Pare Lorentz's "The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)," and "The River (1937)" are landmark American documentary films. Aesthetically, they break new ground in seamlessly marrying pictoral imagery, symphonic music, and poetic free verse. Ideologically, they encapsulate the strivings of FDR's "New Deal." Virgil Thompson's scores for both films are among the most famous ever composed for the movies. These classic films make their DVD debut with newly recreated & recorded scores.

Adam: Giselle

Royal Ballet Principals Federico Bonelli, Laura Morera and Steven McRae dance the lead roles in Liam Scarlett's new ballet, based on the world's most famous work of horror fiction, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This ambitious theatrical collaboration brings the novel to life with spectacular period sets and costumes by John Macfarlane and a newly commissioned score by Lowell Liebermann. Scarlett's choreography draws out the emotional power of this classic story. Passionate encounters between Victor, Elizabeth and the Creature express their torment, regret, anger, yearning and love.

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Puccini’s Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by The Royal Opera. Its alluring imagery of Japan from the 19th-century European Imagination heightens the intense clash of East and West. When the American naval officer Pinkerton seduces the young ‘Butterfly’ Cio-Cio-San, he seems to promise every happiness – but his cruel abandonment leads to her tragic self-sacrifice. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera and renowned for his interpretations of Puccini, conducts an exceptionally fine cast with the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Powerful performances show why Madama Butterfly remains one of the all-time operatic favourites. ‘‘Always at his best in Puccini, Antonio Pappano conducts with passionate sincerity.’’ (The Guardian 5 Stars) ‘‘An opera that ranks among the very greatest of the 20th century.’’ (The Daily Telegraph 4 Stars) ‘‘Ermonela Jaho is the best Cio-Cio-San London has seen in years’’ (Independent 4 Stars)
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REVIEWS:

The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is one of the great singing actresses of our time. Hers is not a sumptuous soprano, but the colors she brings to her portrayal are astonishing. Her Flower Duet with Elizabeth DeShong's feisty, sympathetic Suzuki is quite beautifully sung. Pappano - arguably today's greatest Puccianian conductor - draws ardent playing from the orchestra, superbly detailed in its commentaries.

– Gramophone

Pappano is particularly alert to Puccini borrowing traditional Japanese melodies; at times he makes you hear this score, as well as the drama on stage, as a tug of war between East and West. It’s Sharpless and Suzuki who steal the show – a consul with a tender conscience from Scott Hendricks and Elizabeth DeShong as a maid who could melt the stoniest of hearts.

– BBC Music Magazine

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KRZYSZTOF PENDERECKI – Paths Through the Labyrinth
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

A film by Anna Schmidt

Even at over 80 Krzysztof Penderecki is still an unflinching and active composer and conductor. Director Anna Schmidt followed Penderecki’s paths for a year—in the process interviewing such world-famous artists as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Julian Rachlin and Janine Jansen as well as Jonny Greenwood (“Radiohead”) and legendary film director Andrzej Wajda.

As a result, Paths Through the Labyrinth has become a comprehensive “work in progress” documentary, accompanying Penderecki from Kraków to Munich, from Vienna to Leipzig, and to his country estate in Luslawice. Throughout, the composer reflects on his beginnings, the turning points in his life and the world of his ideas.

Thoughts, dialogues, encounters and extracts from several famous Penderecki compositions coalesce into a fascinating, multi-layered portrayal of one of today’s most influential musicians.

Bonus:
- Interviews with Lorin Maazel and Jonny Greenwood.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Korean
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 86 mins (documentary) + 18 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

This fun DVD time capsule captures all of the sights and sounds of 1958, including noteworthy news footage, fashion, fads, comedy, dance and musical performances, commercials, sports, science and lifestyle commentary, interwoven into a charming, nostalgia-inducing collage, guaranteed to evoke familiar, perhaps forgotten memories of simpler times. Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, reunions, retirement parties, and retro slumber parties.

