A celebration of Bohemian spirit and rhythmic brilliance, Antonín Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances come to life in a vibrant new recording by the Czech Philharmonic, led by the masterful Sir Simon Rattle. These vivid orchestral gems, full of rhythmic vitality, folkloric color, and lyrical charm, are central to Dvořák’s legacy and pivotal in defining a Czech national sound. Composed at a turning point in the composer’s career, the Slavonic Dances radiate with joy, invention, and national character—qualities that captivated audiences across Europe and beyond. As Principal Guest Conductor: Rafael Kubelík Chair, Sir Simon Rattle has already graced the label alongside the orchestra and Magdalena Kožená with Czech Songs (2024) and Folk Songs (2023).

Magdalena Kožená presents a recital of Czech songs, together with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle. The first impression of Czech songs may be atmospheric nature scenes, or stories about pretty peasant girls and village pranks, but the selection on this album demonstrates that the imagination of Czech song composers stretched far wider. For example, Bohuslav Martinů’s Nipponari were inspired by Japanese culture, whereas his folksy Songs on One Page obtain a deeper meaning knowing that he wrote them in the US, having fled the Nazi threat.

A storm rages off the island of Crete, forcing King Idomeneo, who is returning from the Trojan War, to make a fateful vow to Neptune. If the enraged sea god allows him to reach the island safely, he promises that he will sacrifice the first person he meets to him. Once on the beach, Idomeneo is met by his son, Idamante - of all people- and the merciless and irreconcilable world of the gods seems intent on ensuring that the promise is fulfilled…

Conductor Emeritus Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO have presented two of Janáček’s operas to critical acclaim, and this is the next instalment. Jenůfa brings together a remarkable cast, including Agneta Eichenholz’s heartbreaking portrayal of a vulnerable young woman and Katarina Karnéus’ achingly powerful Kostelnička.

Celebrating 25 years of LSO Live and the Year of Czech Music 2024: In 1924, the centenary of Bedřich Smetana’s birth was the impetus for establishing the tradition of the Year of Czech Music, commemorated every ten years since then. 2024 marks not only the 200th anniversary of Smetana’s birth, but also the 120th anniversary of Antonín Dvořák’s death and the 170th of Leoš Janáček’s birth. It also marks the 25th anniversary of LSO Live and its first recordings—the Ninth and Eighth Symphonies of Antonín Dvořák.

In November 2017, the Berlin Philharmonic gave a series of concerts in Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Japan. It was the last tour of Asia that Rattle would undertake as the orchestra's chief conductor, and their performances are thoroughly documented on these discs. Four of the discs are derived from the final pair of concerts, which were given in Tokyo's magnificent Suntory Hall, while the other, a performance of Ravel's G Major Piano Concerto with the winner of the 2015 Warsaw Chopin competition as soloist, was recorded in the Berlin Philharmonie before the tour began. he recordings are astonishingly vivid, and the whole set provides a very impressive showcase of the Berlin Phil's current condition as it nears the end of Rattle's reign.

Everything the conductor Sir Simon Rattle touches "turns to gold". Everything except for the music dramas of Richard Wagner, that is! It has often been asserted, albeit without good reason, that Rattle and Wagner do not go together. This has now been conclusively disproved by the third collaboration between Rattle and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, together with a team of the very best Wagner singers. This concert performance of "Das Rheingold", the first opera in Wagner's mighty tetralogy "The Ring of the Nibelung", was performed in the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz on April 24 and 25, 2015, and has now been brought out by BR KLASSIK on two CDs just a few months after the live event.

Recordings of all the Beethoven symphonies with their chief conductor are always a milestone in the artistic work of the Berliner Philharmoniker. So it was with Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado, and expectations are correspondingly high for this cycle conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Where does the special status of these symphonies come from? Simon Rattle has an explanation: “One of the things Beethoven does is to give you a mirror into yourself – where you are now as a musician.” In fact, this music contains such a wealth of extreme emotions and brilliant compositional ideas that reveal the qualities of the orchestra and its conductor as if under a magnifying glass.

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor of Ludwig van Beethoven, Op. 67, was written between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies, and it is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music.

Simon Rattle has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 2002, and this recording is their 10th anniversary present to one another. It is also timed to coincide with performances of the opera in Salzburg with Rattle and exactly the same cast of singers. At the Easter festival the Berliners joined them in the pit for their final hurrah before they controversially relocate their Easter operatic business to Baden-Baden. For performances of the Salzburg production this summer the Vienna Philharmonic take over.

Sir Simon Rattle pays homage to a composer he holds close to his heart with An Imaginary Orchestral Journey through the music of Joseph Haydn. Rattle trawls through the great composer’s impressive catalogue, piecing together excerpts from symphonies, oratorios and operas spanning a 40-year period in what the director describes as ‘a kind of greatest hits’ format.

"Among Simon Rattle's first concert programmes as the new chief conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra was Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony. The performances marked the beginning of a new chapter in Mahler interpretation, for Rattle, like his predecessors Jansons, Maazel and Kubelík, is an ardent admirer of the composer. BR-KLASSIK has now released the live recording of the concerts. Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony is perhaps the darkest work he ever wrote – its nickname is “The Tragic”."

The second release in LSO Live’s cycle of Janáček opera recordings, Katya Kabanova tells a story of love, entrapment and, ultimately, tragedy. The album’s cast includes the superb tenor Simon O’Neill and, appearing in one of her signature roles as seen at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Amanda Majeski as Katya.

Éclairs sur l’au-delà… is the latest great work composer by Olivier Messiaen. Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for its anniversary, this astounding masterpiece could never be heard by its creator, who died a few months before the premiere. Involving a giant orchestra, this piece could rarely be recorded, though it encapsulates Messiaen’s aesthetics, with its mystical visions and evocative sense of color. Simon Rattle’s hypnotic rendition is undoubtedly one of the greatest.

The year 1812 was a busy year for the well-known but deaf composer Ludwig van Beethoven. At last, Beethoven got the chance to meet that other famous German, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, but Goethe’s personality proved a disappointed to Beethoven.