Classica — TV-kava
03:16Le Grand Orgue in Concert
Current holder of "Great Organ of the Notre Dame," Olivier Latry began his musical career when he enrolled in Gaston Litaize's organ class at the Academy of Saint-Maur at the age of 16. In 1985, at 23 years of age, Latry was awarded the post of one of four "titulaires des grands orgues" of Notre Dame, Paris. Besides enriching the musical world as an organist, improvisor and composer, Olivier Latry also works as a Professor of Organ at the Conservatoire de Paris. This performance of his, showcasing pieces of Bach, Vierne and Daquin, was recorded in 2015, at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
04:27Hans van Manen - Moving to Music
Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen (1932) is internationally recognized as one of the grand masters of contemporary ballet. His over 150 ballets all bear his distinct signature, featuring a great clarity in structure, refined simplicity and an aversion to decorative frills. In the documentary "Hans van Manen - Moving to Music" (2022), Van Manen reflects on his life, work, and the inspirations behind ballets charged with drama and eroticism. The film features excerpts from some of his most successful ballets, including the then-controversial Metaforen (1965), which featured the first male pas de deux, Adagio Hammerklavier (1973), and Sarcasmen (1981). Film director Reiner E. Moritz also included contributions of friends and colleagues, such as Ted Brandsen (Dutch National Ballet), Martin Schläpfer (Vienna State Ballet), and Van Manen's partner Henk van Dijk, rounding off the portrait of the great choreographer.
05:19Tchaikovsky - Symphony No. 2, Op. 17
American conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leads the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in an energetic performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's folk-infused Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17. Written in 1872, the work is nicknamed "Little Russian" as the composer used several folk tunes from Ukraine, then known as 'Little Russia'. This performance was recorded at LSO St Luke's, London, on May 31, 2021.
05:56Schumann - Humoreske, Op. 20
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, Schwarz performs Humoreske in B-flat major, Op. 20. Schumann composed the work in 1839 and dedicated it to German-Austrian composer Julie von Webenau. The piece's title refers to humor as an emotional state. Schumann took his inspiration from German Romantic writer Jean Paul, who defines humor as "an infinity of contrast", "a setting of the small world beside the great", and where "a kind of laughter results which contains pain and greatness". Humoreske is one continuous piece consisting of contrasting sections. 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.
06:23Classica Spotlight
Talented musicians from around the world perform renditions of classical music and concert pieces in some of the world's most stunning concert halls.
07:00Bach - Preludes and Fugues & Alla variata BWV 989
At the age of eleven, Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti (*1977) debuted with Italian chamber orchestra I Solisti Veneti under the baton of Claudio Scimone. He performed on international festivals and in prestigious concert halls worldwide. Besides, he appeared with several renowned orchestras such as Lucerne Festival Strings, Camerata Salzburg, and Prague Chamber Orchestra. In this recital, Bacchetti performs works of J. S. Bach. On the program is a selection of Preludes and Fugues from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II: No. 9 in E major, No. 14 in F-sharp minor, No. 15 in G major, No. 20 in A minor, No. 2 in C minor, No. 1 in C major, No. 4 in C-sharp minor, No. 6 in D minor, No. 7 in E-flat major, No. 8 in D-sharp minor, and No. 13 in F-sharp major. Bacchetti closes the recital with Bach's Aria variata alla maniera italiana in A minor, BWV 989. This performance was recorded at Teatro Sociale di Camogli, Italy, on December 9, 2022.
08:09Works for cello and piano by Schumann: Chopin a.o.
In Geneva, the Swiss city where she has spent most of her life, Argentinian pianist Martha Argerich invites her lifelong music partner, the cellist Mischa Maisky, to play chamber music. Between the pieces, Martha opens up to her daughter Annie Dutoit in an intimate interview that addresses both their relationship and the music. On the program are Ludwig van Beethoven's 7 variations after "The Magic Flute"; Robert Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Op. 73; Frédéric Chopin's Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3; "Lerchengesang" (No. 2) from Johannes Brahms's 4 Gesänge, Op. 70; and "Largo" from Chopin's Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65. This broadcast was recorded on November 12 and 13, 2020, in Geneva, Switzerland.
09:02Bach Concerto & Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4
The legendary Sir András Schiff takes on the dual role of conductor and soloist in this special concert with the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra of the Reina Sofía School of Music. The program opens with Johann Sebastian Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 5 in F minor, BWV 1056, with Schiff himself at the piano. The concert concludes with Felix Mendelssohn's magnificent "Italian" Symphony No. 4. This performance was recorded at Auditorium 400 of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain, on June 18, 2024.
