What's Available Now from EuroArts?
EuroArts out of Leipzig, Germany published
the following titles:
-
(Gustav) Mahler Symphony No. 2. Pierre Boulez conducts
the Berlin Staatskapelle and the Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin
in 2005. Soloists are Diana Damrau (soprano) and Petra Lang
(mezzo-soprano). This title was released in 2008. It is an HD DVD
disc with 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany, or
Canada.
[This was recorded live in Berlin at the home of the Berlin
Philharmonie. Pierre Boulez was guest conductor for this performanc
honoring his 80th birthday. If it turns out that God is a woman, then
She will probably look like Petra Lang singing here. It's a pity
that this program will likely not be published in Blu-ray.
We will keep our HD DVD player if for no other reason than to be
able to watch this fine title. For more information,
try our review at Mahler Symphony No. 2. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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The Pyongyang Concert. On Feburary 26, 2008,
Lorin Maazel conducted the New York Philharmonic in an historic concert
in Pyongyang, the capital of Communist North Korea. Released in 2008,
his disc has PCM 5.1 sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Wow! EuroArts seems to be a cutting-edge operation
with a sense of adventure. Paul Smaczny combines the vision of an artist,
the wisdom of a philosopher, and the killer instincts of a reporter
to produce what might be the most significant entertainment video
ever made. We don't know exactly why the North Koreans asked for this
concert. But the reason the New Yorkers went is clearly explained: It
might do some good! The main concert (starting with the North Korean
National Anthem and The Star-Spangled Banner) turned out to
be mostly a warm up for the final encore: a glowing symphonic arrangement
of the Arirang, a Korean song beloved on both sides of
the demilitarized zone. After the concert was over, the cameras kept
running. As described by Zarin Mehta, "By the end . . . ,
both the audience and the musicians onstage stood waving to each
other in new-found spirit of understanding." This you must see to
appreciate it; and with high-definition video, you see it well.
This title also includes a bonus documentary describing the huge
effort involved in shooting the concert in high-definition video and
high fidelity sound. How did EuroArts come up the funds
to pull this off? The documentary also shows the astonishingly
spooky conditions of life that now prevail in North Korea. This
thumbnail is getting too long so let's stop: buy this disc, watch it,
and then give it to a friend! Henry C. McFadyen, Jr.]
-
Johann Sebastian Bach Brandenburg Concertos 1-6. Claudio Abbado
conducts the Orchestra Mozart. This was recorded in 2007, using period
instruments, at the splendid Teatro Municipale Romolo Valli
in Reggio Emilia. This disc was released in 2008 with 5.1 PCM sound.
It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Another smashing success by EuroArts: if you have the
slightest interest in instrumental music, you will be enthralled by
this disc. A combination of seasoned veterans and beautiful young
protegés go after these 6 concerti like foxes after a hare.
And seeing this performance of these (so often-heard) pieces
was a revelation. We had no idea how small the forces were that
Bach had or how different the ensambles were for each number. Yes, we
heard about it, but we didn't get it: these were like jam sessions
for Bach, and he wrote a masterpiece for whomever showed up!
And it's hard to explain how good these musicians sound in 5.1 PCM.
If you are an expert on baroque music, please answer this question:
Is this HDVD better all previous recordings, audio or video, of
the Bach Brandenburg 6? Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier opera to libretto
by Hugo von Hofsmannsthal. Directed by Uwe Eric Laufenberg
for the Semperoper Dresden. (The performance on this disc was
recorded live in 2007 at the NHK Hall in Tokyo.) Stars Anna Schwanewilms,
Anke Vondung, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Maki Mori, Kurt Rydl,
Sabine Brohm, Oliver Ringelhahn, Elisabeth Wilke, Jürgen
Commichau, Helmut Henschel, Gerald Hupach, Matthias Heneberg,
Tom Martinsen, Roberto Saccà, Beate Siebert, Birgit Müller,
Annett Eckert, Christiane Hossfeld, Peter Küchler, Ullrich
Märker, Andreas Heinze, Ingolf Stollberg, Hans-Jürgen Staude,
Naoki Espree Leopold, Dirk Wolter, Michael Wettin, Thomas Müller,
Mirko Tuma, Werner Harke, Holger Steinert, Alexander Födisch,
Andreas Soika, Markus Hansel, Andreas Heinze, Klaus Milde,
Andreas Burghardt, Gisela Pluskwik, Julia Brückner,
Katharina Flade, and Min-Kyoung Kwon. Fabio Luisi conducts the
Sächsische Staatskappelle Dresden and the Staatsopernchor Dresden.
