Gala from Berlin 2005 – with Emanuel Ax

In 2006 the world celebrated Mozart's 250th birthday and you can feel the anticipation in this gala, performed at the Philharmonie, Berlin on New Year's Eve 2005. The Berliner Philharmoniker is directed by Simon Rattle, and there's a real sense of celebration as Rattle gathers around him a team of his closest musical colleagues, including Magdalena Kožená, Camilla Nylund and Gerald Finley. A gathering like this demands the most inspiring repertoire imaginable, so Emanuel Ax plays the youthful "Jeunehomme" concerto and Rattle conducts the "Prague" symphony. And then an all-star team of singers assembles for the life-affirming final scene of Le nozze di Figaro: a benediction on the old year, and a toast to the new.

Soloists: 

Emanuel Ax (Piano), Magdalena Kožená (Mezzo-Soprano), Camilla Nylund (Soprano), Christiane Oelze (Soprano), John Relyea (Bass), Konstantin Wolff (Bass)

Ensemble: 

Berliner Philharmoniker

Conductor: 

Sir Simon Rattle