Olivier Latry is the current holder of the Great Organ of Notre Dame. Between its original religious function and the interest of composers of all times, the great organ Cavaillé-Coll reveals its absolute modernity. Latry is considered one of the greatest organists of his generation, both in France and internationally. He sees himself as an ambassador of French music from the 17th through the 20th centuries as well as an advocate for the art of improvisation. Pieces played in the film are: Pierre Cochereau's Boléro, Louis Vierne's Carillon of Westminster and Scherzo from Symphony No. 2, Alexandre Guilmant's Sonata No. 1, Charles-Marie Widor's Gothic Symphony, Marcel Dupre's Cortège, Litanie and J. S. Bach's Passacaille & Fugue.
10:36Ravel - La Valse
The exceptional Russian pianists Nikolay Lugansky and Vadim Rudenko join forces in a performance of Maurice Ravel's La Valse, in an arrangement for two pianos. This performance was recorded at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia, on November 25, 2021.
10:48Classica Spotlight
Talented musicians from around the world perform renditions of classical music and concert pieces in some of the world's most stunning concert halls.
11:02Bruckner - Symphony No. 7
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.
Critics praise her, and the audience loves her. Kristine Opolais, the prima donna and the star of the New York Metropolitan Opera, performs in her home country Latvia. She gives a splendid concert with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, at the Latvian National Opera, in 2017. The program includes arias from operas that made Kristine an international star. It includes mostly Italian music that will encourage you to dream about love and think about what is truly important. Enjoy the most beautiful arias and instrumental pieces of opera by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Pietro Mascagni, Camille Saint-Saëns, Arrigo Boito, and Alfredo Catalani.
13:48Approaching the Maelström
The 2019 documentary "Approaching the Maelström" follows the process leading up to a recording of American composer Philip Glass's composition 'A Descent into the Maelström'. The work is based on American writer Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of two fishermen caught in torrents raging between the mountainous islands of Lofoten, Norway. Glass's work, originally a choral piece for the Australian Dance Theatre, was only ever performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1986. Over thirty years later, in 2019, Beacon Isle Films recorded a symphonic arrangement of Glass's work, performed by the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Tim Weiss with soprano Berit Norbakken Solset as the soloist. Their recording was made against the backdrop of Lofoten's spectacular landscape: the very surroundings that inspired Poe's story. Moreover, this inspiring documentary features a rare interview with Glass.
14:38Brahms - Tragic Overture in D minor Op. 81
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 Johannes Brahms's Tragic Overture in D minor, Op. 81, and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1 in D major, 'Titan'. Brahms composed his concert overture during the summer of 1880. With its dark and tumultuous character, it could be regarded as the serious counterpart of his more joyful Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80. Mahler completed his first symphony eight years later, 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.
15:01Tales of Two Cities: Leipzig-Damascus Coffee House
The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra also known simply as Tafelmusik, is a Toronto-based Canadian baroque orchestra, specialised in early music. Its musical director is Jeanne Lamon. Together with the Trio Arabica they celebrate the music and culture in the eighteenth century. The cities of Leipzig and Damascus both lay at the crossroads of ancient trading routes and are important centres of scholarship and famous for their coffee houses, where music was performed by the most brilliant musicians of the day. This concert presents works by Bach, Telemann, Handel and treasures of classical Arabic music. In this cross-cultural café, music, words, and images are used to explore the ways in which people separated by great distances are bound together by trade, ideas, and art. Recorded at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. Created by Alison Mackay and staging by Marshall Pynkoski.
16:40Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
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. 4 in G major, BWV 1049. This concerto features solos from two recorders and a violin. The recorders play a prominent role in the concerto's second movement, while the violin dominates the fast first and third movements.
16:56Recursivo
The Mexico City Ballet (MXCB) is a contemporary ballet company made up of highly experienced international dancers, residents of Mexico City. International guest dancers help celebrate the anniversary gala of the Mexico City Ballet, featuring the fantastic works of MXCB's resident choreographer, Yazmín Barragán. On the program are "Strong Ties" by choreographer Alan Marín; "TS" by Michel Cutri; "Ondine" by Barragán; "Ritual" by Edgar Sagarra; and lastly "The Debate" and 'Recursivo', again by Barragán. This performance was recorded at Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City, in 2020.
17:50Works for violin and piano by Corelli, Ravel a.o.
Japanese violinist Naoya Nishimura and Italian pianist Andrea Bacchetti perform an intimate recital recorded at the Munetsugu Hall in Nagoya, Japan. On the program are Arcangelo Corelli's Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 5 No. 12, "La Folia"; Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, "Spring"; Manuel de Falla's 7 Canciones populares españolas; Maurice Ravel's Sonata for violin and piano; Camille Saint-Saëns' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28; Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile in D major, Op. 17; and Antonio Bazzini's Scherzo fantastique, Op. 25, "La Ronde des Lutins". This performance was recorded on June 22, 2019.
