Daniel Barenboim, one of the most prolific and high-profile artists performing on international stages today, introduced this concert, which was recorded live at the famous Teatro alla Scala Milan in May 2007 as “A concert dedicated to Italy, but not by a conductor”. It is a highly personal tribute to a country he has toured regularly as a conductor. For his solo piano recital he chose Franz Liszt's Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), composed 1837–1849, which contains some of the composer’s most beautiful piano music - a feast not only for piano lovers. Daniel Barenboim, one of the world’s foremost pianists and leading experts on Liszt, gracefully melds the technical and poetic aspects of one of the most rewarding of all Romantic piano works. The recital includes several numbers from the “Deuxième Année: Italie” and other Italy-related compositions by Liszt such as “St. François d’Assise. La prédication aux oiseaux” from Légendes and finally several creative transcriptions from well-known operas like Verdi’s “Miserere” from Trovatore, “Danza sacra e duetto” from Aida and “Paraphrase de concert” from Rigoletto. Barenboim brings his passion and his special approach. Daniel Barenboim

Ludwig van Beethoven was an exceptional pianist, perhaps that is why people tend to forget he was also a capable violinist. Although perhaps not a virtuoso, Beethoven loved the instrument and wrote no lesser than ten sonatas for it, several pieces of chamber music and of course the violin concerto. His ‘Two Romances for Violin and Orchestra’ stand out , because they are two pieces of a whole that are still very reminiscent of solo concertos. In this broadcast: the first Romance. Kurt Masur,Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Renaud Capuçon (violin)

With the courage of the young, 20-year-old Johannes Brahms started composing what he thought would become his first symphony. Despite of his age, his music was already widely known and he was seen by many as the ‘new Ludwig van Beethoven’. It was this kind of praise that made Brahms feel insecure: he felt he was too inexperienced to be composing a grand symphony and he reshaped the material into a sonata for two pianos, which he would eventually, in 1858, turn into his first Piano Concerto in D minor. The piece was premiered in Hannover in January 1859 and was played in Leipzig five days later. Especially in Leipzig it got a frosty welcome and was labelled ,,unorthodox, banal and horrid”. In our times, however, this early Brahms is popular with concert audiences and widely performed. This performance took place at the Herrodus Atticus Theatre in Athens. Sir Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker, Daniel Barenboim (piano)

Giancarlo del Monaco’s acclaimed production elegantly intertwines Mascagni’s and Leoncavallo’s well-loved operas, masterpieces which brought new levels of realism into opera through their so-called verismo style. Jesús López Cobos directs a double cast of outstanding talent. Jesús López Cobos, Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Pagliacci Canio: Vladimir Galouzine Nedda: María Bayo Tonio: Carlo Guelfi Beppe: Antonio Gandía Silvio: Ángel Ódena

Giancarlo del Monaco’s acclaimed production elegantly intertwines Mascagni’s and Leoncavallo’s well-loved operas, masterpieces which brought new levels of realism into opera through their so-called verismo style. Jesús López Cobos directs a double cast of outstanding talent. Jesús López Cobos, Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Pagliacci Canio: Vladimir Galouzine Nedda: María Bayo Tonio: Carlo Guelfi Beppe: Antonio Gandía Silvio: Ángel Ódena

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 3 BWV 1016 belongs to a group of sonatas composed before 1975, probably during the composer’s tenure as Kapellmeister at Köthen. He presumably wrote these sonata’s for Prince Leopold, later adapting them for his own purposes in Leipzig. This would explain why the sonatas, which are sophisticated enough to challenge the most experienced of musicians, are at the same time perfectly playable for amateurs. The several pieces were meant to be a set just like the Brandenburg concertos. This third sonata follows a typical ‘Italian’ pattern: slow – fast – slow – fast. Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Enrico Pace (piano)

The dark brass signals at the beginning of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony are very clear: whoever composed this has seen the horrors of fate. A year before he completed this work the composer married Antonina Milyukova, one of his students. The marriage however was not a happy one: Tchaikovsky left his wife and tried to commit suicide. He continued to work on this symphony and when he gained the support of the rich Mme. Nadezhda von Meck he was able to complete the work rapidly. Although the horrors of fate are very clear in the beginning of the work, the symphony ends with an explosion of joy: a sign that the 38 year old Tchaikovsky was full of hope. During this broadcast: the first movement. Jos van Immerseel, Anima Eterna