Stage design by Christoph Schubiger; costumes by Jessica Karge;
lighting by Jan Seeger and Christoph Schmädicke.
Released in 2008, this disc has 5.1 PCM sound.
It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Der Rosenkavalier has been my all-time favourite opera for
many years, and I was curious to see how this first HDVD
version would compare with those already issued on DVD.
The Dresden State Opera (Semperoper) is highly qualified to present this work,
since it was premiered there in 1911 to huge success. The performance
immortalised on this disc was recorded by the Semperoper during it's 2007 tour of Japan.
In Act 1, we see the "mature" Marschallin ("Field Marshall's wife" sung by
soprano Anne Schwanewilms) with her "toy boy" lover Octavian (sung by mezzo
soprano Anke Vondung)---a pairing that is always deliciously ambiguous.
(For those new to this opera, let me say that Octavian
is a very young male character. The part is written in the
mezzo range, so it's usually played by a woman.) This version
is particularly delightful and, for me, even more successful
than the iconic 1994 performance with Felicity Lott and
Anne Sophie von Otter conducted by Carlos Kleiber.
The necessity of this "trouser" role is, of course, that Octavian
has to dress up as a maid to avoid being discovered in the Marschallin's
bedroom by her lusty kinsman, Baron Ochs. The Baron has to find
the "maid" sufficiently alluring to want to add her to his long
list of conquests. In this version, Kurt Rydl could be accused
of overplaying the Baron as a leery, lecherous caricature.
But his rudeness contrasts with and gives greater depth
to the sublime performances delivered by Anne Schwanewilms
and Anke Wondung.
In Act 2, Octavian is chosen as the messenger for Baron Ochs
to bring the silver rose to Sophie (sung by Japanese soprano
Maki Mori), a 15-year old, admirably proper girl, as
a formal marriage proposal from the Baron. When it comes to "the sublime",
there can be very few moments in any opera, or in any other performance
of this opera, to surpass the duets of Octavian and Sophie in this recording.
In an appropriately "palatial" setting, Maki Mori's light soprano
weaves and blends magically with Anke Vondung's mezzo
as they discover the powerful attraction that draws them
together in love at first sight. This produces something so wonderful
that it makes you weep. Once again there is a stark contrast between
this moment of ineffable beauty and the harsh reality of the
Baron's earthy vulgarity and Sophie's shock at meeting
her "intended" for the first time.
In Act 3, Octavian --- once again disguised as the maid --- trys
to defend Sophie by drawing the Baron into a trap that will reveal
his true nature. This brisk scene, full of weird and wonderful
tricks and clever staging, leads to the reappearance of the
Marschallin. She bows to the inevitable and, in a final moment of
exquisite beauty, "releases" Octavian
to pursue his true destiny with the young and radiant Sophie.
This EuroArts disc is one of the most moving opera performances
I have ever seen on screen or in the opera house. The crispness
of the Blu-ray images, the sensitive video editing, and the
sumptuous recording of the Richard Strauss score combine
to make a powerful case for HDVD being the ultimate way of
enjoying opera. Can such superlative productions really be
"better than being there"? The jury may be still out on that one.
But they should certainly see this Rosenkavalier before delivering their verdict!
Gordon Smith, of Opera Dou]
-
Herbert von Karajan Memorial Concert. Seiji Osawa
conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in 2008 at the Großer
Muzikvereinssaal in Vienna to celebrate the 100th anniversary
of the birth of Herbert von Karajan. Anne-Sophie Mutter is soloist in
the Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Mutter plays an
encore, and the concert ends with a performance of the
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique." Released in 2008, this
disc has 5.1 PCM sound.
