Johann Sebastian Bach's most famous Christmas work was recorded live at the Salle Henry Le Bœuf in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Who would have thought, three centuries ago, that these cantatas, written by Bach for the services from…

Philippe Herreweghe, one of today's most profound and erudite Bach interpreters, and his Collegium Vocale Gent present their new vision of a musical work for which nobody can say the ultimate word. This concert film of Bach's Missa in h-moll was…

What a strange idea Mondonville had! Based on a cruel fable by La Fontaine with a tragic ending, he wrote a charming opera libretto with a happy ending, and composed a delightful pastoral. In the prologue, Dame Clémence Isaure, the mythical founder…

The great German baritone reveals for the first time on camera the secrets of his outstanding career. This richly illustrated profile of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the greatest musician of all singers and the most prolific singer of our time, is an…

On Wednesday, October 16th, Dmitri Hvorostovsky's birthday, the Festival officially opens with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem.

Compelling love duets, escalating conflicts and arias bursting with virtuosity and emotion. In his three Tudor Queens operas, bel canto master Gaetano Donizetti composed at the top of his game. In this concert, an international cast takes you on an…

This live recording, from the Munich Philharmonie, features a programme of orchestral works and operatic arias by composers including Beethoven, Berg, Prokofiev, Giordano, Rossini and Verdi. Gustav Kuhn conducts the European Community Youth Orchestra…

Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann is one of the world’s top instrumentalists. His numerous recordings are celebrated by both press and audience and have already received countless awards. Alongside his career as a celebrated soloist, he also focuses…

A dim light picks out the outlines of the hall. Suddenly a massive shadow appears and moves swiftly over to the keyboard, the only brightly lit surface to stand out from the large coffin-like box in the centre of the stage. There follows the vaguest…

Orchestras once played Bach as well as Bruckner. Only specialised ensembles showed that note and performance signs have changed their meaning quite a bit over the centuries. So far, so theoretical: in practice, Handel's "Il Trionfo" awaits us, a…