Classical Music

This is the story of Pha�ton, valiant driver of the Sun's chariot, led here by Vincent Dumestre and Benjamin Lazar, armed with a rich partnership of two decades of Lullyist cooperation. Just like at the time, they will make the Versailles Opera resonate with this production of this flamboyant trag�die lyrique which was first presented in Perm in Russia in 2018. Pha�ton is a trag�die en musique in a prologue and five acts by Jean-Baptiste Lully. Philippe Quinault wrote the French libretto after a story from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It can be read as an allegorical depiction of the punishment awaiting those mortals who dare to raise themselves as high as the "sun" (i.e. The Sun King). Pha�ton was the first lyric tragedy of Lully and Quinault to receive it's world premiere at the Palace of Versailles, where it was given without stage machinery on or about 6 January 1683. The Paris Opera also performed it at the Th��tre du Palais-Royal (beginning on 27 April), where it was very successful with the general public.

This film by Joan Grossman and Paul Rosdy features music by John Zorn. In the years 1938041 nearly 20,000 European Jewish refugees fled to Shanghai, China, where most would spend almost a decade in exile.

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More than 200 years after its premiere at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Martin Helmchen have congenially mastered the artistic challenge of Beethoven’s gemstone. Under Herbert Blomstedt's sensitive direction, the soloists unite chamber musical intimacy together with virtuoso sophistication – and prove once again that the Triple Concerto is an unduly underestimated, much too rarely programmed masterpiece. With the composer's 5th Symphony, Blomstedt succeeds in achieving an entirely new perspective of this work. 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. The performances of these works by the Gewandhausorchester give the uplifting feeling that the intentions of both composer and performers are united in serving the musical message. The humanist and musician Herbert Blomstedt embodies this truth in a unique way, creating an atmosphere where the wonders of music all become true. Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the musical city of Leipzig are closely intertwined with each other: Felix Mendelssohn, Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester, made the work an indispensable part of the concert hall repertoire and Arthur Nikisch, one of his successors, established in 1918 the worldwide tradition of performing this groundbreaking and pioneering work at the end of the year. Herbert Blomstedt once again conducted Beethoven's Ninth in Leipzig for the 2016 New Year celebrations. With his former orchestra, of which he has been Conductor Laureate since 2005 and with whom he enjoys a close friendship, he achieves a gripping interpretation of this monumental work.

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the music world did not remain unaffected. Artists inevitably became involved, either as soldiers at the front or as composers of patriotic music or musical memorials to a lost world. The three-part documentary series investigates the (un)known, overt and hidden connections between music, power, war and revolution. Beginning with what led to this great human tragedy, each episode addresses different perspectives of the relationship between music and politics. While Parts One and Two explore both the hopeful and subsequently tragic entanglements of art and politics to which so many artists fell victim during the First World War and the October Revolution, Part Three embarks on a search for the political aspects of music up to this day. Featuring Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Ivan Fisher, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Steffen Schleiermacher, Julia Sophie Wagner, Vladimir Stoupel, and many more, this release is a production of Accentus Music in co-production with WDR, in co-operation with Arte and supported by Mitteldeutsche Medienf�rderung.

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The Cleveland Orchestra is the “aristocrat among American orchestras” (The Telegraph) and its sovereign, Franz Welser-Möst, rules his subjects with a velvet glove. Indeed, velvet and silk keep showing up in descriptions of the Clevelanders’ sound under its principal conductor. It is Welser-Möst’s nimble alternation between smoothness and a sound that’s as “sharp-edged as a skyscraper” (The Telegraph after the Brahms’ First at the orchestra’s London Proms concert). That keeps the ensemble and the audience figuratively on its toes. The Second Piano Concerto, completed in 1881, is the work of a composer who has become skilled in the manipulation of large forms. Brahms treats the soloist as an equal partner with the orchestra. Yefim Bronfman has the uncanny ability to play large without stridency, to handle the most delicate passages without losing presence, and to play everything in between with a ravishing sense of tonal color. Welser-Möst and Bronfman brought pulsing energy to the concerto’s second movement, a Scherzo, setting up an oasis of calm for the third that segued immediately into the genial finale, whose last chords were nearly obliterated by roars of approval from the audience. Laced into his forceful performance of Piano Concerto No. 1 was a surprising element of fury, as if the pianist had come unhinged momentarily. And yet Bronfman was also wholly present, taking time in relaxed passages to savor every second. Which of the two concertos Bronfman knocked further out the park is impossible to say. Both scores the pianist seized by their very hearts, drawing forth all the majesty, raw power and exquisite beauty that each contains.