It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Most of us have heard the Beethoven Violin Concerto many times live,
on CD, and perhaps on TV or on DVD. But this performance, with all the
glory of HDVD sound and vision, is a whole new experience!
Not only does the Berlin Philharmonic play with the poise and ensemble
of a chamber group, but Seiji Ozawa coaxes the most expressive phrasing
out of them, surpassed only by Anne-Sophie Mutter herself.
And with Mutter's phrasing and expression, she brings a whole new reading
and meaning to this war horse. HDVD makes the experience more immediate
than ever before. The extreme close-ups of the violin and Mutter's finger
work gives us a real "violinist's view" of the piece. You can't get this
intimate relationship with the music and the process of playing it with
a CD recording or even at a live performance! Well, maybe if you could come
up with a ticket on the front row you could see Mutter about as well,
but even then you would miss all the individual contributions from
the orchestral players which are brought out so expertly in this video.
To see a work like this, with performers of this calibre, in such a way,
is a unique privilege to savour again and again---which you can now
do in your own home theatre. This recording is a monument and
a worthy tribute to Herbert Von Karajan. He was a pioneer
of televised concerts. He would certainly admire this production
(even if he might not approve so many women players in his beloved orchestra !!!).
Gordon Smith, of Opera Dou]
[ Mutter's encore is the Sarabande from the Bach
Partita for Solo Violin no. 2. And the performance by the orchestra
of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique" is grand.
This is a different performance of
the Pathétique from the one by Osawa and the
Berlin Philharmonic that was released in 2008 on the
NHK Classical label. The NHK performance is fine, but if you buy the
Karajan memorial disc, you would have no need to consider the NHK version.
Some folks had trouble getting access to Track 4 on
Karajan memorial disc. This contains a short tribute by Mutter and Osawa to Karajan (who
mentored both of them). We had no luck accessing Track 4 with our Sony
Playstation3 and its special remote control for using the PS as Blu-ray
player. But we then tried an Oppo BDP-83 and got through. With the Oppo
we were also able to make the subtitles work for the bonus feature.
Let us assure you that the bonus, while mildly interesting,
adds little or nothing to this otherwise exemplary disc.
Great musicians are seldom exciting as orators. So if you are having trouble with
Track 4, get out the instruction book for your player and make sure
you know what all those button do. But if that still doesn't work, don't sweat it.
It's sad to see EuroArts, which has published a string of
wonderful HDVD recordings without a single clunker, suffer the Track 4
technical problem. We are all going through a shakedown experience learning how to make
and play the new sophisticated HDVD products. Maybe it will be wise
for the publishers to focus now on getting the main product
done right while reducing the risk of problems by forgoing
unimportant bonus features. For sure, the Karajan memorial title
needs no words of support. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
-
Amor, vida de mi vida concert of zarzuelas. Plácido
Domingo (tenor) and Ana María Martinez (soprano) sing
22 numbers, mostly of famous zarzuelas, in 2007 at the Salzbuger
Festspiele (Großes Festspielhaus). Jesús López Cobos
conducts the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. Released in 2009, this
disc has 5.1 PCM sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[As of this writing (August 2009) EuroArts has
released more HDVD concert titles than any other publisher. All of them
have been excellent, distinguished, and interesting.
Our subject title has the world's most famous tenor signing at the Salzburg
Festival with his favorite soprano protégée, so that
takes care of excellent and distinguished. But why is it interesting?
Well, this is a program of Spanish zarzuelas, a splendid genre about which I was
completely ignorant until HDVD came along. Because HDVD allows all
fine-art programs to be portrayed more beautifully
than before, it can elevate something that you once may have safely ignored
into something that now demands your attention. So get this disc and get in
on the action.
By the way, we now have about 100 fine-art HDVD titles that you can buy or pre-order.