When Georges Bizet’s opera ‘Carmen’ returned to Paris’ Opéra Comique in 1879, it was a massive success: performances sold out in no time at all. Publishers wished there was more of Bizet’s work to publish, but since the composer had died four years earlier this was impossible. They instead turned to Ernest Guiraud, who had been a good friend of Bizet’s, and he decided to look through the manuscripts of the deceased to see whether they contained anything worthwhile. This was not an easy task. Guiraud decided to make an attempt at a second L’Arlesienne Suite, to accompany the first L’Arlesienne Suite Bizet had compiled himself. Bizet had a few ‘leftover’ sketches from the composition of the first suite and Guiraud used these to create a new piece. This composing method may have been cumbersome, but the end result is a surprisingly good piece of music that is performed regularly, often together with Bizet’s original ‘First’. David Porcelijn, The Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

Louis van Beethoven’s only opera ‘Fidelio’ is performed beautifully in this production by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. The opera tells the touching story of Leonore, who, by disguising herself as the male prison guard Fidelio, tries to save the life of her husband Florestan. This performance, at the Salzburg Festival in 2003, has an all-star cast featuring Thomas Quasthoff (Don Fernando), Alan Held (Don Pizarro), Jon Villars (Florestan), Angela Denoke (Leonore), Juliane Banse (Marzelline) and Rainer Trost (Jaquino). Sir Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker, Arnold Schönberg Choir, Thomas Quasthoff (Don Fernando), Alan Held (Don Pizarro), Jon Villars (Florestan), Angela Denoke (Leonore), Juliane Banse (Marzelline), Rainer Trost (Jaquino)

Every rose has its thorn: while Schumann’s highly regarded piano compositions built his reputation as a composer, they also hampered appreciation of his work in other genres, including his symphonies. This situation is only worsened by the fact that several conductors – with all the best intentions – felt compelled to ‘correct’ his orchestrations. Schumann’s fourth symphony may be the last numerically, but was in actual fact composed immediately after the first: Schumann prevented the work’s publication until 1853, implementing a number of changes in the meantime. Schumann intended his four symphonies to be played consecutively and without a break. Riccardo Chailly, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig

Yuri Temirkanov conducts the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Rachmaninoff's Fanfare. Yuri Termikanov, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Venezuelan-born superstar pianist Gabriela Montero has been called the "queen of improvisation." Her visionary interpretations and unique improvisational gifts have won her a rapidly expanding and devoted following around the world. Ms. Montero, who often invites her audience to participate by asking for a melody for improvisations, will present a recital of classical masterpieces as well as present her artistry through her trademark improvisations. Gabriela Montero (piano)

Swedish pianist and composer Roland Peter Pöntinen performs Couperin’s Les Baricades mistérieuses, Rameau’s Gavotte in a minor, Busoni’s Albumblatt No. 1, Saariaho’s Prelude and Ballade, Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Albéniz’ Ibera (book 2, Nos. 1 and 3), Rachmaninov’s Sérénade in B flat minor and Ravel’s Oiseaux tristes (from Miroirs), recorded in July 2007, in the Folwang Hochschule in Essen. Roland Pöntinen (piano)

Womanizer Don Juan, as described by Nikolaus Lenau in his play, served as inspiration for this early symphonic piece by Richard Strauss. Strauss composed this piece at the startlingly young age of 24, when he was already chapel master of the Weimar opera. Though this may be an ‘early Strauss’, we still see the composer at his best: he knows how to portray the womanizer character through music. A gift he also used well in his later work. Strauss himself conducted the first performance in 1889, and according to the composer himself it was a great success.,,It sounded wonderful and went very well. It unleashed a storm of applause rather unusual for Weimar." Sir Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmoniker

In 1943, after his health had deteriorated over a very short period of time, Béla Bartók was diagnosed with leukaemia. Almost three years earlier he had escaped World War II and left Europe for the United States, but there he felt isolated artistically and had financial problems on top of that. Recognition he only received for his piano playing, but due to his bad health he could not perform anymore after January 1943. The Hungarian composer was emotionally and physically bankrupt. He was in hospital when Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, came to ask him to compose a large orchestral piece. Bartók did not know the assignment was financed by his fellow emigrants and good friends violinist Joseph Szigeti and conductor Fritz Reiner. The assignment, to Bartók, came at a crucial stage in his life: he recovered his energy and managed to finish his Concerto for Orchestra within seven weeks. The premiere on December 1st 1944 in Boston was a great success and Bartók’s music now finally received recognition in the United States as well. New requests for compositions were made, but Bartók’s health once again failed him: he died in September 1945. In this broadcast: the first movement. Pierre Boulez, Berliner Philharmoniker

In 1854 young Johannes Brahms lived in Düsseldorf, where he helped his good friend Clara Schumann to look after her seven children. Her husband Robert Schumann, who was also Brahms’ mentor, had been admitted to an asylum after a failed attempted suicide earlier that year. It was in these circumstances that Brahms started on two sketches for a first symphony. One of these sketches in 1858 grew into his First Piano Concerto, but the second remained unused for many years. Because Brahms was an unbelievable perfectionist, he needed as many as 21 years to finish his first symphony. But this was not the only reason: friends of the composer and the audience expected Brahms to become the ‘heir’of Ludwig van Beethoven. An expectation that was not easy to fulfill and that caused some headaches. The piece’s premiere on November 4th 1876 was a great success: it was even labelled ‘Beethoven’s Tenth Symphony’. In this broadcast: the second movement. Daniel Barenboim, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra

To honour the occasion of the founding of the Berliner Philharmoniker on May 1st, 1882, this leading German orchestra organises an annual ‘Europa Concert’ on the exact founding day. The concert is always led by a world-famous conductor and takes place at an important cultural and historical centre in Europe, while being aired worldwide. In this, it has become the Berlin counterpart to the Wiener Philharmoniker’s New Year’s concert. The first edition was organised in 1991 in Prague. In 2002 the Europa Concert took place inside the famous Palermo opera house. In one of the most beautiful old opera temples of Europe, Italian maestro Claudio Abbado shows where his roots are. It is with a reason that this celebratory programme ends with a very fitting encore: the overture from Verdi’s ‘I Vespri Siciliani’. The story of this so-called ‘Grand Opera’ is based upon a historic event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282. Verdi wrote this piece in the tradition of the French Grand Opera for Paris, but it became most famous in its Italian version. The Overture ‘I Vespri Siciliani’ is one of the best-loved pieces in the Italian opera repertoire. Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker

Franz Schubert’s ‘Drei Klavierstücke’ (Three Piano Pieces) may not have received very inspired names, but this changed after the composer’s early death in 1828 when they were renamed ‘impromptus’. An impromptu is a piece that was written quickly, or at least gives the impression of having been written in a hurry, with a somewhat improvisational nature. Apart from these three pieces, Schubert composed two sets of four impromptus that belong to many a pianist’s standard repertoire. The Klavierstücke are nowhere near as famous, though. Schubert completed these compositions six months before his death, but it would take another 40 years for them to be published, after none other than Johannes Brahms adapted them. In this broadcast: Klavierstücke No. 3. Lars Vogt

Since 1999, the Leipzig Bach Festival represents the worlds major festival according to J.S. Bach. This concert is one of the highlights of the Leipzig Bach Festival 2004. With the soloist, who are all experts in Baroque vocal music, the chamber choir Ex Tempore, also specialized in music of the 17th and 18th century, and La Petite Bande, an outstanding orchestra for early music, Sigiswald Kuijken has high professional musicians to perform two of the most remarkable vocal works by J.S. Bach and his most famous son: The two-part cantata "Ascension Oratorio" has its origin in an elder secular work and includes some arias which occur again in the b Minor mess. The thematically related oratorio by C.P.E. Bach, originated 40 years later, is an important masterpiece of the genre and tells with multifaceted musical colours the story of the Ascension of the Christ. Sigiswald Kuijken, La Petite Bande, Ex Tempore choir, Sophie Karthäuser, soprano Patrizia Hardt, alto Christoph Einhorn, tenor Christoph Genz, tenor Jan van Der Crabben bass-baritone Stephan Genz

