Wiener Philharmoniker: Sommernachtskonzert 2021 [Blu-ray]

The Vienna Philharmonic Summer Night Concert 2021, conducted by Daniel Harding with Igor Levit as soloist, was recorded again this year by Sony Classical. The Summer Night Concert, which took place on June 18, 2021, is an outdoor concert held annually since 2008, following the "Concert for Europe" held from 2004 to 2007. The baroque park of Schönbrunn Palace provides an enchanting backdrop for the concert. Among the illustrious conductors who have conducted the Vienna Philharmonic's Summer Night Concert in recent years are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Valery Gergiev, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov and Gustavo Dudamel. The baroque park grounds of Schönbrunn Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provide an impressive backdrop for the Summer Night Concert, complementing the high musical quality with its great visual charm. This open-air concert shows classical music at its best and makes it accessible to a wide audience. Millions of viewers and listeners in more than 80 countries can follow the event on the Internet, radio and television. Despite the ongoing Corona pandemic, the traditional Summer Night Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra could also take place in 2021, this time in front of 3,000 spectators. The seats went to people who have been on the front lines of medical or elementary education during the pandemic, as well as the orchestra partners who made this year's Summer Night Concert possible.

In this very special concert, themed "Wanderlust," the Vienna Philharmonic performed works by Bernstein, Verdi, Rachmaninoff, Sibelius, Elgar, Debussy and Holst. This year's soloist was Igor Levit, who not only participated in the series of Summer Night Concerts for the first time, but also recorded his first CD with orchestra for Sony Classical. The star pianist had already toured Europe and the US with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2019. The New York Times describes Igor Levit as "one of the most important artists of his generation". Musical America awarded Igor Levit as "Recording Artist of the Year 2020", in 2018 he received the Gilmore Artist Award, and in November 2020 he was nominated for a Grammy in the category "Best Classical Instrumental Solo". Igor Levit is a regular guest at the world's most prestigious concert halls and festivals.

Треклист:
1. Giuseppe Verdi: I vespri siciliani: Overture
2. Sergej Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
3. Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelle No. 25 in A Minor, WoO 59 'Für Elise'

Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
4. I. Prologue
5. II. Somewhere
6. III. Scherzo
7. IV. Mambo

8. Edward Elgar: Salut d'amour, Op. 12
9. Jean Sibelius: Karelia Suite, Op. 11: I. Intermezzo
10. Claude Debussy: Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune, L 86
11. Gustav Holst: The Planets, Op. 32: IV. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity
12. Johann Strauss II: Wiener Blut, Walzer, Op. 354