Beethoven Symphonies 6-7

Beethoven Symphonies 6-7 concert. Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Gewandhausorchester. Performed at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig May 2016 (Symphony 6) and May 2015 (Symphony 7). Directed for TV by Ute Feudel. Produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: NA

Below is the official Accentus YouTube clip. This recording sounds great even on PC sound. The video images are about as good as can be in 1080 HDVD. But alas, the clip also strongly suggests that this whole project is fatally infected with DVDitis:

Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 6 Symphony No. 7 Herbert Blomstedt Gewandhausorchester In his Sixth Symphony, the "Pastoral", Ludwig van Beethoven conveys his musical message in such a way that lets the listener literally "see" images of beautiful nature, tempestuous storms, and shepherds singing in the fields, whereas in his Seventh Symphony, Beethoven lets the music speak for itself.

Buy on Amazon

What's New

Here's news about high-definition video disc ("HDVD") recordings of opera, ballet, classical music, plays, fine-art documentaries, and paintings. In the journal below are independent (and hard-to-find critical) reports on hundreds of HDVDs. Pick the best titles for your excelsisphere.

Feb 25. We have just completed one of our most ambitious reviews: Einstein on the Beach opera, the surreal 4 and 1/2 hour cult legend. Kudos, encomiums, and accolades to Opus Arte for giving us this authoritative and weirdly fascinating recording, which we grade A+. Absorbing and learning Einstein is uniquely challenging. We try to help out by providing aids not included in the keepcase materials: an accurate libretto and a list of segments in the opera with correct Opus Arte time stamps. Good luck!

We have some other good grades with an A for the recent Met The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) and a B- for an earlier The Pearl Fishers from Naples. Also, we recently gave an A- for the new Don Quixote from the Vienna State Ballet.