It must have been some performance: on December 22, 1808 at six-thirty in the evening, Ludwig van Beethoven’s fourth piano concert saw its premiere in the (unheated) Theater an der Wien. His Choral Fantasy and his concert aria ‘Ah! Perfido’ were played, and parts from the Mass in C major and his Fifth and Sixth Symphony had their first performance each of these masterpieces that have changed the course of music history. Beethoven’s sixth symphony, the ‘Pastorale’ is an excellent example of program music: Beethoven paints an exquisite picture of the quiet country lifestyle. Manfred Honeck, UBS Festival Orchestra

Marius Petipa’s exotic ballet, set in legendary India, is a story of love, death and vengeful judgement. Nikiya, a bayadère and Solor, a warrior, have secretly sworn eternal love. But the Rajah decides to marry his daughter Gamzatti to Solor, who, overwhelmed by her beauty, forgets his vows of love to Nikiya. When the Rajah learns of Nikiya and Solor’s love from the High Brahmin (who is also in love with Nikiya), he decides to have the bayadère killed. Gamzatti tries to persuade Nikiya to give up Solor but she refuses and attacks the princess, who then also decides to have the bayadère killed. Nikiya dances at the betrothal celebrations of Gamzatti and Solor. She is fatally bitten by a poisonous snake hidden in a basket of flowers sent by the Rajah and Gamzatti. Solor has a vision of Nikiya in the Kingdom of the Shades. Later, at the wedding ceremony, he is again haunted by the vision of Nikiya which he alone can see. The gods, infuriated by the killing of Nikiya, destroy the temple, killing everyone in it. The spirits of Nikiya and Solor are reunited in eternal love. Recorded live from the Royal Opera House, January 2009. Valeriy Ovsyanikov, The Royal Ballet, The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Carlos Acosta (Solar), Marianela Nunez (Gamzatti), Tamara Rojo (Nikiya), Gary Avis (The High Brahmin), Chrisopher Saunders (Rajah), Kenta Kura (Magdaveya), Valeri Hristov (Solor’s Friend)

The Verbier Festival is an innovative music festival which was created in 1994. The greatest stars in classical music come here year after year. The Verbier Festival also relies on the talents of young artists from all over the world, forging links between the young and the great masters. The Verbier Festival creates, develops and promotes excellence in the field of performing arts. It offers a unique and welcoming artistic experience to its 40,000-strong audience every year. During this concert you can enjoy Michael Collins and Julien Quentin perform works by Poulenc, Mozart and Von Weber. Michael Collins (clarinet), Julien Quintin (piano)

,,Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance - 50 years after I'm gone.’’ Gustav Mahler wrote his Symphony No. 5 in the summers of 1901 and 1902, a period of change in the composer's life. As director of the Wiener Staatsoper and conductor of the Wiener Philharmoniker, he had one of the most-wanted positions in the music business, while he also met his wife Alma Mahler, who was pregnant with their first child, in 1902. Mahler's health gave less cause for celebration: a hemorrhage would have killed him in 1901, had his doctor not prevented that. Keeping this in mind, it comes as no surprise that Mahler's approach to composition changed. His work premiered in 1904, but the audience was not ready for a composition this impressive. Different from his Symphonies No. 2 and 3, Mahler's Symphony No. 5 is a completely instrumental work (with the famous fourth movement, the Adagietto, as the highlight), and, moreover, it lacks the philosophical or religious themes of his earlier Symphonies. Mahler would keep wrestling with the instrumentation of the piece until his death in 1911. During this broadcast: the famous fourth movement. Claudio Abbado, Lucerne Festival Orchestra

Former concert master of the Berliner Philharmoniker Kolja Blacher performs Beethoven's Two Romances for violin and orchestra, accompanied by Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker. Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker, Kolja Blacher (violin)

All of the compositions Mexican Silvestre Revueltas wrote in the short span of his life were full of energy and humor. He was a close friend of Carlos Chávez, another great Mexican name in music, and it was Chávez that in 1929 convinced him to come back to Mexico. Revueltas had studied in Chicago and stuck around since. When back in Mexico, he worked as assistant-conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónico de México, as a teacher and as a solo violinist. He wrote a lot of music for Mexican films and was an active supporter of the labour movement. In 1940, Revueltas died, officially from lung cancer but it was a public secret that he had drunk himself to death. In this broadcast you can listen to ‘Sensemaya’, one of his best known pieces. Gustavo Dudamel, Berliner Philharmoniker