Two of them ( Amor, vida de me vida and Luisa Fernanda
are wholly dedicated to zarzuela music. And
on Track 11 of the Baden-Baden Opera Gala Concert, Elīna Garanča sings
a fabulous zarzuela song from the Chapí Las Hijas Del Zebedeo. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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Gala Concert---300 Years of St. Petersburg concert. Stars
Anna Netrebko, Dimitri Hvorostovsky, Mischa Maisky, Elisso Virsaladze, and
Viktor Tretyakov. Yuri Temirkanov and Nikolai Alekseev direct the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Orchestra. Released in 2009, has 5.1 PCM sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Following the advent of fine-art HDVD publishing in 2007, EuroArts
released seven distinguished and important HDVD titles. For their next offering
they went back to their 2003 St. Petersburg Gala Concert, which
had previously been issued as a DVD. I hoped for a lot from this in HDVD, but I must
report disappointment. Although this concert was shot in HD in a brightly illuminated
hall, the picture seems soft and slightly washed out or hazy. At one point some SD material
got into the mix. This is the only fine-art HDVD that I have viewed where I feel that the
sound quality is a throwback to DVD days. For example, at the beginning
of the Ravel Concerto for the
Left Hand, there is a video shot of the basses playing softly. But on my system, I don't
hear the big violins at all. Later, there are close-ups of the snare drum
in action, but the drum sounds like it is being played outside the building. The art work on the
jewelbox material seems unfinished and shoddy. The splash screen on the disc is crude.
When I use the audio button on my remote to set the surround sound,
I get messages like : "German LPCM 5.1." Well, there is no German sound track on this disc, so
why is the word "German" included in the label for the sound track? I've noticed similar issues
on other EuroArts discs. It seems they continue to have a problem generally with
fit and finish for their products.
A mediocre engineering job could be overlooked if the music on the disc were
great. But, alas, I couldn't get excited about the content either. This was not a gala entertaining
art patrons (where champaign music is all you want). This event (there were at least two
performances) was to honour the people of St. Petersburg, and the people of St. Petersburg were there.
These are people who in our time have suffered two world wars, a siege that cost a million lives,
the greatest political terror in history, and a lost century. And what did the citizens of the Hero
city---this city of sacrifice---get to assuage
their pain? A festive overture, a fanfare, a one-hand piano concerto, Musetta's Waltz, and
a duet from The Clowns. Those were the worst offenders. Anna Netrebko was still thin and
unbelievable pretty in 2003. But she was dressed for the wrong kind of gala
with a cocktail gown cut to the waist. Maybe this is what was bothering her as she
struggled through her assignment. Finally, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, strong and serene, stepped in
to briefly turn the tide. His Yeletsky's
aria ( Pique Dame) and Death of Rodrigo (Don Carlo) were to me the only numbers on
the program worthy of the people in attendance. Mischa Maisky came in first runner up with
his heartfelt, warm cello renditions, but the effect was blunted for me by the gaudy
jewelry he insists on wearing. This record was well-received in its DVD version. But in HDVD
you can see and hear what's really going on: this event was a missed opportunity and a flop.
I don't know why you would want to relive it. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
[Did you like the Gala Concert---300 Years of St. Petersburg? We would be
happy to publish a favorable review as counterweight to report above. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
-
El Sistema documentary film by
Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier. Features José Antonio Abreu, Gustavo Dudamel, the
Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, and the Caracas Childrens's Orchestra.
Learn about the famous Venezuelan music education program.
It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[Another important title from Paul Smaczny and EuroArts! José Antonio Abreu
is a Venezuelan amateur musician, economist, politician, philosopher, and visionary. In 1975, he
started a movement to intensively train children in his county in formal music.
The movement, now popularly called "El Sistema," isn't a fine-arts program
for the elite. It's a social-services initiative aimed at protecting and helping children (90% poor),
their families, their neighborhoods, and the entire nation. In 2009, El Sistema serves about 350,000
children in small local training centers, and the goal is to eventually serve millions.
These children have rich lives as they go to regular school 4 hours
each morning and receive music training 4 hours each afternoon.
