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…

2015 marked the 175th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. For this event, the Russian pianist Denis Matsuev performed the complete Seasons, one of the most popular works of the classical music repertoire in Russia. The programme of…

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

Juan Diego Florez at the Dmitri Hvorostovsky Festival 2019.

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…

No doubt he is one of the greatest pianists of our time: the shy and elusive Grigroy Sokolov. His performances leave critics and audiences alike speechless - just as though they aren't quite able to believe what they have just experienced. One of…

It is so rare that it deserves a special mention: in June 2013 Grigory Sokolov, a piano superstar, gave his approval for his recital at the Berliner Philharmonie to be filmed. The last time his performance was filmed live was in November 2002, more…

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…

Herbert Blomstedt appears with the Gewandhaus Orchestra for the last time as the Gewandhaus Music Director in this recording. After seven successful years in Leipzig, the maestro performs a work in the Thomas Church that is especially dear to him…

Can there be a more charming ambassador for Scotland than Amy Macdonald? On the other hand: On stage, there is an approachable and likable artist who has evidently found her voice, and furthermore— transforms Stuttgart's historic Schlossplatz into a…