Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 and Stravinsky Le Sacre du printemps

 Sir Simon Rattle conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker 2009 in Berlin at the summer Waltbühne concert dubbed "Russian Rhythms." Works performed were:

1. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (brief excerpts)

2. Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor with Yefim Bronfman as the piano soloist

3. Stravinksy's Le Sacre du printemps (The Right of Spring)

4. Nutcracker and Berliner Luft encores

Directed for TV by Henning Kasten. Released in 2010, the disc has 5.1 PCM surround sound. Grade:  for the Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3. Grade C for everything else.

The Waldbühne ("Stage in the Forest") is a giant Nazi-era amphitheater (seated 22,000 for this concert) in Berlin. The seating portion of the Waldbühne is a megalomaniac version of the theater at Epidarus. The stage is a remarkably ugly industrial box topped by an even uglier double-peaked circus-style tent made from stark white material. At the back of the stage is a huge concete wall. For this concert, about the only decoration was various colors projected on the concrete backdrop. All this gives me a headache, but the Berliners love it, so we are told. I have noted before that high-definition video often yields bad results when shot at outdoor venues designed to appeal to large crowds. At the Waldbühne a phalanx of giant speakers in front of the stage adds more visual clutter to the HD recording. And when the camera turns to the audience, you see talking, eating, drinking, blankets, litter, smoking, smooching, sleeping, changing diapers, singing along, dancing, flash photography, burning sprinklers, and finally, 10,000 umbrellas and huge plastic tarps when it rains. I understand how folks are willing to put up with all this to hear a concert through big loudspeakers in the woods. They want to get out of the house. But its harder for me to see why folks would willingly drag all this into the comfort of their home theaters.

The program for Russian Rhythms was more serious than a typical pops concert. True, the Nutcracker excepts were bonbons. But the Le Sacre du printemps and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 are staples in the concert halls. The Philharmoniker Le Sacre sounded thin and bland compared to the other version we have on HDVD played by the Mariinsky Ballet directed by Valery Gergiev (on the  Stravinsky and the Ballet Russes disc published by BelAir). But what really blows away the Rattle version is the fact that the Mariinsky disc includes an excellent production of the the complete ballet. Who wants to listen to a concert version of Le Sacre when you can hear it while watching the ballet itself? I give this Le Sacre the grade of "C."

So the only remaining reason to buy this disc would be to get the Rachmaninov piano concerto. I asked my neighbour, Bill Wilkin, who likes Rachmaninov and has experience with live and recorded performances of his works, to view the Bronfman recording with me. Bill said that both the sound and video was the best he had ever experienced with a Rachmaninov recording. This certainly says a lot about the quality of the Blu-ray recordings we are getting these days. For my part, I was pleased to be able to hear the piano clearly throughout the performance. Too often the soloist gets covered up by the orchestra in the recordings of these blockbuster romantic piano concertos. So I give this Bronfman recording the grade of "A."

Both the video and the PCM surround sound are quite good  through this disc. But I don't think the Waldbühne event itself is going to have great appeal other than to folks who live in  Berlin. The Le Sacre du printemps is overshadowed by the better Mariinsky version with it's ballet performance. I'm glad I have the Bronfman Rachmaninov recording,  and I think my friend Bill was more than happy with his purchase. But I still question how many people will want to pay full price for that performance alone.