El Sistema has about 35 orchestras and choirs, the best of which can
can give children opportunity to become professional musicians. There are also
special units for children who work as scavengers in the garbage dumps,
blind and deaf! children, and adults in the prisons.
In the Smaczny film you see impressive landscapes recording the cataclysmic impact
of dense urban build-out in an impoverished country. The small elite and middle classes are
invisible except for interviews with administrators and teachers. What you
mostly see are the happy faces of brown kids who are busy learning music and losing
their baby teeth. The children show a remarkably mature understanding of the obstacles
they face. There are snatches of music through out the film, but these are all too juvenile
or too short! (Now Smaczny needs to send somebody back to record actual music performed by the
best bands in the El Sistema system.)
The film also gives you a good introduction to the Abreu philosophy.
The children of third-world counties are poor. But they have one
advantage over children in rich countries who, surrounded by over-abundance, are afficted
by ennui. The poor children benefit from facing real challenges in
growing up. Music, the oldest and most profound of the arts, is the best tool available
for helping children meet these challenges. Music training also lends itself
to working in groups. So music is is an excellent way to teach childern how to work together
to attain goals. Because the appreciation of music is universal, music training for
everyone tends to support the goal of a more just and inclusive society. And all artists,
not just musicians, have a moral obligation to use and share their talents
to this end. All this suggests some further questions that Abreu doesn't ask. Could a nation
redeem itself by making the development of the fine arts into it's top priority?
Could a nation, seeing the failure of feudalism, royalism, colonialism, fascism, communism, socialism,
capitalism, and consumerism, create it's own ism based on the model of the symphony orchestra
or the ballet troupe?
Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
-
(Gustav) Mahler Symphony No. 3. Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne
Festival Orchestra, the female voices of the Arnold Schoenberg Choir Vienna,
and the Tölzer Knabenchor in 2007.
Mezzo-soprano Anna Larson is the soloist contralto. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer.
Released in 2009, this disc has 5.1 PCM sound.
It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[This is the first Mahler symphony released in Blu-ray in the western market. (There is
an excellent Mahler Symphony No. 2, also from EuroArts, that is available
only in HD DVD, and NHK sells a Mahler Symphony No. 1 in the Japanese market.)
Because this is the longest symphony in the standard repertoire, you seldom get to
hear it live. It has been recorded many times on CD. ArchiveMusic lists only 5 DVD recordings,
including the DVD version of subject recording. Of the 5 DVDs, ArchiveMusic gives its DVD
recommendation to subject recording. It would appear then that our HDVD version of this
recording by the Lucerne Festival Orthestra is quite likely the best video
on the planet of Mahler Symphony No. 3.
The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is Abbado's chief pet project. The core of the Lucerne
Festival Orchestra is another group cofounded by Abbado, the 42-player-strong Mahler
Chamber Orchestra. In addition, Abbado attracts other top players from
around the world to Lucerne. Some of them I recognize from other HDVDs on my shelf. For example,
Abbado leads the Orchestra Mozart in the HDVD of the Bach Brandenburg Concertos 1-6 . Players
from that fabulous show who also joined Abaddo at Lucerne in 2007 include Jacques Zoon (flute),
Reinhold Friedrich (trumpet), Raphael Christ (violin), Guilhaume Santana (bassoon),
Alessio Allegrini (french horn), Benoît Grenet (cello), and (I think), Johanee Gonzales
(bass violin). I also recognize at Lucerne the harpist Naoko Yoshino, who plays
with the Saito Kinen Orchestra featured in the NHK HDVD of the
Mahler Symphony No. 1. Symphony No. 3 has three important trombone solos,
a great prize for trombone players. For this recording, Abbado recruited Jörgen van Rijen,
the principal trombone player with the Royal Concertgebauw Orchestra, which is,
according to Gramophone magazine, the best symphony orchestra in the world.
Beginning in 2003, Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra recorded 4 other Mahler
symphonies before tackling No. 3. Abbado no doubt hopes
to publish all the Mahler Symphonies in HDVD. So if you invest in this disc, maybe
one day you will feel like a founding shareholder!
