14.99

BEETHOVEN: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

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

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Also available on standard DVD

THE NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT 2010
(Blu-ray Disc Version) Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, Op. 72b
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

Joshua Bell, violin
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Bonus:
- Interviews featuring Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo, and Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

Picture format:1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of Blu-rays: 1 (BD 25)

R E V I E W:



TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto 1. BEETHOVEN Leonore Overture No. 3. SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 • Sakari Oramo, cond; Royal Stockholm PO; 1 Joshua Bell (vn) • ACCENTUS 10215 (Blu-ray: 91:25)

& Interviews with Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo, and Mario Vargas Llosa (25: 18)

Accentus’s release commemorates the December 2010 Nobel Prize concert given in the Stockholm Concert Hall with Sakari Oramo conducting the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and featuring Joshua Bell (who receives top billing on the Blu-ray’s case) as violin soloist. The concert opens with a thundering performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3. The widescreen high-definition visual clarity, like the crisp and full-range audio (DTS HD or PCM), enhances the drama, making the hushed opening particularly atmospheric and reproducing the sudden outbursts and moving bass lines with startling realism. The climaxes rumble at the end. Oramo and the orchestra seem to revel in these sudden outbursts and enhance their effect with a boost in voltage.

Throughout the concert, the camera crew takes an approach similar to that in the old music scores for symphonic works that indicated active parts with arrows; in this case, the camera focuses on any woodwind or brass instrument (or percussion, of course) that might have been honored with an arrow in older times. Perhaps that’s not so distracting the first time you watch, but what about the second, third, or fourth? If you attend the dress rehearsal of a concert, then the performance, sitting in a seat in the hall from which you can view the entire stage, would you always train your attention on whatever seemed to be most prominent aurally, or might you allow your attention to wander freely? Perhaps it’s most telling that at the climaxes in Beethoven’s work, the camera pulls back for a shot that embraces the whole orchestra. I remember such a shot from the concert at the opening of Lincoln Center, when the cameras pulled back for the climax of the Polka and Fugue from Schwanda by Jaromir Weinberger. I’d like to watch the whole concert from this point of view, though I doubt most viewers would share this preference; in any case, perhaps a programmable choice of camera angles might be offered with Blu-ray’s greater storage capacity (such a choice seemed to be promised as features even in early DVDs).

Joshua Bell’s stage manner has always been characterized by what Jascha Heifetz, in a master class, once called “funny business”—swaying and grimacing even if the playing itself, heard without its visual analog, sounded a bit pallid. After finishing watching Bell’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, I reviewed movements of the concerto played on various DVDs by the warm-hearted David Oistrakh, the coolly elegant Nathan Milstein, the brilliant Michael Rabin, and the macho Ruggiero Ricci. And I’ve watched Heifetz’s truncated but electrifying version of the first movement with Fritz Reiner and the New York Philharmonic from the movie Carnegie Hall so many times that I didn’t need to return to it. There’s no funny business in any of these performances. The musical ideas emerge in the audible results rather than in any gyrations, however modest, that produce them.

So what does Bell actually do with the music itself? Well, the opening offers an opportunity for a violinist to write a bold signature, and Mischa Elman always took the opportunity to do so in that passage. So does Bell, though one violinist to whom I showed the passage thought his characterization “grotesque.” In any case, he’s expressive in the first theme, though he allows subsequent running passages to slip momentarily out of control. He enhances the music’s lyricism with portamentos that, however, don’t permit him to surpass in expressivity even the palest of the performances I’ve mentioned (Milstein’s). Nevertheless, he draws forth a pure and crystal-clear tone from the higher registers of the 1713 Gibson-Huberman Stradivari, and builds the passagework to an impressive climax, though his approach to the cadenza doesn’t generate the kind of voltage of Oistrakh’s or Heifetz’s performances. In the cadenza itself, Bell perhaps intentionally takes a lyrical tack; he certainly doesn’t hiss and spit as almost does Václav Hude?ek (on Supraphon 4055). After the cadenza, Bell shows how rich a sound his violin can produce on the G string. In the Canzonetta, the beauty of his tone and his relatively unmannered expressivity contribute to what turns out to be an especially communicative performance, though the middle section doesn’t sound as agitated as does, say, Heifetz’s (in 1957); in the return of the main melody, the recorded sound transmits a great deal of welcome orchestral detail. After an aggressive reading of the transitional cadenza, Bell launches into a performance of the finale that’s commanding not only for its brilliance but for its plaintiveness in the episodes as well. In Bell’s pounding, dance-like reading, the finale provides as robust a flow of adrenaline as does the first movement. Still, the whole concerto sounds more static in his reading than it does in the DVDs I’ve mentioned, or as I remember it from Elman’s performance with John Barbiriolli from 1929 or Milstein’s with Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1940.

