Handelsblatt Nr 106 Vom 01.06.2011

The eighteenth century is probably the most extraordinary period of transformation Europe has known since antiquity. Political upheavals kept pace with the innumerable inventions and discoveries of the age; every sector of the arts and of intellectual and material life was turned upside down. Between the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the revolution of 1789, music in its turn underwent a radical mutation that struck at the very heart of a well-established musical language. In this domain too, we are all children of the Age of Enlightenment: our conception of music and the way we ‘consume’ it still follows in many respects the agenda set by the eighteenth century. And it is not entirely by chance that harmonia mundi has chosen to offer you in 2011 a survey of this musical revolution which, without claiming to be exhaustive, will enable you to grasp the principal outlines of musical creation between the twilight of the Baroque and the dawn of Romanticism.

The Dutch violinist and conductor is one of the world's most successful touring artists and each year he performs a series of concerts in his hometown of Maastricht in the Netherlands. These concerts are performed in front of thousands of fans and set amongst the cultural backdrop of his beautiful hometown. As always, Andre will be joined by his famous Johann Strauss Orchestra. Sir Anthony Hopkins has composed a Waltz titled, 'And the Waltz Will Go On' which will also be performed. The Maastricht concerts are Andre's most popular concerts of his yearly schedule with his most dedicated fans flying from all over the world to see this incredible event live.

A hit in its first run in 1726, in London and elsewhere, Alessandro has had less success in our day. It is a demanding and lengthy work. The story moves quickly and is fairly silly, and meant to be. This Alexander conquers Ossidraca during the overture, but manages to bungle his subsequent amatory assaults, which constitute the rest of the opera. All manages to end well for him in the nick of time, however, as a good lieto fine requires. The performance takes just over three hours, though Bernd Feuchtner, the author of the notes, claims that London audiences in 1726 were in the theater for five.

At this point in his career, Ian Gillan really has nothing to prove to anyone in the rock world. He's created one of the most successful bands in the history of rock & roll, and has aged with a grace and class few of his contemporaries can rival. So it makes sense that Gillan's Inn is a relaxed affair and offers up a simple set of rock & roll without pretense or a bloated concept. Taking a cue from Santana's latest releases, a nonstop onslaught of guest appearances fills the rooms of Gillan's Inn, including Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, Joe Satriani, Roger Glover, Steve Morse, Jeff Healey, Uli John Roth, Ronnie James Dio, and Goo Goo Dolls pinup boy Johnny Rzeznik. The result is a 14-song session that's as much inoffensive fun as it is straight-ahead blues-tinged rock & roll.

How good to see Riccardo Chailly so radiant at the end of this great event.It's an exhilaration he earns through sheer hard work as well as injecting the adrenalin at most of the right moments.(Majority) of the singers are excellent,from two very different but keenly-projected lyric-dramatic sopranos,Erika Sunnegardh and Ricardo Merbeth,to Georg Zeppenfeld,whose bass is rock solid and expressive across a huge range.Chailly holds attention between movements and makes you realise how many soloists within the orchestra have to sing,too.His Leader,the superb Sebastian Breuninger,assists him between blazes in the most striking of chamber-musical moments.Breuninger shares the front desk of viloins in Claudio Abbado's Lucerne festival Orchestra,but this one Mahler symphony Abbado's forces have yet to tackle,and Chailly's rendering leads the field on DVD. (BBC Music Magzine)

A masterpiece of classical dance, and a Christmas favourite with audiences everywhere, this Nutcracker is a magical version of the score by Tchaikovsky filmed at the Bolshoi Theatre. Since its première in Saint-Petersburg in 1892, The Nutcracker has been one of the most successful classical ballets and Tchaikovsky's score has become one of his most famous compositions. Yuri Grigorovich deals with Hoffmann s fantastic imagery and takes ideas from Marius Petipa s scenario: battle of the mice, snowflakes flurry, character dances executed by the dolls that came to life… The most talented soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet appear in this production including Nina Kaptsova (Marie) and Artem Ovcharenko (the Nutcracker Prince) and Denis Savin (Drosselmeyer).