Tchaikovsky Cso, Barenboim

Invitation to the Dance is the 2001 New Year's Eve Gala Concert with the Berlin Philharmonic. The annual concert is famous for having a varied program from year to year, and in 2001 conductor Daniel Barenboim treated the world to a fantastic program of musical "dance." From Bach to Sibelius, from classical to samba, this concert has it all! The BPO and Barenboim go all out for this one, and experiencing the DVD is the next best thing to being there!

To celebrate their traditional New Year's Eve Concert, Daniel Barenboim and the Berliner Philharmoniker encouraged the audience to dance. The result was a lively whirl of catchy and melodious numbers selected from over 300 years of music history - a heady cocktail of old and new that put a spring in the steps of both connoisseurs of brilliant orchestral miniatures and lovers of Latin American rhythms.

Recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, this production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin features an excellent, young cast and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by maestro Daniel Barenboim. Director Andrea Breth has created an intimate production that mines the depths of expression and charisma of her singer-actors and integrates silent secondary episodes and miniature dramas to heighten the intensity of the story. The title role–a tour de force for any baritone–is taken by Peter Mattei, who starred as Figaro in the Metropolitan Opera's HD Live Broadcast of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He is joined by dazzling young Russian soprano Anna Samuil, a protégée of Daniel Barenboim who has been acclaimed as a vibrant new presence on the opera stage. The opera includes a wonderful performance from the young tenor, Joseph Kaiser, recently acclaimed for perfomances at The Met opposite Anna Netrebko in Roméo et Juliette, as well as a solid contribution from bass Ferruccio Furlanetto.

The founding of the Berliner Philharmoniker on the first of May in 1882, is annually celebrated with a concert in an European city of cultural significance. In 2014 the EUROPAKONZERT took again place in Berlin. The concert was conducted by a man who has been associated with the Berliner Philharmoniker for 50 years: Daniel Barenboim. Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, which received its premiere in Berlin in 1849, is based on William Shakespeare’s comedy of the same name, and its lively overture has long since secured a place on the concert stage. Also inspired by a Shakespearean comedy hero is Edward Elgar’s symphonic study Falstaff. We then turn from comedy to the tragic twists of fate: The Fifth Symphony of Pyotr Tchaikovsky is characterized by a sombre main theme that for the Russian composer symbolizes “a complete resignation before fate, which is the same as the inscrutable predestination of fate”.

Today Daniel Barenboim is internationally recognized and revered as an orchestral and operatic conductor, pianist, and a musical ambassador and also as a humanitarian. Partnering him is the remarkable conductor Sergiu Celibidache. “He was one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”, says Barenboim. Sergiu Celibidache has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance.
Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 is one of the most popular of his compositions and among the best known of all piano concerti. The Schumann concerto is no less influential with its influence heard in Grieg’s Piano Concerto. Both works show Barenboim at his consummate best.

Lang Lang's debut recording for Deutsche Grammophon showcased the young pianist's extraordinary gifts in celebrated recordings of Tchaikovsky's and Mendelssohn's First Piano Concertos. Mentor Daniel Barenboim led the forces of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Today Daniel Barenboim is internationally recognized and revered as an orchestral and operatic conductor, pianist, and a musical ambassador and also as a humanitarian. Partnering him is the remarkable conductor Sergiu Celibidache. “He was one of the greatest musicians I ever encountered”, says Barenboim. Sergiu Celibidache has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance.

Romeo and Juliet begins with 4 minutes of an intriguing, mysterious, adagio theme, followed at 5 minutes by an energetic, allegro theme. At 8 minutes we hear a beautiful, adagio melody over rippling French horns. After that, the existing themes are developed to express passion. Francesca da Ramini has an opening theme that evokes a netherworld. Thereafter Tchaikovsky extensively develops a powerful theme. Then at 10 minutes a clarinet begins a beautiful melody to be continued by violins then flute. Near the end the piece builds to a climax.

The Grosses Festpielhaus in Salzburg has been the scene of countless memorable musical events - operas, concerts and recitals - for 50 years. Here is a unique chance to celebrate the glories of this distinguished era. In an exceptional collaboration with the Salzburg Festival, we have prepared a 25-CD box set - 5 complete operas, 10 concerts and 2 recitals - featuring many of the world's greatest artists, in recordings with classical status and others that are appearing on CD for the first time. Concerts (five out of ten are first-time releases): with Abbado, Bernstein, B hm, Boulez, Karajan, Levine, Mehta, Muti, Solti. Soloists include Anne-Sophie Mutter and Jessye Norman.