I recently finished my thumbnail of the Berlioz Symphonie
fantastique recorded by Michael Tilson Thomas as part of the San Francisco Symphony
"Keeping Score" program. I declared the Thomas Symphonie fantastique to be my future
reference recording for a symphony. How does the subject Abbado recording stack up to the
titanic Thomas reference? Well, the Abbado Mahler is very close in approach and quality
to the the Thomas Symphonie fantastique, but it does not usurp the throne.
The San Francisco Orchesta will likely always be a tigher, more cohesive group than
any festival orchestra can be. And it is not realistic to hope in a temporary venue
to match the technical firepower possessed by the San Francisco Symphony TV director.
Still, the Abbado disc is now and probably long will remain a "must have" for any
Mahler fan with a high-definition home theater. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
-
Beethoven Piano Concertos 1-5. Daniel Barenboim plays
all of the Beethoven piano concertos while conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin
at the Klavier Festival Ruhr in 2007. Released in 2008, disc has 5.1 hts-HD Master Audio
sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, or
France.
[This issue is a celebration of the capacity offered by HDVDs.
Just imagine: the complete cycle of Beethoven piano concertos with superlative
high fidelity sound and high-definition images on a single disc --- featuring the great
Daniel Barenboim as soloist and conductor --- all at an appealing price!
This cycle was recorded during the 2007 Ruhr piano festival in the
Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum. The converted factory complex, with a glass roof
and metal walkways overhead and to either side, seems functional and
unforgiving. However, this environment provides superb
acoustics with the orchestra and piano singing out magnificently.
Even before Maestro Barenboim walks onto the stage, the sight of the
way the piano and orchestra are laid out gives you an inkling
of the performances to come. Instead of the piano being in
front of the orchestra with its lid reflecting the sound into the audience,
the lid is gone and the open instrument is thrust into territory usually occupied by
the orchestra. The pianist/conductor still has his back to the audience. But the orchestra
almost surrounds him with the first violins immediately to his left,
the cellos to the right, and all the other players spread out in front.
This unconventional layout (at least for Beethoven) is reflected in the performances.
For instead of the usual conductor/soloist "partnership," here Barenboim is
in total control, giving the music a unity, a continuity, a homogeneity
that is quite outstanding. He literally sculpts the music, phrasing it, shaping it
into a whole that is totally absorbing. The Staatskapelle orchestra plays in perfect
symbiosis with their conductor, revealing a genuine rapport with him that further
reinforces the notion that we are witnessing a vision of these works
that is in every way complete. This is apparent in the youthful joyfulness of the
first two concertos and is even more telling in the later ones. The second
movement of the Fourth, for example, takes the piano/orchestra dialogue to new heights.
The orchestral statements are biting and incisive, while the piano replies in poignant contrast
with lilting poetry. And then there is the Fifth! This monumental performance,
an interpretation of white-hot, symphonic intensity, puts the "Emperor" into
a whole set of "new clothes" that everyone will be able to appreciate!
Barenboim conducts and plays this monumental work with such mastery
of command --- such oneness with the music---that it's like hearing it for the first time!
Musically and visually then, this is an absolute winner.
There is, however, a downside. Like most previous HDVD releases from EuroArts, the disc
authorising is appalling! The menu offers no more than a choice
between "Start programme" and "Trailers." In other words, you can only choose
between the 2 channel LPCM and DTS-HD Master Audio tracks after the programme
has started by using the "audio" selection button on your remote. To play a
particular concerto, you must look up which chapter you want in the booklet,
start the program, and then skip through the chapters or select the target chapter
with the remote! (Do the EuroArts engineers expect us to watch all 5 concertos at
each sitting!) Why this publisher cuts corners like this on their releases
is a mystery. But once the music starts, you soon forget this minor irritation
and just get swept away! Gordon Smith, of Opera Dou]
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Robert Schumann Piano Concerto No. 1 and Symphony No. 4
performed in 2006 by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Riccardo Chailly.
