Violin Concerto 5 / Symphony 9 - DVD

For his inaugural concert as the new Gewandhauskapellmeister, Andris Nelsons chose three pieces, each with symbolic power. At it's center is the InchScottishInch Symphony by Felix Mendelssohn, his most prominent predecessor, which was premiered by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of the composer himself in 1842. The symphony is framed by a commissioned work by the Leipzig composer Steffen Schleiermacher and Alban Berg's Violin Concerto, a key work of classical modernism. There is no question about it this program defines his agenda. It professes Leipzig's rich musical tradition, spanning the period from the 19th to the 20th century, and to the music of our time. Andris Nelsons is Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and is Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, with the appointment commencing in February 2018. With these positions, and in leading a pioneering alliance between two such esteemed institutions, Grammy Award-winning Nelsons is firmly underlined as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today.

In 2018, marking the exact 100th anniversary of the Armistice ending World War 1, the all-star World Orchestra for Peace gave two UNESCO designated performances of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Symbolically one in each of the UK and Germany - for the BBC Proms in London and for the Würth Music Foundation in Künzelsau. Founded in 1995 by Sir Georg Solti to reaffirm, in his words, Inchthe unique strength of music as an ambassador for peaceInch, leading players from the world's finest orchestras gave this performance at 'the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month', 100 years after the guns fell silent in 1918. The performance is preceded by moving words of welcome and introduction from Prof. Würth and Lady Solti, both highlighting the need for brotherhood and joy amongst all nations, as reflected in the words of Schiller's Ode in the choral finale. As a bonus, this includes welcome and introductions from Prof. Dr. Reinhold Würth, Charles Kaye (Director/co-founder of the World Orchestra for Peace), and Lady Valerie Solti (Patron of the World Orchestra for Peace).

Filmmaking's friendship with The Virginian, the laconic hero of Owen Wister's 1902 novel, is winningly renewed in this robust, observant Western that follows four previous movie versions and a TV series. Bill Pullman plays the title role and directs, steeping his film in the language and customs of the Old West, shaping it with story elements that Wister turned into staples of the Western genre and lassoing fine support from Diane Lane,