Oramo’s and the orchestra’s performance of Jean Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, recorded, again, with startling fidelity, conveys a strong sense of the music’s elemental power. And that clarity allows for separation of the layers of sound in the opening. Ideas seem almost to bubble as from a boiling cauldron (even in the dance-like sections in the movement’s second half (or in what some have designated the second movement). In the Andante, the interplay of scalar passages and pizzicatos in the strings, set against woodwind sonorities, rises and falls in what Oramo has built into a series of grand dynamic arches (commentators have unsurprisingly often described various performances of this symphony as “built” in one way or another). The finale’s pervasive ostinatos sizzle in the recorded sound, and mount in the end to a majestic, almost Brucknerian, conclusion. But compare those climaxes to the even more magisterial ones in Leonard Bernstein’s video performance with the Vienna Philharmonic from 1988 (directed by Humphrey Burton), released in 2010 by Unitel. On the whole, while strength and clarity (analogous to that of the recorded sound) may be the hallmark of Oramo’s reading, Bernstein’s sounds more sumptuous—due in no small part, perhaps, to the Vienna Philharmonic’s smooth power—but hardly less idiomatic or insightful.

The concert as a whole creates an impression of visceral power, albeit somewhat diminished during the concerto. And for violinists, the opportunity to observe Bell’s instrument close up and in great detail may add an incentive that might compensate for what some viewers of my generation might take as foppish pirouetting (there, I’ve said it). Strongly recommended overall, in the last analysis.

FANFARE: Robert Maxham

BIZET Symphony No. 1 in C. Jeux d’enfants. Variations chromatiques (arr. Weingartner) • Martin West, cond; San Francisco Ballet O • REFERENCE 131 (75:27)


While we rightly lament the deaths of Mozart and Schubert, which came much too early, let us also save a few tears for Georges Bizet, who died at age 36 shortly after having composed what is, arguably, the most popular opera ever written, a piece that was admired by such disparate musical figures as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, and Wagner. He also left behind him such charming pieces as Jeux d’enfants , the L’Arlesienne incidental music, the Symphony in C, and The Pearl Fishers. Jeux d’enfants , a suite of 12 brief pieces, was originally composed for piano, four hands. To simplify my task, I’ll give the names in sequence since I will be referring to them again: 1) “L’Escarpolette” (The Swing), 2) “La Toupie” (The Top), 3) “La Poupée” (The Doll), 4) “Les Chevaux de bois” (Hobby Horses), 5) “Le Volant” (The Shuttlecock), 6) “Trompette et Tambour” (Trumpet and Drum), 7) “Les Bulles de savon” (Soap Bubbles), 8) “Les Quatre Coins” (Puss in the Corner), 9) “Colin-Maillard” (Blind Man’s Bluff), 10) “Saute-Mouton” (Leap Frog), 11) “Petit Mari, petite femme” (Little Husband, Little Wife), 12) “Le Bal” (The Ball). Bizet later orchestrated numbers 2, 3, 6, 11, and 12 and named the result the Petite Suite.


