Kapustin. Both pianists, laureates of the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1994, have received international recognition. They perform regularly in a duo. On the program: Mozart’s Sonata for two pianos in D major, K. 448/375 A; Ravel’s La Valse (arr. for two pianos); Arensky’s Suite No. 1 for two pianos, Op. 15; and Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 1 (Fantasy) for two pianos, Op. 5. As an encore, the duo performs ‘Romance’ from Rachmaninoff’s Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Op. 17, followed by ‘Overture’ from Nikolai Kapustin’s Sinfonietta, Op. 49. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.

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.

The Zurich Opera House is one of the most renowned in Europe. Fifteen premieres are staged here every year - a significant achievement, when one considers just how much work goes into each individual production. In this exciting documentary, we go behind-the-scenes at the Zurich Opera House and follow the intensive progress of the new production of Gioachino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Vesselina Kasarova in the role of Rosina. The film also shows preparations for other productions, such as a workshop for Richard Wagner's Siegfried directed by Robert Wilson, and a rehearsal for Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps with choreography by Heinz Spoerli. This film opens the curtain to understanding an opera house’s many exciting facets.

Conductor Marien van Staalen leads Amadeus Ensemble Rotterdam in a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622. Henk de Graaf is the featured soloist. This performance was recorded at St. Nicholas Church in Vollenhove, the Netherlands.

Les Dissonances is a collective of artists founded by violinist David Grimal in 2004. The conductorless ensemble consists of musicians from the most prestigious European orchestras, international soloists, and young talents. In this performance, Les Dissonances perform Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. Beethoven composed Symphony No. 5 between 1804 and 1808, completing the work at nearly the same time as his Symphony No. 6, ‘Pastorale’. Both symphonies premiered as part of an all-Beethoven program at the same concert on December 22, 1808. Symphony No. 5 has become one of the best-known compositions in classical music. It opens with the famous four-note motif, often interpreted as the musical manifestation of ’fate knocking at the door’. This rhythmic figure returns in various guises in the other three movements of the symphony. The second movement consists of a set of lyrical variations on two themes. The third movement begins gently, but leads to a blasting horn section presenting a theme that features the rhythmic pattern of the four-note motif. The movement leads uninterrupted to the fourth movement that features a triumphant finale ending in C major. This performance was recorded at Philharmonie de Paris, France, in 2015.

In this recital, Roberto Giordano plays the Six Pieces for Piano, op. 118 of Brahms, a collection completed in 1893 and dedicated to Clara Schumann who will be the penultimate produced by the composer during his lifetime. The concert program also includes two Beethoven sonatas, the famous Moonlight Sonata No. 14, op. 27, and Sonata No. 31, op. 110, one of the last sonatas signed by the composer. This concert was recorded at Villa Visconti Borromeo Litta, in the Italian city of Lainate, in 2017. Directed by: Pietro Tagliaferri.

Acclaimed classical music talent scout Antonio Mormone (1930-2017) lives on as the name-giver of the Premio Internazionale Antonio Mormone (PIAM), awarded to the winner of the Italian music competition of the same name. The first edition of this competition, which was held in various venues in Milan from 2019 to 2021, was dedicated to the piano. During the competition’s final round, Piotr Pawlak (Poland, 1998) performs Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, and Johannes Brahms’s Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5. This performance was recorded at Sala Verdi of the Conservatory of Milan, in July 2021.

The shy and elusive Grigroy Sokolov is one of the greatest pianists of our time. His performances leave critics and audiences alike speechless, like they don't quite believe what they have just experienced. In 2015, he played a beautiful recital with works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, and Claude Debussy that took place at the Festival La Roque D'Anthéron in Aix-en-Provence. And just as he was wont to do, Sokolov delivered an unforgettable, magical musical moment. On the program: Bach – Partita for keyboard No. 1, BWV 825, Beethoven – Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Schubert – Sonata in a minor op. 143, Schubert – Six Moments Musicaux. The encores are Chopin – Mazurka in A minor, Chopin – Prelude No. 15 and Debussy – Prelude Canope.

Iván Fischer conducts the Budapest Festival Orchestra in a concert recorded at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary in 2015. The concert opens with Sergei Prokofiev's Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34. After this, Thomas Zehetmair stars as solo violinist in Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 63. The second part of the concert is features music by Igor Stravinsky. On the program is music composed for the ballet 'Jeu de cartes' (1937) and the Firebird Suite, No. 2 (1919). 'Jeu de cartes' is one of Stravinsky's neo-classical works and consists of three parts ('deals'). The Firebird Suite, No. 2 is based on the music from the ballet of the same name, which was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and premiered in Paris in 1910.

The Royal Ballet Flanders performs a beautiful program with ballets by choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Jeroen Verbruggen. The Symphonic Orchestra of the Opera Vlaanderen is conducted by Yannis Pouspourikas. Ravel remains a source of inspiration for many choreographers. Cherkaoui and rising talent Verbruggen take their vision of Ravel's music to the stage with the Ballet Flanders. Verbruggen draws his inspiration from Ravel's ”Pavane pour une infante défunte” and from ”Ma mère l'Oye.” Cherkaoui also translates Ravel into dance, opting for the colorful ”Pictures at an Exhibition” composed by Mussorgsky, which was orchestrated by Ravel to become the most widely performed orchestration of this work. Among the star dancers are Nancy Osbaldeston, Alexander Burton, and Drew Jacoby. Recorded in the Opera Antwerp in 2016 and directed by Andreas Morell.