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Christian Spuck puts the literary origin at the heart of his choreography of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, emphasizing the fantastical nature of the original rather than the delightful Christmas fairytale and bringing back the tale of princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann. On stage, Drosselmeier’s workshop turns into an old revue-theater, where the ballet’s characters come to life. Spuck’s choreography plays with the richness of characters in Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humor that inhabit them, while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism. This production was recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich April 2018

Brahms’s German Requiem is a work of great intensity that speaks to people of all faiths and to believers and non-believers alike. In this concert recorded at the magnificent Baroque basilica of Saint Florian in Austria, The Cleveland Orchestra and its Music Director Franz Welser-Möst pare down all traces of bombast and, together with the Wiener Singverein and the soloists Hanna-Elisabeth Müller and Simon Keenlyside, they create a meditation on life and death, hailed by the press as “an event of the first order”. A German Requiem, to Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 is Brahms’ longest work, comprising seven movements which together last 65 to 80 minutes. The large-scale work is scored for chorus, orchestra, and soprano and baritone soloists.

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Juan Diego Flórez dazzled audiences and critics alike when he played the virtuoso role of Orphée in La Scala’s first ever staging of Gluck’s opera in its French version: “Juan Diego Flórez delivered a lesson in style. His tone is darker and his projection more self-effacing than in the past, but class is permanent. His agility and legato are utterly thrilling. The ovations were never-ending.” (Corriere della sera) The present release is a production by Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Recorded live at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, March 2018. Gluck’s Orpheo ed Euridice was first performed in 1762. It is the first of Gluck’s “reform” operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera sera with a “noble simplicity” in both the music and the drama. The present production was staged by Hofesh Shechter and John Fulljames.

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This brilliant live recording features the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the capable baton of Maris Jansons performing Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony No 9 in E minor op. 95 “From the New World” and Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Dvorak’s Ninth’s “sharply profiled landscape” sketched by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under the incomparable Mariss Jansons is, in the words of the daily newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung, a “musical feast.” Mariss Jansons and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition were predestined to come together. Few conductors are as adept as Jansons to savor all the richness and colorfulness of the paintings and sketches by the artist Victor Harmann. Michael Beyer has directed the recording of this concert.

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Juan Diego Flórez dazzled audiences and critics alike when he played the virtuoso role of Orphée in La Scala’s first ever staging of Gluck’s opera in its French version: “Juan Diego Flórez delivered a lesson in style. His tone is darker and his projection more self-effacing than in the past, but class is permanent. His agility and legato are utterly thrilling. The ovations were never-ending.” (Corriere della sera) The present release is a production by Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Recorded live at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, March 2018. Gluck’s Orpheo ed Euridice was first performed in 1762. It is the first of Gluck’s “reform” operas, in which he attempted to replace the abstruse plots and overly complex music of opera sera with a “noble simplicity” in both the music and the drama. The present production was staged by Hofesh Shechter and John Fulljames.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Christian Spuck puts the literary origin at the heart of his choreography of “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, emphasizing the fantastical nature of the original rather than the delightful Christmas fairytale and bringing back the tale of princess Pirlipat, who turns into a nut monster, as told by E.T.A. Hoffmann. On stage, Drosselmeier’s workshop turns into an old revue-theater, where the ballet’s characters come to life. Spuck’s choreography plays with the richness of characters in Hoffmann’s narrative cosmos, the absurdity and overwrought humor that inhabit them, while at the same time looking down into the dark abyss of Romanticism. This production was recorded at the Opernhaus Zürich April 2018

The Cleveland Orchestra is the "aristocrat among American orchestras" (The Telegraph) and the ensemble's music director, Franz Welser-M�st, leads them with verve and precision. This three DVD set from Belvedere features a 'cycle' of all the major orchestral works by Johannes Brahms. Included are the complete symphonies and piano concertos, the violin concerto, the Tragic Overture, the Academic Festival Overture and the Haydn Variations. Soloists include violinist Julia Fischer and pianist Yefim Bronfman.

