
Tiziano

Agnese
Federico
Young Tiziano
Dottore
Benjamin Britten's monumental anti-war oratorio from the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle in memory of war veterans and victims. British composer Benjamin Britten wrote War Requiem in 1962 on the occasion of the restoration of the war-damaged cathedral in Coventry. He used the traditional, codified Latin text of the requiem – a mass for the dead – interspersed with verses by Wilfred Owen, a British officer who wrote his poems directly in the trenches of World War I. More than two hundred artists then joined their voices in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle as part of the Prague Sounds festival for a symbolic performance of the work, which is rarely performed due to its demanding nature and large cast.

This unique document from the 1978 Salzburg Festival has fortunately been released on DVD and is a magical interpretation, prodigiously realized with a sublime fusion of timbres, a cohesion and ultimately, a simplicity that are truly unequalled. Listen as this great conductor produces musical nuisances that are unique to his art and how he accompanies the soloists with understanding and rapport. I have no hesitation in claiming this is one of the great recordings of the century.

Shaken by the stockmarket crash of ’87 … plus a few other distractions like attempted murder, flirtatious affairs and a lunatic, knife wielding chef … their friendship is put to the test! But, rest assured, these resilient women-of-the-world will pull through and enjoy many more entrées together at Luigi’s!

On a Friday night, Kuba introduces his new acquaintance, Honza, to his longtime friend, Vašek. An ordinary evening at a pub is disrupted by the arrival of a stranger named Emily, who happens to join their group. Everything suddenly changes when Honza, driven by his interest in the newcomer, asks Kuba behind Vašek’s back to help him slip a drug into her drink. Kuba is forced to choose between loyalty to his old friend, the desire not to fall short in Honza's eyes, and his own moral principles, as the fate of the unsuspecting Emily suddenly rests in his hands.

Philippe Herreweghe, principal conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, has devoted himself for over ten years to fresh and invigorating readings of the (pre-) Romantic repertoire. Together with the Collegium Vocale, founded in 1970 by Philippe Herreweghe himself, and superb soloists they perform Dvorak’s Requiem. A modern and stylistically flexible symphony orchestra, the Royal Flemish Philharmonic demonstrates an artistic flair which allows for a variety of styles and occupies a unique position in Flanders. Collegium Vocale Gent were one of the first ensembles to use new ideas about baroque performance practice in vocal music. Their authentic, text-oriented and rhetorical approach gave the ensemble the transparent sound with which it would acquire world fame and perform at the major concert venues and music festivals all over the world.