On the island of Ceylon, two pearl fishermen and childhood friends are torn apart by their love for the same woman, the young priestess Leïla. In this opera, which marks his debut, Bizet delivers luminous, tender music with a subtle Oriental flavour…

Richard Strauss’s Elektra was the sensation that ushered in modernity by at the same time popularizing it. Heroes on the verge of madness, just what the audience loves! The world comes tumbling down upon us, specifically here: the Straussian…

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s Master Class at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is one of the most famous lieder singers of his generation. He is greatly admired for his interpretive insight, note-perfect control of the tonal…

At her wedding reception, the beautiful but depressed Justine spots a red star in the sky. It is the planet Melancholia, which is on a collision course with Earth. The bridegroom Michael tries to calm her down with his love, her mother Gaby poisons…

The Verbier Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary with arguably the most phenomenal gathering of soloists in classical music. This all-star program is devised in three parts focusing on strings, piano and orchestra. This exuberant reunion of…

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…

Pianist András Schiff and cellist Miklos Perenyi come together to perform Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata. Initially written for Arpeggione, an instrument somewhere between viola and cello that disappeared a few years after the writing of this piece…

The Wiener Streichsextett, founded in 1981, probably is one of the most famous ensembles of all time in its genre. In this special recording they perform the String Sextet Op. 4 by Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg. The work named “Verklärte Nacht”…

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…

In this live recording Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman, two of the most renowned and celebrated classical musicians of all time, came together to perform all of Brahms’ violin sonatas at the Orchestra Hall Chicago. Barenboim and Perlman benefit…