19:22Grieg's Piano Concerto & Beethoven Symphony No. 7
Conductor Jan Latham-Koenig leads the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in this concert recorded at Concertgebouw Brugge, Belgium, on April 21, 2016. The program opens with Felix Mendelssohn's concert overture Die Hebriden, Op. 26 (The Hebrides). During a trip to Scotland, the composer was deeply impressed by the natural splendor of Staffa, an island of the Inner Hebrides, which inspired him to compose his concert overture. Next on the program is Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, featuring Pascal Amoyel as the pianist. It is the composer's only concerto. Grieg composed the work in 1868, drawing inspiration from Norwegian folk music. The program ends with Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. The work is very popular, especially because of its touching second movement. At the Allegretto's 1813 premiere, the audience demanded an immediate encore.
20:47Schumann - Sinfonische Etüden, Op. 13
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 Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. Composed between 1834-37, the work began as a theme and a set of sixteen variations. The theme had been composed by Baron von Fricken, an amateur musician and father of Ernestine von Fricken, to whom Schumann was engaged in 1834. The work was first published in 1837, containing the theme and twelve etudes (only nine of them were indicated 'variations'). Fifteen years later, in 1852, Schumann published a second edition of the work, eliminating two etudes and making some revisions to the piano writing. 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.
21:14Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
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.
21:36Classica Spotlight
Talented musicians from around the world perform renditions of classical music and concert pieces in some of the world's most stunning concert halls.
22:01Barbara Hannigan at Severance Hall
Barbara Hannigan, soprano and conductor, won the Grammy for "Best Classical Solo Vocal Album CRAZY GIRL CRAZY (Gershwin, Berg and Berio) 2018 and took home the Grammy for "Artist of the Year" in 2022. In autumn 2023 she made her long-awaited conducting debut with the Cleveland Orchestra. The programme featured an interesting mix of old and new with Haydn's Symphony No. 44 in E-minor, Vivier's Lonely Child', Ligeti's 'Lontano' and Death and Transfiguration by Richard Strauss.
00:00Approaching the Maelström
The 2019 documentary "Approaching the Maelström" follows the process leading up to a recording of American composer Philip Glass's composition 'A Descent into the Maelström'. The work is based on American writer Edgar Allan Poe's 1841 short story of two fishermen caught in torrents raging between the mountainous islands of Lofoten, Norway. Glass's work, originally a choral piece for the Australian Dance Theatre, was only ever performed at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in 1986. Over thirty years later, in 2019, Beacon Isle Films recorded a symphonic arrangement of Glass's work, performed by the Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir conducted by Tim Weiss with soprano Berit Norbakken Solset as the soloist. Their recording was made against the backdrop of Lofoten's spectacular landscape: the very surroundings that inspired Poe's story. Moreover, this inspiring documentary features a rare interview with Glass.
01:00Mozart - Requiem in D minor: K. 626
Daniel Harding leads the Orchestra and Choir of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and four vocal soloists in a magnificent performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem in D minor, K. 626. The soloists are soprano Christiane Karg, mezzosoprano Sara Mingardo, tenor Matthew Swensen, and bass Gianluca Buratto. The Austrian Count Walsegg commissioned Mozart to compose a Requiem in July 1791 to commemorate his late wife, Anna. At the time, Mozart was busy working on his operas La clemenza di Tito and The Magic Flute. By the time he started on the Requiem, in the fall of that same year, his health was seriously declining. Mozart passed away in December 1791, leaving the Requiem uncompleted. His pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed Mozart's swan song in the form known today, based on Mozart's sketches and possibly verbal instructions. This performance was recorded at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Italy, in 2021.
01:55Hunt (The Rite of Spring)
Tero Saarinen's signature solo HUNT is one of the most celebrated contemporary interpretations of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring, praised by audiences and critics alike. An exciting new screen version based on Saarinen's final performances of the work offers one more chance to experience this ground-breaking work on television. Commissioned by the Venice Biennale in 2002, HUNT is a collaboration of choreographer-dancer Tero Saarinen and multimedia artist Marita Liulia. Saarinen toured with the work until the Rite's centennial in 2013. Finland's national public service broadcasting company YLE recorded the choreographer's last performances in his home city, Helsinki, at the main stage of the Finnish National Theatre in May 2013. Featuring material shot on stage and in the YLE studios, this exciting new screen version of HUNT gives audiences the possibility to experience this ground-breaking work once more - and for the first time ever on the silver screen.