John Mark Ainsley heads the cast in this production of Mozart's opera recorded live at the Cuvilliés Theatre, Munich, in June 2008. Other performers include Pavol Breslik, Juliane Banse and Annette Dasch, with Kent Nagano conducting the Orchestra and Choir of the Bayerisches Staatsoper.

How relevant is classical music today? The genre seems in danger of becoming nothing more than a hobby for the social elite. Yet Kent Nagano has another world in mind - one where everyone has access to classical music. In Classical Music: Expect the Unexpected the world-famous classical conductor tells the deeply personal story of his own engagement with the masterpieces and great composers of classical music, his work with the world's major orchestras, and his tireless commitment to bringing his music to everybody. Narrating his first childhood encounters with music's power to overcome social and ethnic boundaries, he celebrates an art form that has always taken part in debates about human values and societal developments. The constantly declining relevance of classical music in these disrupted times, he argues, not only impoverishes society from a cultural perspective but robs it of inspiration, wit, emotional depth, and a sense of community. Getting to grips with classical music's existential crisis, Nagano contends that it is too crucial to humanity's survival to be allowed to silently disappear from our everyday reality. In this moving autobiography, Kent Nagano makes a compelling plea for classical music that is as exhilarating as it is thought-provoking.

Kent Nagano conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in this production of Mussorgsky's opera. Bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk performs the titular role with the rest of the cast featuring Gerhard Siegel, Markus Eiche and Anatoli Kotscherga.

Kent Nagano conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in this production of Mussorgsky's opera. Bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk performs the titular role with the rest of the cast featuring Gerhard Siegel, Markus Eiche and Anatoli Kotscherga.

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Kent Nagano leads the Bayerisches Staatsorchester in Dmitri Tcherniakov's production of Mussorgsky's opera, recorded live at the Nationaltheater, Munich in 2007. Doris Soffel stars as Marfa, with Anatoly Kotscherga as the religious leader Dosifei, Klaus Florian Vogt as Andrey, and Paata Burchuladze as the charismatic Prince Ivan Khovansky.

Live performance of Francis Poulenc's opera, recorded in Munich. Kent Nagano conducts the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus, with Alain Vernhes, Susan Gritton, Bernard Richter and Sylvie Brunet starring in the main roles.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff's production of Richard Wagner's three-act romantic opera Lohengrin, recorded live at Baden-Baden's Festspielhaus in June 2006. Klaus Florian Vogt leads the cast, which is accompanied by the EuropaChorAkademie Mainz, the Chorus of the Opera National de Lyon and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Kent Nagano.