Musicians of the Reina Sofía School of Music pay tribute to the rich musical heritage of Czechia in this chamber concert. The program features Bedřich Smetana’s Piano Trio in G minor, performed by violinist Eduard Kollert, cellist Célia Garetti Nicole, and pianist Mariam Chitanava. Pianist Natalie Schwamova takes the stage for Leoš Janáček’s Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, followed by Josef Suk’s Four Pieces for violin and piano, featuring Eduard Kollert and pianist Marie Rosa Günter. The concert concludes with Antonín Dvořák’s Mazurek in E minor, performed by Kollert and Schwamova. This performance was recorded at Auditorio Sony of the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Spain, on November 28, 2024.

Today’s Brussels Philharmonic concert focuses on the diverse musical styles that characterized the first half of the 20th century. In addition to the impressionism of Claude Debussy's Jeux (1913), conductor Michel Tabachnik's ensemble focuses on one of the leading composers of modern music: Igor Stravinsky. His first ballet music, Firebird (1910), is a highlight of the concert. The concert opens with Anton Webern’s Five Pieces for Orchestra Op. 10 (1913). These five, ultra-short pieces are not thematically connected, nor do they include traditional formal plans or tonal relationships - prepare for a listening challenge!

Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks performs Frederic Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie Op. 61. Recorded at the Nicols Concert Hall, Evanston, IL, USA. Faliks has established herself as one of the most communicative, and poetic artists of her generation. The Polonaise-Fantaise was dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, composed and published in 1846

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. 5 in D major, BWV 1050. Remarkably, the harpsichord appears as a solo instrument here, along with the flute and violin, rather than as an accompanying instrument. The piece is therefore considered one of Bach’s very first keyboard concertos.

Emmanuelle Haim conducts Le Concert d’Astrée in a rendition of G. F. Handel’s two-part oratorio “Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno” (The Triumph of Time and Truth). The work with a libretto by Benedetto Pamphili was first performed in Rome, in 1707. Director Krzysztof Warlikowski has taken Handel’s first oratorio, written when the composer was only 22 years old, on in a deep, tender staging. In this oratorio, the characters Time and Disillusion try to convince Beauty to abandon Pleasure for less fleeting gratifications. Sabine Devieilhe is unquestionably the star that carries the show, always impressive in technique, range and timbre. Her sparring and harmonizing with Franco Fagioli is magnificent. Other soloists are Michael Spyres and Sara Mingardo. Recorded at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in 2016.

Roberto Giordano performs Chopin's Ballade No. 1, Op. 23. The sketches of the work date back to 1831 during Chopin's eight-month stay in Vienna. The first ballade was completed in 1835 after the composer moved to Paris. The main section of the ballade is built from two main themes which return in different keys after which a thundering chord introduces the Presto con fuoco, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery double octave scale run down the keyboard. The work gained popularity after appearing on the soundtrack to the 2002 Roman Polanski film The Pianist, where it is played by Janusz Olejniczak.

Quarteto Radamés Gnattali performs Heitor Villa-Lobos's String Quartet No. 17 at the Palácio das Laranjeiras in Rio de Janiero, Brasil. The ensemble was founded in 2006 and consists of Carla Rincón and Francisco Roa (violins), Fernando Thebaldi (viola), and Hugo Pilger (cello). The quartet, which specializes in Brazilian music, focuses on educational activities. Their recording of all of Villa-Lobos string quartets is a major achievement and was very well received by international music critics. Except for his Bachianas brasileiras, the performance of many of the Brazilian's compositions is limited to Latin America. Highly regarded as a composer, conductor and educator in his native country, Villa-Lobos has operas, symphonies, concertos, piano repertoire, choral music, and seventeen string quartets to his credit.

‘Iolanta’ and ‘Perséphone’ – A double bill consisting of two stage works that “represent an ideal of beauty, poetry and hope” forms this new production by Peter Sellars in Madrid from the Teatro Real from 2012. In both works, the progression from darkness to light acts as an initiation rite that completely transforms the existential attitude of the leading characters. This broadcast features ‘Iolanta’, a mature composition by Tchaikovsky, which was premiered in 1892. It contains all aspects of the composer’s mastery: beautiful melodies, clear structure, and genuine passion in its many varieties. The Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real are conducted by Teodor Currentzis. The soloists in this production are Ekaterina Scherbachenko (Iolanta), Alexej Markov (Robert), Pavel Cernoch (Vaudémont), Dmitry Ulianov (King René), Willard White (Ibn-Hakia), Vasily Efimov (Alméric), Pavel Kudinov (Bertrand), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Marta), Irina Churilova (Brigita) and Letitia Singleton (Irina Churilova).

The Berliner Philharmoniker and Lang Lang under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle

Latvian maestro Mariss Jansons (1943-2019) was one of the world’s leading conductors. He served as Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic from 1979 to 2000, during which time he transformed the orchestra into a front-rank ensemble. Under his leadership, the orchestra toured extensively and became a favorite at major festivals worldwide. The Oslo Philharmonic was celebrated for its fresh, open sound and for Jansons’s passionate interpretations of works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Béla Bartók. In this episode of ‘In Rehearsal,’ Jansons guides the orchestra through the powerful Suite from Bartók’s pantomime ballet The Miraculous Mandarin, culminating in a performance at the Oslo Concert Hall.