Martha Argerich is the piano soloist. In addition to the two main offerings, disc
has 6 short pieces by Schumann. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer.
Released in 2010, this disc has 5.1 PCM sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries:
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, and
France.
[Chailly, gleefuly enthusiastic and expressive
with his rubber face, could probably conduct with his hands tied behind him. Under his
leadership, the Gewandhausorchester is now [2010] rated 17th in the world by Gramophone magazine.
This is a very nice all-Schumann disc. It would be hard to imagine a better performance of the
4th Symphony than the one presented here. Chailly has a special relationship with Argerich, the
chain-smoking kaffeine-krazy keyboard kamikaze of my youth who is now a plump Granny wearing
an Hawaiian shirt skirt. Her performance was a little eccentric compared to my old Radu Lupu LP
recording of the concerto. But she still has the knack for making the piano croon. This was especially
noticeable when I compared her version of the concerto with that of Murray Perahia and the Royal
Concertgebouw, also available in HDVD. When I hear Perahia play the concerto, I think of
viewing fine furniture and old lace in a beautiful museum. When I hear Argerich, I think of hiding
in the shadows next to a moonlit meadow and stealing kisses before curfew. Which would
you rather be doing right now? Henry McFadyen, Jr March 2010]
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Russian Rhythms concert.
Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (brief excerpts),
Stravinksy's Le Sacre du printemps, and
Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. Yefim Bronfman is the piano soloist.
Released in 2010, the disc has 5.1 PCM surround sound. It is available now from Amazon in the
USA,
UK,
Germany,
Canada, and
France.
[The name for this title should be "Russian Rhythms," but this
was not used on the jewelbox, perhaps for legal reasons. This is a record of
the 2009 version of the annual summer festival concert that the
Berliner Philharmoniker gives (for outreach reasons) at the
Waldbühne in Berlin. The Waldbühne ("Stage in the Forest") is that giant Nazi-era amphitheater
(seated 22,000 for this concert) that also was the venue for the Berlin Concert HDVD. 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. It gives me a headache to look at
it, 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.
In similar shoots, depending on season, you may see masses of shivering people huddling together or
hordes of folks dripping in sweat driving clouds of insects into a frenzy. I guess I can
understand how some 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 I can't grasp how anyone willingly would drag all this misery into the comfort of his home theater.
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? So the only remaining reason to buy the Russian Rhythms 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. On the other hand, Bill had
reservations about the performance itself, so his endorsement was
qualified. 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.
In summary then, I give this title the grade of "C+," I don't think the
Waldbühne event is going to have much appeal to anyone outside 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, but I don't think many
people will want to pay $36 for that performance alone. Henry McFadyen Jr July 2010]
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Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection",
recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne,
August 21, 2003. Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra & Orfeón Donostiarra, with
singers Eteri Gvazava and Anna Larsson. To be released August 31, 2010, this disc has dts master audio.
It is available for pre-order in the
UK,.
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-
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 6,
recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne,
August 10, 2006. Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra.
To be released August 31, 2010, this disc has dts master audio.
It is available for pre-order in the
UK.
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to write a thumbnail description here about this title.]
-
Mozart Così fan tutte opera to libretto by
Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed by Claus Guth at the Haus für Mozart during the 2009 Salzburg Festival.
Stars Miah Persson, Isabel Leonard, Topi Lehtipuu, Florian Boesch, Bo Skovhus, and Patricia Petibon.
Adam Fischer conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker.
To be released August 31, 2010, this disc has 5.1 pcm sound.
It is available for pre-order in the
UK.
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-
Mozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by
Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed by Claus Guth at the Haus für Mozart during the 2008 Salzburg Festival.
StarsChristopher Maltman, Anatoly Kocherga, Annette Dasch, Matthew Polenzani, Dorothea Röschmann,
Erwin Schrott, Ekaterina Siurina, and Alex Esposito.
Bertrand de Billy conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker.
To be released August 31, 2010, this disc has 5.1 pcm sound.
It is available for pre-order in the
UK.
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