The essence of Verdi’s Requiem can be found in the words Libera me - “Free me”. The great composer employs every means at his disposal to portray man as prisoner of himself, with both his fear of death and yearning for salvation. Recording Dates: 14…

Arrigo Boito's only finished and preserved opera, Mefistofele, recorded in Baden-Baden was praised by critics and loved by the audience - a very rare concurrence. And this could hardly have come as a surprise, since it was no other than Erwin Schrott…

1970 was the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth and, to mark the occasion, Daniel Barenboim and Christopher Nupen collaborated on a thirteen-part series about the man and his music. Close friends at the time, Barenboim as artist and…

Filmed in June 2013 during three extraordinary performances that took place during the Aldeburgh Festival, "Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh beach" takes place in the heart of the town that inspired it and is the film interpretation of Britten’s Peter…

This is not just live capture. This is a new hybrid form that honours the spirit of the original theatre production of Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw", but that also embraces the current constraints: the presence of the camera is declared…

In 2011 the Grand Opera Gala in support of the AIDS Foundation was held again at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The chorus and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin under the internationally acclaimed conductor welcome some of the world's leading Opera…

Lutoslawski’s delicate lament serves as prelude to Berlioz’s Requiem, a superlative work requiring an impressive cast of two orchestras and choirs, here under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado. An event not to be forgotten! The concert was recorded…

Albert Herring, Benjamin Britten's comic opera is gently laced with moments of farce and a jocular parody on life in East Suffolk at the turn of the 20th century. The libretto by Eric Crozier is based on Guy de Maupassant's story “Le Rosier de Madame…

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) is considered today one of the founding fathers of the 17th century German school, whose influence on composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, his spiritual son, cannot be overestimated. Not only was he an indisputable…

“Jazz is more than just a style of music”, says Amro Salah. “It’s about freedom.” Salah, a jazz pianist, is an enthusiastic promoter of the genre. Every year he organises the Cairo Jazz Festival, but doesn’t view himself as a festival director: He is…