Pre-Release
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- 11 OCT 2024
- 7 Songs
- Tchaikovsky: The Essentials · 1996
- Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, Othello Overture · 1999
- Verdi: Falstaff · 2001
- Holst: The Planets · 2006
- Beethoven: Symphonies & Overtures · 1987
- Franck: Symphony in D Minor – Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande · 2024
- Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker · 1990
- Dvorák: Symphony No. 9, Othello Overture · 1999
- Herbert von Karajan: Adagio · 1973
- Mozart: Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 · 1976
Essential Albums
- Pierre Boulez’s sensual side—really, the arch-modernist has one—is most apparent when he performs the Impressionist music of his French forerunner Ravel. The conductor’s crisp, deliberate, yet fully decadent performances of Boléro have been of great assistance to listeners’ understanding of that piece; on this recording, the woodwind and brass players of the Berliner Philharmoniker savour every solo feature, along with Boulez and his firm hand. Equally stunning is their collective take on Rapsodie espagnole (check out the glistening passages of gorgeousness that surround moments of tumult during “Feria”).
- It’s no surprise that Rafael Kubelik—a onetime conductor of the Czech Philharmonic—would have a feel for the lyricism of Dvořák’s music, but his interpretations of the composer’s final two symphonies still surpass any expectations with their utter rightness. His reading of the popular Symphony No. 9 is distinguished, but the real treat on this collection is a graceful performance of the lesser-known Symphony No. 8. Here, Kubelik and the Berliner Philharmoniker players sound invigorated by the pastoral qualities of the “Adagio”, as well as the many twists and turns of the work’s final movement.
- This exemplary performance of Puccini’s famous bohemian tearjerker feels alive from the downbeat. That only gets stronger once a young tenor named Luciano Pavarotti enters, one minute into the proceedings, to deliver one of his essential performances in the role of Rodolfo. Soprano Mirella Freni’s Mimi is a key part of a superb cast too—witness her warm, affecting way with the would-be separation aria “Donde lieta uscì”. An undoubted high-point of Herbert von Karajan’s vast catalogue, this is a thrilling demonstration of the energy of his conductor’s art.
Artist Playlists
- 130 years of artistic excellence and impeccable standards of musicianship.
About Berlin Philharmonic
Whenever listeners are asked to rank the world’s best orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic is invariably at or near the top. Formed in 1882, the orchestra had relatively humble beginnings, playing its first concerts in an open-air restaurant. The Philharmonic’s artistic standards quickly flourished, however, and the orchestra’s 1913 recording of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (1808) with conductor Arthur Nikisch raised its profile internationally. Nikisch was succeeded in 1922 by the visionary Wilhelm Furtwängler, whose Berlin recordings chart a period of intense and sometimes apocalyptic music-making. The tangled compromises made by Furtwängler and the Philharmonic to keep performing during the Nazi regime are still today the subject of debate. In the post-war period, Herbert von Karajan’s 33-year reign as principal conductor brought new levels of plushness, power and tonal sophistication to the Philharmonic’s sound, and huge commercial success for its recordings. Since then, his successors—Claudio Abbado, Simon Rattle and current chief conductor Kirill Petrenko who arrived in 2019—have expanded the Philharmonic’s repertoire significantly beyond the core Austro-German classics. Petrenko has defined his tenure through his championing of Russian and lesser-known repertoire and, like Rattle before him, an emphasis on music education. The orchestra’s Digital Concert Hall, launched in 2009, is another important innovation. Enabling online access to live and archived concerts, it marks a confident expansion of the Philharmonic’s global footprint. In 2014, the orchestra launched its own label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings.
- ORIGIN
- Berlin, Germany
- FORMED
- 1882
- GENRE
- Classical