Live Work Work Work Die

Opera as never experienced before: a world-class cast, stylish haute couture outfits, the spectacular setting of Hangar-7 with more than 10 different locations and state-of-the-art technology. All of this cut together as a live opera film: a modern and unique production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail – one of the highlights of the Salzburg Festival 2013.

Wong Jing's latest effort is a bizarre gangster comedy that flirts with also being a psychological thriller, before settling into more comfortable triad territory. Nick Cheung plays Fai, a triad hitman coming to the end of a 30-year stretch in the big house for slaughtering 20 rival gang members in a street fight. Upon release, Fai and his trusty sidekick Little Fai, return to their old stomping ground of Mongkok only to discover that the entire district been renovated and rejuvenated beyond recognition, and his old gang are eagerly awaiting his help to settle a territory dispute.

Austrian composer Thomas Larcher (b. 1963) is one of the great symphonists of our era. This album by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Hannu Lintu includes the first recording of his 2nd Symphony, ‘Kenotaph’, and the song cycle ‘Die Nacht der Verlorenen’ performed by the world-known baritone Andrè Schuen.

One twentieth-century composer that trod his own path decisively, perhaps more than any other, is Gottfried von Einem. Since his breakthrough with the premiere of his opera Dantons Tod ('The Death of Danton') at the Salzburg Festival in 1947, through to the composer’s death in 1996, many of his works have been performed on the international music stage, as recordings featuring the likes of Böhm, Karajan and George Szell on Orfeo testify. Now, the label is delighted to mark the 100th anniversary of the composer's birth by releasing a retrospective of von Einem’s work featuring the very best performers of today.

A 13-time Grammy nominee, one of the world’s leading tenors and an unparalleled recitalist, Ian Bostridge stands at the peak of his powers. Bostridge is also the author of Schubert’s Winter Journey, Anatomy of an Obsession, an insightful and gracefully written work on Winterreise that positions Bostridge as a leading authority on the work. Pianist Thomas Adès is renowned for his brilliant compositions as much as his stellar performances. The New York Times called Adès, “the most complete musician of his generation.” The pairing of these two remarkable musical partners has drawn raves across the world.

A 13-time Grammy nominee, one of the world’s leading tenors and an unparalleled recitalist, Ian Bostridge stands at the peak of his powers. Bostridge is also the author of Schubert’s Winter Journey, Anatomy of an Obsession, an insightful and gracefully written work on Winterreise that positions Bostridge as a leading authority on the work. Pianist Thomas Adès is renowned for his brilliant compositions as much as his stellar performances. The New York Times called Adès, “the most complete musician of his generation.” The pairing of these two remarkable musical partners has drawn raves across the world.

There are masterpieces of music history that are simply forgotten for a while before they are rediscovered in a later era as a mirror of one's own sensitivities. The reasons for this forgetting are manifold - in the case of Paul Dessau's fairy-tale opera Lanzelot, they are probably clearly political.

Nearly every music lover is acquainted with Der Freischutz, but the fewest are aware of Euryanthe. In the light of the musical quality of the opera, the disdain for it does not seem fitting. Euryanthe was Carl Maria von Webers most ambitious project, one that anything but backfired. The composition may certainly be termed ground-breaking and truly deserves more attention. A chain of glittering jewels from the beginning to the end. All witty and ingenious, (Robert Schumann in his critic about Euryanthe.) The presnt release features a live recording of the work, which was taken in December of 2018 and features the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and the Orf Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as a group of brilliant soloists.