On July 16, 1999, the tenth anniversary of the death of Herbert von Karajan, the Berliner Philharmoniker paid tribute to their late maestro in his home town of Salzburg. In a live shooting from the imposing Salzburg Cathedral, Claudio Abbado…

"It would be hard to find anything greater, more significant or more moving anywhere in musical life today: total harmony of mind and heart, poetry and outcry, fear and consolation, knowing and feeling," declared the Berne paper 'Der Bund' after this…

To celebrate his 80th birthday, Kurt Masur led “his” Gewandhaus Orchestra in a special gala concert in June 2007. For his birthday concert, Masur, currently principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France…

Famous violinist Itzhak Perlman and Eugene Ormandy, long-standing conductor of the Philadelphia orchestra recorded this fantastic Russian programme live at the Academy of Music Philadelphia in 1978 and 1979. Eugene Ormandy (1899-1985) was best known…

Introducing Masterpieces of Classical Music is an informative and entertaining guide to some of the most important symphonic works of music history. As well as featuring a complete concert performance, it also includes an insightful documentary, in…

Gioacchino Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle was written in 1863, "the last", the composer called it, of my "péchés de vieillesse" (sins of old age). For its first performance (1864) Rossini arranged the work with only two pianos and harmonium…

This live performance – which drew superlative reactions from critics and audience alike – was Leonard Bernstein’s way of taking leave of Vienna only half a year before his death. Recorded at the Grosser Musikvereinssaal in spring 1990 in his last…

This DVD brings together two of the major figures of 20th-century music, Wilhelm Backhaus (1884-1969) and Karl Böhm (1894-1981), in a classical programme of Beethoven and Brahms. The recording of the Beethoven Piano Concerto, filmed in 1967, can…

This documentary follows the varied and exciting life of Giuseppe Verdi, Italy’s most admired and best known composer, creator of masterpieces such as Nabucco, Aida and the world most famous Requiem Mass. The program is hosted by Thomas Hampson, the…

EuroArts releases a special edition of all nine Beethoven Symphonies played by the Berlin Philharmonic under former chief conductor Claudio Abbado. Each of the symphonies is a masterpiece in itself – they are all quite different, each representing…