Engelbert Humperdinck: Prelude to "Hänsel und Gretel" | Eastman School Symphony Orchestra

Engelbert Humperdinck: Maurische Rhapsodie

Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra 

Dir. Martin Fischer-Dieskau (son of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau)

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 | Karl Böhm, London Symphony Orchestra

Leonard Bernstein: Symphony No. 2 ("The Age of Anxiety") | Krystian Zimerman - Leonard Bernstein

Frédéric d'Erlanger : Poeme for violin and orchestra | Philippe Graffin, violin

Wagner : Symphony in C major (1832)

I. Sostenuto e maestoso — Allegro con brio

II. Andante ma non troppo, un poco maestoso

III. Allegro assai — Un poco meno allegro — Tempo I° — Meno allegro — Presto

IV. Allegro molto e vivace — Più allegro

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano della RAI

Franco Caracciolo, conductor

Klemperer the "Immoralist" | Interview

Wagner : Orchestral Works | Otto Klemperer

Furtwängler | Documentary

Richard Strauss: Salome | Elena Stikhina

Beethoven: The 9 Symphonies

Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21: 

0:00:00 I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio 

0:09:05 II. Andante cantabile con moto  

0:17:09 III. Menuetto: Allegro molto e vivace  

0:20:56 IV. Adagio - Allegro molto e vivace  

Metamorphose String Orchestra, Pavel Lyubomudrov

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36:

0:26:57 I. Adagio molto - Allegro con brio  

0:39:48 II. Larghetto  

0:52:46 III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio  

0:56:53 IV. Allegro molto  

Metamorphose String Orchestra, Pavel Lyubomudrov

Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 55 "Eroica":

1:03:39 I. Allegro con brio 

1:21:19 II. Marcia funebre. Adagio assai 

1:35:58 III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio 

1:42:09 IV. Finale. Allegro molto 

Metamorphose String Orchestra, Pavel Lyubomudrov

Symphony No. 4 in B-Flat Major, Op. 60:

1:54:16 I. Adagio - Allegro vivace  

2:06:42 II. Adagio  

2:16:48 III. Allegro vivace  

2:22:59 IV. Allegro ma non troppo  

Metamorphose String Orchestra, Pavel Lyubomudrov

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67:

2:29:56 I. Allegro con brio  

2:36:42 II. Andante con moto  

2:45:15 III. Scherzo. Allegro  

2:50:04 IV. Allegro  

Orquesta Reino de Aragón, Alvaro Albiach

Symphony No. 6 in F Major, Op. 68 "Pastoral":

3:00:24 I. Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside  

3:11:15 II. Scene by the brook  

3:22:01 III. Merry gathering of country folk  

3:27:17 IV. Thunder. Storm  

3:30:51 V. Shepherd's song. Cheerful and thankful feelings after the storm  

Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Giuseppe Lanzetta

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92:

3:39:33 I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace  

3:51:06 II. Allegretto  

4:00:20 III. Presto  

4:07:48 IV. Allegro con brio  

Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Giuseppe Lanzetta

Symphony No. 8 in F Major, Op. 93:

4:14:25 I. Allegro vivace e con brio  

4:24:22 II. Allegretto scherzando  

4:28:18 III. Tempo di minuetto  

4:32:58 IV. Allegro vivace  

Metamorphose String Orchestra, Pavel Lyubomudrov

Symphony No. 9 "Choral":

4:40:43 I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso  

4:55:05 II. Scherzo. Molto vivace  

5:09:22 III. Adagio molto e cantabile  

5:23:12 IV. Finale  

Orquesta Reino de Aragón, Coro Amici Musicae, Ricardo Casero

Brahms: Double Concerto | Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maximilian Hornung

A Woman in Berlin (Eine Frau in Berlin, 2008)

 Based on real events after the Soviet occupation of Berlin (1945).

