Maria Antouaneta

Anyone who aspires to a professional career as a violinist must eventually reckon with Beethoven's Violin Concerto. This exacting instrumental jewel demands not only technical mastery, but also an extraordinary sense of lyricism and emotion from those who seek to make it their own. It is not surprising that, over the centuries, famous virtuosos have never stopped reimagining and recording this masterpiece in order to pass it on to posterity: Fritz Kreisler, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Isabelle Faust… Now, it is in their footsteps - rather intimidatingly, let's admit - that a new, irresistibly charismatic voice has now arrived.

The gala evening at the Paris Opera on 19 December 1958 was announced in the press as 'the greatest show in the world'. Maria Callas, at the height of her fame, performed for the first time in front of a Parisian audience. The diva presented all facets of her art with the Italian classics she loved and with her own theatrical genius. Paris gave her a triumphant evening! The original recording of this evening, which was broadcast throughout Europe as part of Eurovision, has been restored with the utmost care.

One of the most fascinating challenges that any violinist can face is the repertoire for solo violin. In this genre of music, both the musician and the listener can encounter polyphonic masterpieces performed with minimal means - with only four strings. These pieces often carry as much emotional and musical meaning as works composed for a large orchestra. This rarely represented category in musical literature has always excited the artist Agata-Maria Raatz. She wondered how Bach managed to create such a remarkably complex and demanding harmonic as well as formal structure in his sonatas and partitas for solo violin, which are considered timeless masterpieces of extraordinary brilliance in every detail.

When this album was released in 1993, it immediately made sensation in the press and the media. It must be said that it was in the wake of the immense success achieved by Jordi Savall in the aftermath of Alain Corneau's film Tous les mains du monde, based on Pascal Quignard's novel-script, scene of Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe (Jean-Pierre Marielle) and Marin Marais (Gérard Depardieu), two great violists of the seventeenth century. Additional soundtracks, well done by Jordi Savall, a great violist of the 20th century, have earned him the Cesar award for best film music, the Charles Cros Academy Grand Prize and the Soloist of the Year at Victories of Music.

The 'Cantigas de Santa Maria' (Canticles of Holy Mary) are 420 poems with musical notation, written during the reign of Alfonso X The Wise (1221–1284) and often attributed to him. It is one of the largest collections of monophonic songs from the Middle Ages and is characterised by the mention of the Virgin Mary in every song.

Franco Calabrese - Maria Callas - Dario Caselli - Alvaro Cordova - Tito Gobbi - Melchiorre Luise - Angelo Mercuriali - Giuseppe di Stefano - Chœur & Orchestre de la Scala de Milan - Victor De Sabata, direction.

«Encouraged by my esteemed friend and colleague Jakob Ortner, a respected guitar master in Vienna, my fascination for this instrument and its repertoire grew immensely. Regrettably, I discovered that guitar literature had slumbered for over half a century.

Bauchgefühl ist nicht ohne Grund der Titel des neuen Albums von Anna-Maria Zimmermann. Denn diese Entscheidungen aus der Emotion heraus, sind oft die Richtigen, wenn es um wichtige Lebensentscheidungen geht. Anna-Maria Zimmermann ist bekanntlich eine charaktervolle Frau, die selbst heftigste Schicksalsschläge nicht aus der Bahn werfen konnten. Diese Willensstärke, ihre Talente und ihre Intuition haben sie daher immer gradlinig ihren Erfolgsweg gehen lassen.

Founded in 1528, the Ospedaletto was the youngest and smallest of the four famous Venetian orphanages that excelled in musical performance.