Nothing else that he wrote is as all-encompassing as the Mass in B minor, not even the great Passions,” says Herbert Blomstedt about Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Opus summum”. The Dresdner Kammerchor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the musical direction of Herbert Blomstedt have merged ingeniously to conclude the Bachfest Leipzig with this unrivaled work – a work that bears close connections to choir and orchestra, as well as to Herbert Blomstedt himself. J. S. Bach Mass in B minor, BWV 232 Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. Performing this monumental work is the ever-capable Dresdner Kammerchor conducted by Herbert Blomstedt. Featured soloists include Christina Landshamer, soprano, Elisabeth Kulman, alto, Wolfram Lattke, tenor, and Luca Pisaroni, bass.

Mozart’s Requiem may have been written under strange circumstances in the final months of the composer’s life, but the work itself is timeless. Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus give a powerful and poignant performance of Mozart’s masterpiece with an impressive group of solo singers, in a concert recorded live in Munich in May 2017. Even its composer’s death could not halt the success of Mozart’s Requiem. Although left incomplete on his death in December 1791, having been anonymously commissioned, the Requiem was completed by a pupil of Mozart’s, Franz Xaver Süssmayr. By the time it was premiered in 1793, it was already a famous work, shrouded in mystery. But even more mysterious than the story behind it is the magisterial quality of Mozart’s writing, from the ferocity of the Dies irae to the otherworldly grace of the Lacrimosa. Genia Kühmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Mark Padmore and Adam Plachetka are the world-class soloists joining Jansons and his orchestra and chorus. Padmore was Artist in Residence with the orchestra for the 2016/17 season and his rapport with the orchestra is evident. His ringing, distinctive tenor voice is well matched, too, to Jansons’s eloquent and subtle interpretation. “For him it is not about rhetoric, but more about transcendence,” wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung of Jansons’s conducting – suggesting a transcendent faith in humanity, even in the face of death.

Mozart’s Requiem may have been written under strange circumstances in the final months of the composer’s life, but the work itself is timeless. Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus give a powerful and poignant performance of Mozart’s masterpiece with an impressive group of solo singers, in a concert recorded live in Munich in May 2017. Even its composer’s death could not halt the success of Mozart’s Requiem. Although left incomplete on his death in December 1791, having been anonymously commissioned, the Requiem was completed by a pupil of Mozart’s, Franz Xaver Süssmayr. By the time it was premiered in 1793, it was already a famous work, shrouded in mystery. But even more mysterious than the story behind it is the magisterial quality of Mozart’s writing, from the ferocity of the Dies irae to the otherworldly grace of the Lacrimosa. Genia Kühmeier, Elisabeth Kulman, Mark Padmore and Adam Plachetka are the world-class soloists joining Jansons and his orchestra and chorus. Padmore was Artist in Residence with the orchestra for the 2016/17 season and his rapport with the orchestra is evident. His ringing, distinctive tenor voice is well matched, too, to Jansons’s eloquent and subtle interpretation. “For him it is not about rhetoric, but more about transcendence,” wrote Süddeutsche Zeitung of Jansons’s conducting – suggesting a transcendent faith in humanity, even in the face of death.

The Stabat Mater is Dvor�k's most celebrated choral work. He began composing the piece in late 1875, but set it aside. Then, two tragedies befell him and he was plunged into an uncharacteristically melancholic mood. The deaths of his eleven-month-old daughter and three-year-old son compelled Dvor�k to complete his masterpiece. Even though stricken with grief, Dvor�k still could not resist writing simple, folk-like, melodies for his luminous Stabat Mater. On this performance, acclaimed conductor Mariss Jansons leads four superb soloists and the combined forces of the chorus and orchestra of the Bayerischen Rundfunk.

Directed by Don Kent.

I am quite old now, and so when I have the opportunity to do something, I take it immediately, rather than hesitating, as I don't have much time left. John Cage said this about his first and only film, produced the year he died.