Franz Liszt described the art of conducting as less than a task to be in evidence but rather a feat in disappearing behind the function itself. Conductors are pilots, not servants. Looking back at the past two centuries, we have been blessed with the…

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s season-end concert at Waldbühne Berlin is the highlight of every concert season due to the extraordinary atmosphere of the amphitheatre. It has become a veritable Berlin summer institution, with its own traditions…

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra rolls out the red carpet for a sparkling Hollywood Gala with a musical firework display from the best Hollywood films such as Bodyguard, Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean, Moulin Rouge, and The Hunger Games…

Fostering young musical talents was particularly dear to Claudio Abbado’s heart. Abbado founded the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in 2003. In this orchestra, he united the world’s best young musicians from youth orchestras. The Lucerne Festival…

The poet E. T. A. Hoffmann as the protagonist of his own fantastic tales: In his encounter with three women - Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta - he searches in vain for love and for himself. Will he draw the strength for art from his failure in life…

The EUROPAKONZERT celebrates the founding of the Berliner Philharmoniker on 1 May 1882 and takes place in a different location of cultural history each year. In celebration of 30 years of EUROPAKONZERT, this box set features more than 48 hours of…

Richard Wagner’s three-act opera Lohengrin is characterised by the composer’s romantic vision of the individual’s struggle for freedom under an oppressive rule. The title role is particularly suited to the dramatic and musical talents of Peter…

Directed by Wolfgang Wagner, Richard Wagner’s grandson, this production of Tannhäuser was one of the highlights of the Bayreuth Festival during the latter part of the 1980s. The abstract starkness of Wolfgang Wagner’s production is underscored by the…

The Waldbühne Concert given by the Berliner Philharmoniker marks the end of the 2009/10 season. More recently visitors to the orchestra’s Waldbühne concerts have been regaled by some of the greatest opera singers of our age, including such operatic…

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…