The marvellous Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires was joined by Pierre Boulez and the Berlin Philharmonic for the European Concert 2003. Since 1991, when the Berlin Philharmonic gave their first European Concert, this annual musical summit in…

These recordings pay tribute to the legendary Herbert von Karajan. We see the incomparable Maestro in rehearsals and performances of two works that were close to his heart: Schumann’s Symphony No.4 and Beethoven’s Symphony No.5. Recorded in Vienna…

‘My Favourite Opera – Katia Ricciarelli’, which will be released in May 2013, portraits the Italian star soprano Katia Ricciarelli. Katia Ricciarelli is best known for her roles in Rossini, Verdi and Puccini Operas but also appeared as Desdemona in…

Founded in 1844 as an “exclusive amusement establishment”, the Kroll opera left deep traces in the history of Germany. The Documentary produced by Jörg Moser-Metius tells the remarkable story of this famous opera house by including historical…

World famous bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi prepares for a staging of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at Bolgogna’s historic Teatro Comunale, working alongside conductor Riccardo Chailly and stage director Luca Ronconi as well as a distinguished cast of…

With this, his only Bach recording, Herbert Blomstedt pays homage to Bach and the city of Leipzig. The DVD was recorded in 2005 at the Leipzig Bach Festival, which is widely regarded as the world’s leading festival celebrating Johann Sebastian Bach…

Alfred Brendel is arguably the most outstanding modern exponent of Schubert's piano music currently before the public. He is capable of bringing not only the verve of this music but also its poetic intensity and intellectual depth to life with a…

A dim light picks out the outlines of the hall. Suddenly a massive shadow appears and moves swiftly over to the keyboard. There follows the vaguest of unsmiling acknowledgements in the general direction of the audience, and then the music begins…

Waltraud Meier is “La Wagnerissima”, the queen of Wagner’s repertoire. In her very personal account “I follow a voice within me”, we enter her world and learn about her motivations, aspirations, and her joyful way of pursuing them. In addition to…

Verdi first presented his Messa da Requiem in the Church of San Marco. It was his emotional response to the death of the Italian national poet Alessandro Manzoni. He poured his entire dramatic skill, the fruit of thirty years of theatrical work, into…