Sony Classical

An inside look into one night in the San Francisco underground rave scene.

It is no wonder that Met audiences have gone wild over Karita Mattila’s sizzling Salome. Indisputably one of the greatest Salomes of our time, Mattila utterly incarnates Oscar Wilde’s petulant, willful, and lust-driven heroine. With Strauss’s groundbreaking music magnifying the degenerate atmosphere and building the erotic tension, this is one opera that is as shocking today as it was at its premiere in 1905.

For Mahler, symphonies always were a means of interpreting the most convoluted philosophical problems that couldn’t be resolved verbally. The ambitious structure of the five-part Fifth Symphony spans from the Funeral March to the roaring finale. It is a forthright attempt to resolve the tragic conflict with the surrounding world. The brilliant fourth part of the symphony, Adagietto, resembles a beautifully mysterious flower that every conductor reimagines in their own style. As one of the twentieth century’s most influential maestros, Mahler redefined the conductor’s role. For him, the conductor is just as integral to his own musical works as they are to the composer. When a maestro steps onto the podium and opens the score, he recreates musical universes from scratch. Teodor Currentzis and the musicAeterna orchestra have performed Mahler’s symphonies around the world for many years. The Fifth Symphony has earned its place as one of the highlights of the cycle.

Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher’s bold new production probes the psychological underpinnings of Verdi’s dynamic setting of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. At the helm of this performance is riveting conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who brings out all the cascading emotions in Verdi’s turbulent score. Aleksandrs Antonenko is the Moor Otello, the triumphant general of the Venetian army who is ultimately brought down by the sly insinuations of his friend Iago (Željko Lučić). Sonya Yoncheva continues to win fans as Desdemona, Otello’s faithful and long-suffering wife. With Günther Groissböck as Lodovico and Dimitri Pittas as Cassio.

Framed by the tranquil beauty of a forest near Berlin, Khatia Buniatishvili gives a recital of pianistic masterpieces dappled by the shade of verdant ferns and leafy canopies. As a special treat, her older sister Gvantsa joins her for four-handed works by Dvořák, Brahms, and Piazzolla. Described as a “force of nature”, Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili takes her art into the wilderness with this concert. On a wooden stage, she sits in an earthy concert hall performing works of particular meaning for her, and beloved by audiences the world over. From Debussy’s Clair de Lune to Ravel’s La Valse, from Stravinsky’s Petrushka to Piazzolla’s Improvisations on Libertango, Buniatishvili demonstrates her wide palette of expression and lyric approach to her instrument. Interspersed with the music are intimate interviews of the artist herself in which she discusses on her musical upbringing, her career, and her impressions of the pieces she has chosen to include in the program.

An exclusive musical comedy event showcasing the antics of the entire cast and crew of the hit Broadway show The Producers. Includes exclusive candid behind-the-scenes footage, 14 song performances, and much more, all hosted by Mel Brooks.

A live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera.

For many, the Russian city of Perm might seem like the end of the world, isolated in the foothills of the Ural mountains. But it is in this rapidly developing industrial city – which is establishing itself as one of Russia’s modern cultural centers – that the Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis has been quietly revolutionizing classical music with his ensemble musicAeterna. The film follows the recording sessions of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, documenting the artists’ habits and painting a portrait of this exuberant conductor.

Three big names from the classical music scene -- legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma and lauded opera singer Frederica Von Stade -- join the Prague Philharmonic Chorus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in a once-in-a-lifetime performance of music by Czech composer Anton Dvorak. The musicians, led by renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa, give their all to highlight Dvorak's music in none other than his native Prague.

The renowned orchestra presents the world's biggest annual classical open air concert live from their hometown Vienna, Austria on Thursday, May 29th, 2014. The Summer Night Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic is an annual open-air event that takes place in the magical setting of the Schönbrunn Palace Park in Vienna with the palace as a magnificent backdrop. Everyone is invited to come to this unique occasion with free admission. Each year up to 100,000 people can take up the invitation, or enjoy on radio and TV in over 60 countries.