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…

Katia and Marielle Labèque received their first piano tuition at ages three and five and the sisters are famous for their unusual duo precision, their great musicality and the breadth of their repertoire. In this concert they perform with Il Giardino…

Claudio Abbado has realised a dream with his new Lucerne Festival Orchestra. The orchestra, an exclusive ensemble of handpicked orchestral musicians, has set new standards in the field of classical music with exceptional soloists such as violinist…

Dutch organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman is one of the most distinguished Bach interpreters of our time. On this DVD, he is featured interpreting Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest organ works, including the popular Toccata in D minor and the…

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…

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…

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…

Eugene Ormandy’s unbroken forty-two-year association with the Philadelphia Orchestra was unique in history. Famous for its rich and powerful "Philly Sound”, the orchestra was described by Rachmaninov as “the greatest virtuoso orchestra in the world”…

Seldom has the genius of one man so influenced the musical conscience of his age. Leonard Bernstein triumphed as composer, conductor, writer and teacher. The spontaneous joy of his Broadway hits, the bold, spiritual quest of his orchestral works, his…

David Oistrakh was one of those legendary musicians whose art of playing continues to influence violinists today. Along with Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein and Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh is universally recognized not only as one…