Sony Classical is proud to announce the forthcoming release of the Summer Night Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel and featuring the music of Verdi and Wagner.

The Summer Night Concert is an annual open-air event which has been held since 2008. The park of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna/Austria is the magical setting for the concert, which is free of charge for all residents and visitors to the city. The illustrious conductors who have previously led the orchestra at this event are Georges Prêtre, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Valery Gergiev and Gustavo Dudamel.

On May 30th, 2013 the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Lorin Maazel and accompanied by the tenor Michael Schade, will play a programme of well-loved works by Verdi and Wagner. The Triumphal March from Aida gives the evening a rousing start and invites the audience to enjoy further music by Verdi: the aria “La mia letizia infondere” from I Lombardi, dances from Otello and the overtures of Luisa Miller and Forza del Destino. These pieces alternate with a selection of Wagner’s works, including the Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the Story of the Holy Grail from Lohengrin and, a thunderous popular favourite, the “Ride of the Valkyries”.

Made accessible to a broad public, this is classical music at its very best. Millions of viewers and listeners in more than 60 countries hear the concert on TV and radio, and up to 100,000 Viennese and their guests assemble on the Great Parterre at the heart of Schönbrunn Park for the event. The performance begins at dusk on a stage erected in front of the magnificent Neptune Fountain.