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.

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.

A night at the opera featuring singers including Juliane Banse, Grace Bumbry, Vesselina Kasarova and Angelika Kirchschlager, performing a mixture of arias from famous operas such as 'Le Nozze di Figaro', 'Don Giovanni', 'Tosca', 'Turandot' and 'Fledermaus' under the baton of Kent Nagano.

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.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

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.

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.