Wiener Philharmoniker: Sommernachtskonzert (Summer Night Concert) 2024 [Blu-ray]

Sony Classical is proud to announce the release of this year’s Summer Night Concert 2024 with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Andris Nelsons with soprano Lise Davidsen. The unique concert experience will be available on CD, DVD, Blu-ray as well as digitally on July 12. The Summer Night Concert was performed this year on June 7. It is an annual open-air event, which has been held since 2004 in the magical setting of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria.

The illustrious conductors who have previously led the orchestra at this event are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons. Thanks to its UNESCO World Heritage setting in the Baroque Park of Schönbrunn with the palace as a backdrop, the Summer Night Concert adds great visual charm to its superb musical quality.

The idea of making classical music at its very best available for everyone and thus giving a gift to all music lovers still characterizes the event today. Millions of viewers and listeners in more than 80 countries can follow the concert online, on TV and radio.

The focus of this year’s program was on popular works from the 19th and 20th centuries from Europe’s rich musical heritage. Bedřich Smetana, one of the most important Czech composers, was honoured with three works to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. Andris Nelsons conducted the concert for the second time, while Norwegian opera and lieder singer Lise Davidsen made her début with the orchestra. Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen burst onto the international stage in 2015 by winning multiple prizes at the Operalia, Queen Sonja and Hans Gabor Belvedere competitions. These were swiftly followed by triumphant débuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, and the Aix-en-Provence, and Glyndebourne Festivals. A frequent recitalist and concert performer, Davidsen has toured with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors.

In March this year, Lise Davidsen made her acclaimed role début at the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in La forza del destino. The 182-year old tradition of the Vienna Philharmonic goes back to 1842, when Otto Nicolai conducted a Grand Concert with all members of the imperial “Hof-Operntheater”. This event was originally called “Philharmonic Academy” and is regarded as the origin of the orchestra. Since its founding, the orchestra has been managed by the administrative committee – a democratically elected body – and works with artistic, organisational and financial autonomy. All decisions are reached on a democratic basis during the general meeting of all members.

Recorded: 7th June 2024
Recording Venue: Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria.

Треклист:
Wagner: Die Walküre: Ride of the Valkyries
Wagner: Dich, teure Halle (from Tannhauser)
Smetana: Má Vlast: Vltava
Smetana: The Two Widows: Polka
Smetana: The Bartered Bride: Skocná - Dance of the Comedians
Verdi: La forza del destino Overture
Verdi: Pace, pace mio Dio! (from La forza del destino)
Holmès, A: Ludus pro Patria: La Nuit et l'Amour
Khachaturian: Sabre Dance from Gayane
Shostakovich: Jazz Suite No. 2: No. 4 Waltz II
Kalman: Heia, in den Bergen from Die Csárdásfürstin
Strauss, J, II: Wiener Blut Waltz, Op. 354