Symphony No. 39 is the first of a set of three (his last symphonies) that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. No. 40 was completed on 25 July and No. 41 on 10 August. Nikolaus Harnoncourt argues that Mozart composed the…

The Symphony No. 38 in D major, K. 504, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in late 1786. It premiered in Prague on January 19, 1787, during Mozart's first visit to the city. As it was first performed in Prague, it is popularly known as the…

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297/300a, better known as the Paris Symphony, is one of the most famous works. The symphony is notable for having an unusually large instrumentation for its time, made possible by the large…

The collaboration between American filmmaker Sofia Coppola and Italian haute couture king Valentino Garavani comes in the form of one of the most spectacular and successful revivals of “La Traviata”. Sofia Coppola's staging brings new life into Verdi…

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…

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…