Robert Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16 | Vladimir Horowitz, piano

Ravel: Complete Piano Works | François Dumont, piano

Miroirs, M. 43:

00:00:00 I. Noctuelles

00:04:32 II. Oiseaux tristes

00:09:15 III. Une barque sur l'océan

00:16:28 IV. Alborada del gracioso

00:22:50 V. La vallée des cloches

Sonatine, M. 40:

00:29:07 I. Modéré

00:33:11 II. Mouvement de menuet

00:36:12 III. Animé

00:39:57 Menuet in C-Sharp Minor, M. 42

00:40:53 Menuet antique in F-Sharp Minor, M. 7

00:46:46 Menuet sur le nom de Haydn in G Major, M. 58

Le tombeau de Couperin, M. 68:

00:48:39 I. Prélude

00:51:45 II. Fugue

00:55:05 III. Forlane

01:00:39 IV. Rigaudon

01:03:54 V. Menuet

01:08:58 VI. Toccata

01:12:55 Prélude, M. 65

Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55:

01:14:23 I. Ondine

01:21:08 II. Le gibet

01:28:01 III. Scarbo

01:37:10 A la manière de... Emmanuel Chabrier in C Major, M. 63/2

01:38:59 A la manière de... Borodine in D-Flat Major, M. 63/1: I. Valse

01:40:42 Jeux d'eau in E Major, M. 30

01:46:14 Sérénade grotesque

01:49:41 La parade, M. 11

Valses nobles et sentimentales, M. 61:

02:01:06 I. Modéré - très franc

02:02:24 II. Assez lent

02:04:40 III. Modéré

02:06:04 IV. Assez animé

02:07:15 V. Presque lent

02:08:27 VI. Vif

02:09:04 VII. Moins vif

02:11:46 VIII. Epilogue – Lent

02:15:48 La valse, M. 72

02:27:17 Pavane pour une infante défunte in G Major, M. 19

Maurice Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit (1908) | Szuyu Su, piano

In the Neighborhoods of Athena

Athena is an ancient Greek goddess associated mostly with wisdom. She was regarded as the patron and protectress of the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. This 2011 film, re-edited in 2025, was shot around the Acropolis.

An opinion about Brahms

Mike was a fellow professor at the Hellenic Naval Academy. He had enormous musical education (if I remember well, he had been a member of the BBC symphony orchestra and chorus and once he had performed under the formidable Otto Klemperer!). I thus always enjoyed discussions with him regarding our mutual love: classical music.

At some point the issue of the discussion was Brahms. And then Mike, with typical British sarcastic humor, said the following about the German composer:

“Brahms’ orchestra sounds like someone stirring a thick soup!”

As much as I adore Brahms, I cannot fully disagree with Mike's statement. Indeed, Brahms' orchestral sound sometimes gives the listener an impression of "thickness" in the flow of the music. This mainly concerns the management of the strings in their lower registers (violas, cellos, basses) where the orchestration is often particularly "dense".

This does not mean to say, of course, that the aesthetic result is unpleasant! Indeed, there are moments when the sound is truly breathtaking, such as toward the end of the slow (2nd) movement of the Second Symphony. And, by the way, let us not forget that Wagner, with a similarly masterful use of the strings in their low ranges, makes us feel as if we are swimming in the depths of the Rhine at the opening of Götterdämmerung!

So here is Brahms’ Second Symphony, a lyrical journey from melancholy to joy...

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op 93 | Valery Gergiev

If one credits Gustav Mahler entirely to the 19th century in order to make room for subsequent important 20th-century composers, then Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) must undoubtedly be regarded as the greatest symphonist of the latter century. His 10th Symphony (whose scherzo alludes to the barbarism of Stalinism) is the absolute masterpiece of the Soviet composer!

1 Moderato

2 Allegro

3 Allegretto

4 Andante - Allegro

National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America

Valery Gergiev, conductor

Chopin - Etudes Op.10 and 25 | Valentina Lisitsa

See full collection of Etudes