Newyear Concert 2011

2011 two CD release, a collection of tracks taken from the BBC owned Lizzy recordings that still exist in the archive and charts the inexorable rise of the band: From the first steps as a three piece on the Decca label, to the glory days as one of the greatest live acts of all time. This collection brings together sessions and live recordings from throughout the band's career including the last concert with Phil Lynott from the Reading festival in 1983.

Beethoven's Missa Solemnis was performed on 13 and 14 February, 2010 at the traditional memorial concert to commemorate the bombardement of Dresden during the last weeks of World War II. Under Christian Thielemann, the Staatskapelle Dresden proved itself exeptionally qualified to master this work´s magnificent challenges. Thielemann “conjured up the gigantic cosmos of the Missa with such lightness and grace that its mystery seemed to reveal itself”, wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Pianist Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort (1984) was one of the laureates and the audience’s favourite of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium in 2007. Since that time he has built an honourable reputation as a concert pianist, giving recitals in prestigious concert halls in Europe, Israel, China, South Africa, Canada and the USA.

Surely Bach’s French Suites, which he composed during his years at Cöthen (1717–1723), are among the finest inducements to practise that any teacher has ever made to a pupil. In this case Bach wrote them for his young wife, Anna Magdalena. The over-riding impression left by these suites is one of endearing tunefulness. Clavier-Übung II is a later collection of didactic keyboard pieces. It comprises two greatly contrasted works: the Italian Concerto and the Overture in the French Style. These performances admirably demonstrate the thoughtful and persuasive approach that András Schiff adopts when performing Bach. Recorded live at the Bachfest 2010, Protestant Reformed Church of Leipzig, 11 June 2010.

In the Baroque and Classical periods, it seems like anyone who was famous in the world of opera did something with the story of Orpheus. Retrospectively, it is sometimes really hard to see why this appealed to so many. To be sure, the symbolism of the power of music, not to mention the tragic story of love lost, won again through hardship and devotion, and finally and irrevocably lost, seems ready-made for opera. Moreover, any composer would love to set the scenes of Orpheus in Hades. But the plot really seems to need something, like a happy ending, extra characters, or lots and lots of dances to pass the time. Georg Philipp Telemann’s excursion into this story certainly has its share of things.

The Huddersfield Choral society has one of the longest and most fruitful relationships with Handel s famous Messiah than perhaps any other chorus in the world: they first performed it in concert during their inception year of 1836, and have continued to do so annually since 1860 with concerts the world over as well as in their hometown of Huddersfield. Recorded live in concert in December 2010, this new recording combines the famous ensemble with the Northern Sinfonia and four world-class professionals, under the direction of Jane Glover CBE. The disc begins with John Wainwright s Christians Awake , a traditional addition to the Messiah programme at their concerts in Huddersfield.

2011 two CD release, a collection of tracks taken from the BBC owned Lizzy recordings that still exist in the archive and charts the inexorable rise of the band: From the first steps as a three piece on the Decca label, to the glory days as one of the greatest live acts of all time. This collection brings together sessions and live recordings from throughout the band's career including the last concert with Phil Lynott from the Reading festival in 1983.

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)