Composer and conductor Pierre Boulez is particularly famed for his polished interpretations of twentieth century classics in general and Stravinsky in particular. Clarity, precision, rhythmic agility and a respect for the composers' intentions as notated in the musical score are the hallmarks of his conducting style. This live performance, under the Pyramid of the Louvre Museum, was the culminating point of a “Boulez cycle” at the Louvre. An audience of 2000 music-lovers attended this performance of Stravinsky’s Firebird by the Orchestre de Paris conducted by Pierre Boulez in a rare and spectacular setting. Pierre Boulez, Orchestre de Paris

In summer 2007 the New York Philharmonic received an invitation that was unprecedented in the orchestra's history. North Korea, the world's most isolated and secluded country and technically at war with the United States, invited the orchestra to play in the capital of Pyongyang. Just a few months later, two hundred orchestra members and more than one hundred journalists disembarked from a chartered plane at Pyongyang's deserted airport. They were about to experience a historic moment, the first-ever performance by an American orchestra in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The film “Americans in Pyongyang” accompanies the orchestra members on their historic trip to Pyongyang in February 2008.

The year 1812 was a busy year for the by then already famous but deaf Ludwig van Beethoven. He finally met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (another German celebrity) but was disappointed by his personality, had an eventful love life and wrote the famous letter to his anonymous ‘Unsterbliche Geliebte’ (Immortal Beloved) and also tried to interfere in the life of his youngest brother, who had an affair with one of the maids. Amidst all this he still found the time to compose some new pieces, among which was his Seventh Symphony. The piece was first performed in 1813 at a charity event for wounded soldiers, by a rather special orchestra: Louis Spohr for instance was one of the violinists, and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Giacomo Meyerbeer and Antonio Salieri were also among those in the orchestra. Claudio Abbado, Berliner Philharmoniker

This historical opera by Tchaikovsky tells a powerful story about political intrigue and a tragic love affair, based upon the poem ‘Poltava’ by Pushkin. Mazeppa, a Ukrainian Cossack, is trying to keep his country out of the hands of Tsar Peter I of Russia. In his struggle he needs all the help he can get and he therefore pays the highly influential Kochubey a visit to ask for his support. Kochubey’s daughter, Mariya, is a gorgeous young girl and Mazeppa cannot help falling in love with her. To his great joy the love is mutual, but Kochubey is not pleased. Mazeppa is, after all, many times her age and, what’s more, her godfather. Mariya in the end chooses Mazeppa, but of course there is no way this could end well… Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in 2004, conducted by Valery Gergiev. Valery Gergiev, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre, Nikolai Putilin, Sergei Aleksashkin, Larissa Diadkova, Irina Loskutova, Vikto Lutsiuk, Vladikir Zhivopistsev, Viatcheslav Luhanin, Nikolai Gassiev

This Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No. 1 BWV 1014 is the first of the set of sonatas Johann Sebastian Bach composed before 1725, probably during his time as chapel master in Köthen. Presumably, he wrote these sonatas for Prince Leopold and later adapted them for further use in Leipzig. Maybe this is why these pieces are well playable for amateurs, while every sonata still has the finesse that can offer a challenge to professional musicians. The different pieces are meant to be a set, just like the Brandenburg concertos. Frank Peter Zimmerman (violin), Enrico Pace (piano)

Making the most of the financial support he received from his sponsor Nadezhda von Meck, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky embarked on a trip around Europe in 1880. During this trip he collected musical souvenirs that he would later use in his own compositions. His favourite discovery was the music he found in Rome: from the trumpet signal that rose up from the neighbouring barracks to his hotel window every morning, to the cheerful songs played by an Italian street band. The melodies he collected there form the basis of one of his most popular orchestral pieces: Capriccio Italien. Even though the composition may be built on ‘borrowed’ material, the resulting piece is typically Tchaikovsky. Kurt Masur, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig