Exploring Artists and Repertoire

Fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout discusses his philosophy for interpretation of Mozart's keyboard repertoire.

Leonidas Kavakos, shares his thoughts about programming Beethoven's Violin Sonatas, and the surprising individual characteristics of each work.

On May 4, the finale of Renée Fleming's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall is "Vienna: Window to Modernity," a thoughtful tribute to the time and place where the European musical tradition, under the influence of literary and visual arts, gave way to the 20th century. Here, in the first of three videos in which Ms. Fleming and conductor and music historian Leon Botstein discuss Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, they reveal the circumstances that led to the upheaval of society and art in Vienna, drawing parallels with New York City in its diversity and opportunities for social advancement.

On May 4, the finale of Renée Fleming's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall is "Vienna: Window to Modernity," a thoughtful tribute to the time and place where the European musical tradition, under the influence of literary and visual arts, gave way to the 20th century. Here, in the final video of a series of three in which Ms. Fleming and conductor and music historian Leon Botstein discuss Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, they talk about the "simple and heartbreaking" music of Richard Strauss. Strauss is a composer close to the soprano's heart and one who she believes has been ever popular but not always respected, particularly in Europe.

On May 4, the finale of Renée Fleming's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall is "Vienna: Window to Modernity," a thoughtful tribute to the time and place where the European musical tradition, under the influence of literary and visual arts, gave way to the 20th century. Here, in the second of a series of three videos in which Ms. Fleming and conductor and music historian Leon Botstein discuss Vienna at the turn of the 20th century, they examine audience reactions to 20th-century music and explore how audiences should approach music by Viennese composers of the period.

In 1998, soprano Renée Fleming originated the role of Blanche DuBois in a searing performance at the premiere of André Previn's beautiful opera based on the Tennessee Williams classic "A Streetcar Named Desire." Here, Ms. Fleming discusses the work with the composer.

On May 4, the finale of Renée Fleming's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall is "Vienna: Window to Modernity," a thoughtful tribute to the time and place where the European musical tradition, under the influence of literary and visual arts, gave way to the 20th century. Here, Ms. Fleming, composer and conductor André Previn, and conductor and music historian Leon Botstein discuss how several of the major Viennese composers of the period—Korngold, Schoenberg, and Zeisl—spent a lot of time in Los Angeles and how their experiences there differed widely.

French soprano Natalie Dessay reveals the importance of the artistic relationship between singer and accompanist, describing it as "a genuine, nice, and tender relationship."

French soprano Natalie Dessay explains her philosophy of recital and the debt owed to the composer by the singers.

French soprano, Natalie Dessay, recounts her route to the opera and recital stage.

Christian Tetzlaff discusses the complexity of Bartók's Second Violin Concerto, and the unusual symmetry between the first and last movements.

Gustavo Dudamel and Osvaldo Golijov discuss Latin American composers including the visceral Revueltas, the "unselfconscious genius" Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, and Estévez.

Pianist Jeremy Denk speaks movingly about the music and career of maverick composer Charles Ives. Denk describes Ives as the "classic, crusty Yankee" who was, conversely, "engaged in one of the most profoundly nostalgic and tender projects in all of music."

Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain and Imani Winds discuss and rehearse the Carnegie Hall–commissioned piece "Five Chairs and One Table."

Complete with dramatic performance footage, Valery Gergiev, music director and conductor of the Mariinsky Orchestra, discusses Tchaikovsky's symphonies and his approach to conducting them.

"You understand yourself by understanding, profoundly, another culture." David Robertson explains how the blend of cultures expressed in the music by the Finnish-born, Paris-based Saariaho attracted him to her work.

Bernard Labadie discusses Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," explaining that while Bach wrote for people, he truly wrote for God. He saw it as his duty to maximize his God-given talent "to create new worlds."

Christopher Rouse describes his Carnegie Hall–commissioned String Quartet No. 3—his first chamber work in more than a decade—as an "extremely schizophrenic" piece and speaks about working with the Calder Quartet towards its creation.

David Robertson, music director and conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, talks about the inspiration and unique appeal of Louis Andriessen's music.

Louis Andriessen was the holder of the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair during the 2009–2010 season. In this interview, he introduces his music and philosophy of composing.

Pulitzer Prize–winning American composer Christopher Rouse discusses the background of "Ku-Ka-Ilimoku" and "Compline," including how he yearned to write some "beat-the-heck-out-of-the-drums pieces."

The Hungarian pianist András Schiff discusses Bartók's piano concertos, from the radicalism of the First, through the difficult-to-play Second, and the swansong of the Third.

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen introduces Richard Strauss's "Salome." Based on Oscar Wilde's scandalous play of the same name, Strauss composed "Salome" as "essentially a tone poem with voices." This complex work includes two murders, but rather than taking place graphically on stage, the brutal action is conveyed by the music. The one-act opera was performed in a concert version at Carnegie Hall on May 24, 2012, by The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, with soloists including soprano Nina Stemme as Salome and bass-baritone Eric Owens in the role of Jochanaan.

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen introduces Ravel's exciting, gamelan-influenced String Quartet in F Major. The piece, which began as a tribute to Debussy's sole string quartet, was written in response to the earlier domination of the form by German and Austrian composers. Geffen also reveals how close we came to losing this amazing masterpiece and the surprising circumstances from which this threat emanated.

Our "A Golden Age of Music" video series continues with a focus on Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection," which Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen calls "a miracle and a question mark at the same time" and "about as personal a statement as any composer could make."

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen introduces the piece that reveals the young composer's indebtedness to Strauss, Debussy, Wagner, and Beethoven, while displaying the simplicity he derived from his study of Hungarian folk music.

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen and Sir Simon Rattle of the Berliner Philharmoniker introduce Bruckner's spiritual and sweeping Ninth Symphony. Written when he was aware of his approaching death, the symphony's final movement, described by Geffen "as expansive and heartfelt a piece as he ever wrote," remained unfinished by the time Bruckner passed away in 1896. Sir Simon Rattle explains how that final movement has been reconstructed from the fragments left by Bruckner.

Sir Simon Rattle of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen introduce Debussy's sensual "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune," arguably the French composer's most beloved and influential score. Composed to precede a stage reading of a poem titled "The Afternoon of a Faun" by Debussy's Symbolist colleague Stéphane Mallarmé, Geffen calls it "a velvet revolution" and describes it as "about the 11 most perfect minutes you can spend listening to anything in a concert hall."

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen reveals how one of the most powerful pieces from the period between 1891 and 1910 came from the relative backwater of Denmark.

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen introduces Brahms's Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, performed by Ensemble ACJW on April 18, 2012, in Weill Recital Hall. Inspired to come out of retirement by the playing of the great German clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, Brahms created "an entire universe ... in this 30-minute piece" and "one of the greatest 'once-upon-a-times' ever written."

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen reveals the background to and importance of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, "Pathétique."

Jeremy Geffen, Carnegie Hall's director of artistic planning, discusses "The Poem of Ecstasy" and its eccentric composer Scriabin, who claimed the gift of synesthesia and believed himself to be the center of a cult.

Here, we focus on Stravinsky's dazzling breakout work "The Firebird." Written 20 years after Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune"—and sharing key compositional traits with that seminal work—"The Firebird" was originally written as a ballet score.

Mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter speaks about working with composer and pianist Brad Mehldau on his "Love Songs" cycle, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and written for von Otter.

Alan Pierson—artistic director and conductor of Alarm Will Sound—explains the meeting between Paul McCartney and Luciano Berio that culminated in the recording of "Revolution 9."

A performance in words, music, and images, "1969" tells the story of great musicians—Leonard Bernstein, Luciano Berio, Karlheinz Stockhausen, The Beatles, and Yoko Ono—striving for new music and a new world amidst the turmoil of the late 1960s. Here, Alan Pierson, artistic director and conductor of Alarm Will Sound, explains the genesis and the development of the piece.

Pianist Jonathan Biss discusses the inspiration for Bernard Rands's new piece, "Three Pieces for Piano," which made its New York premiere during Biss's solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall.

Carnegie Hall's Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen explains the political and musical background to Sibelius's First Symphony: Finnish nationalism and Tchaikovsky. He also discusses how Tchaikovsky's groundbreaking use of silence in his music influenced Sibelius throughout his career.