WMS

Wagner: The Ring Without Words [DVD]

Kremer Gidon: Back To Bach [DVD]

Beethoven: Symphonies Nos 1/6/8 [DVD]

Nina Tarandek<br/>Roland Schneider<br/>Simon Bode<br/>Christian Miedl<br/>Ensemble Algoritmo<br/>Marco Angius, conductor<br/>Christian Pade, stage director<br/>Alexander Lintl, stage design and costumes<br/><br/>Recorded at the Cantiere di Montepulciano, July 29/31 - August 1, 2010<br/><br/>Salvatore Sciarrino's intense and compact opera Luci mie traditrici first performance was on 19th May 1998 at the<br/>Schwetzinger Festpiele under the German title Die tödliche Blume (The Deadly Flower). The Libretto is based on madrigalist<br/>Carlo Gesualdo's notorious murder of his wife and her lover in 1590.<br/><br/>The composer Salvatore Sciarrino (*1947) has created a compressed story of love and death, beauty and decay. Sciarrino's music is decidedly avant-garde, and he is known for his use of isolated sonorities, extended playing techniques, frequent silences, and the ironic or confrontational quotation of previous music or stories. For this love story of a single day he creates a form of music which expresses the finest nuances of feeling of the human soul. In parallel to the condensing of the original drama in time, the musical language of the music drama acts as a crystallization of the feelings of love.<br/><br/>The co-production of the Oper Frankfurt with the Cantiere Internazionale d'Arte di Montepulciano has been recognized as<br/>the finest production of this work presented to date. Compelling staging by German director Christian Pade. Detlev Glanert<br/>leads the summer festival of modern music until 2011, which was founded by Hans Werner Henze in Montepulciano.<br/><br/>Striking young cast, lead by Croatian mezzo-soprano Nina Tarandek, who is a member of the Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt. A name to be remembered!<br/><br/>Bonus: Making of Luci Mie Traditrici, including Interviews with Salvatore Sciarrino, Marco Angius, Christian Pade, Detlev<br/>Glanert, Alexander Lintl, Christian Miedl and Nina Tarandek.<br/><br/>Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9<br/>Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1<br/>Region code: 0<br/>Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Japanese<br/>Booklet notes: English, German, French<br/>Runnning time: 100 mins (Performance 70 mins + Bonus 30 mins)

"I have devoted my life to the piano and to music-making. Whether you acquire public fame or not, devoting one's existence to serving art provides a rich life and the healthiest form of fulfillment. I feel music is my religion, the hall is my temple and the composer is my God whose works I preach. It is no exaggeration to say that music saved my life. Beethoven's Sonata Op. 110 illustrates idealism in the first movement, hedonism in the second and regret and pain in the last movement from which two fugues emerge triumphantly, as if saying, 'Yes, life is worth living' - and this is what I feel. This is to be considered alongside Schubert's last sonata D. 960, which explores the emotions of a man who knows he has a limited time to live, and in which the slow movement resonates like a funeral march whilst also showing happiness and peace of mind." Menahem Pressler<br/><br/>REPERTOIRE:<br/>Beethoven: Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110; Chopin: Mazurkas Op. 7 No.1, Op. 7 No. 3, Op. 17 No. 4: Debussy: Estampes; Schubert: Sonata in B flat major D. 960; Chopin: Nocturne No. 20 in C sharp minor, Op. posth.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos 1-6 [DVD]

Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra.