Program Mezzo

The life I love - The pianist Menahem Pressler The music world has known Menahem Pressler for more than half a century and mainly for his work with the famous Beaux Arts Trio. He was the heart of this ensemble and when in 2008 the trio decided to separate, it was not the end for Menahem Pressler’s career – in fact it was the start of a most remarkable and successful path as a soloist and in 2013, the 90-year-old grand seigneur of the piano gave his long overdue debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In ‘The life I love – the pianist Menahem Pressler’, from talks with Pressler over excerpts from one of his Master Classes, to interviews with artists like Daniel Harding, Quatuor Ébène, Leonidas Kavakos or Daniel Hope, we will gain deep insights into the life of this enchantingly “venerable prodigy”. Menahem Pressler died on May 6, 2023 Directed by Grete Liffers 2014

Monteverdi from Mantua to Venise John Eliot Gardiner - Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists An exceptional musical journey by John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir in Italy at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua and in Venice, particularly the Basilica dei Frari, where the composer's tomb is located. Directed by Sébastien Glas

The Monteverdi Choir, The English Baroque Soloists, Les Pages du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, Sir John Eliot Gardiner (Conductor) Claudio Monteverdi (1567 - 1643) Vespro della Beata Vergine Directed by Stéphan Aubé Château de Versailles, Chapelle Royale, 9 March 2014

Lausanne, Théâtre de Beaulieu, 8 February 2026

Go behind the scenes at the Steinway & Sons factory and discover Spirio, the incredible technology that allows a piano to replay a performance exactly as it was played live. Mr. Guido Zimmermann, the president of the world-famous pianomakers, talks us through the revolutionary concept, accompanied by images of the precise, fascinating craftmanship and engineering that goes into each one of the Spirio pianos. Hugo Cohen Sprung's documentary also allows us insight into French pianist and Steinway artist Bertrand Chamayou's experience with the technology and features a preview of his unique two-piano concert in which he performs with his "shadow"!

La grande danza - Aterballetto in Milan Choreographies by Jiří Pokorny (Words & Space), Giuseppe Spota (Narcissus), Philippe Kratz (Phoenix) Aterballetto is the principal producing and touring dance company in Italy. They are well-known for their ability to shift their style across a wide range of musical genres, from classical to pop and jazz. Jiří Pokorny‘s ‘Words and Space’ is a metaphor of an intrapersonal speech, a book full of floating stories. It is personal, intimate, and very poetic. ‘Phoenix’ is inspired by the idea of the infinite circular motion of life: Birth, growth, immobility, death and finally birth once again. Choreographer Philippe Kratz tries to understand who we were and what we are capable to become. In ‘Narcissus’ Giuseppe Spota takes a look at the youth of today. Are they ready to come out of their virtual frames and face the mirror ofeveryday life? Or will they all end up like Narcissus,alone to admire and cherish themselves? Directed by Andreas Morell

Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) La valse Pierre Mercure (1927 - 1966) Kaléidoscope Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) Symphony No.5 in D minor, op. 47 1 Moderato - Allegro non troppo 2 Allegretto 3 Largo 4 Allegro non troppo

International Conducting Competition Rotterdam 2025