Given the ballet origins of this collection, a little history might be appropriate. In 1932, Leonide Massine choreographed Jeux d’enfants for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, using the five pieces Bizet orchestrated with the rest orchestrated by (I’m guessing here) Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Unfortunately Massine’s autobiography only mentions the sets by Joan Miró—perhaps the name of the orchestrator did not interest him. Antal Doráti did not conduct the opening night, but I assume that as a conductor for the company he was familiar with the arrangement. In 1937, presumably with the limited space of 78s in mind, he recorded 10 of the pieces with the London Symphony Orchestra, omitting numbers 7 and 10, changing the order of two pieces, and making a cut in number one. Though he was quite capable of doing his own arrangements, I am assuming that the five non-Bizet orchestrations were by Karg-Elert. Later, Jeux d’enfants was choreographed by George Balanchine (2–8) and Francisco Moncion (9–12) with number one serving as an Overture. One reference book says the non-Bizet pieces were “orchestrated by an unidentified English composer.” Could it have been Roy Douglas? Still later, Balanchine used only numbers 6, 3, 11, and 12 for a pas de deux called The Steadfast Tin Soldier.


Several conductors have recorded the Petite Suite, but I guess this is the first recording of a complete orchestrated Jeux d’enfants . On this recording, in addition to the Petite Suite excerpts, the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra performs five orchestrations by Roy Douglas and two ( L’Escarpolette and La Volant ) by Hershey Kay. Whereas Doráti had to concern himself with fitting the music onto 78 sides and sometimes rushed the tempos, Martin West uses the time available to him and the result is moderate, danceable tempos—I particularly like his relaxed way with “Trompette et Tambour.” Throughout, he allows the music’s simple charm to come through.


I suppose most people are aware of the fact that Bizet’s Symphony in C is a student work, written in 1855 when he was merely 17. Bizet apparently forgot about it, and it did not receive its official premiere until 80 years later when Felix Weingartner led a performance in Basel, Switzerland. Later the music was the basis of one of George Balanchine’s signature ballets, Le Palais de Cristal , eventually simply called Symphony in C . I don’t think I’ve ever heard a recording that does the last movement repeat, but it is used in the choreographed version and West does it. He also does the first movement exposition repeat, which isn’t used in the ballet. Perhaps hearing the piece done by ballet orchestras (usually conducted by Robert Irving) is responsible for my affection for this performance, which is so pleasant and danceable. It is most definitely my favorite recording of the nine that I own (for the record, Ansermet, Beecham, Delacôte, Munch, Pons, Saraste, Stokowski 1 and 2, West) but I wonder if many people will favor it since everyone else takes it faster and skips some of the repeats.


Given that Felix Weingartner was the first conductor to lead a performance of the Symphony, it’s not inappropriate to complete the CD with his orchestration of Bizet’s Variations chromatiques , originally composed for piano in 1868. I imagine that Bizet’s piano music, other than Jeux d’enfants , hardly gets played at all. He wrote very little of it and, while Weingartner’s orchestration adds a welcome element of color and power, the piece still doesn’t exactly fly. Bizet’s biographer, Winton Dean, wrote, “It seems probable that, though he loved to play genuine keyboard music … his greatest interest in the piano lay in its power beneath his fingers to evoke the different colors of the orchestra….His original music for the piano suffers from a double disadvantage: it is too clumsy to reward the concert pianist and too difficult for the moderate amateur.” Even if one discounts the Variations chromatiques (and some may like it more than I do), that still leaves the CD with an hour of delightful music and music-making. It’s beautifully recorded, too.


FANFARE: James Miller

This selection is a High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) recording.

A virtuous classic violinist with a predilection for Eastern European gipsy music; a jazz violinist experienced when it comes to punk rock; an accordionist, master of improvisation, with the rhythms of the Balkans running in his blood, and a bassist who likewise feels at home be it in symphony orchestras, jazz combos, or funk bands.. Founded in 2007, Uwaga! pleasurably steps across any borderline seperating genres. By doing so, their acoustic crossover repertoire reflects the individual focus of each of the four musicians. Yet, these focuses conflated, and over the years, a very unique sound emerged somewhere in between classical music, jazz, gipsy music and modern pop. On this record, the ensemble presents some of Mozart’s works in a groovy, folky and jazzy interpretation, including the Piano Sonata K. 311, the Alla Turca or the Lacrimosa from the Requiem KV 626.

On their latest recording Felicitas Erb, Judith Erb and Doriana Tchakarova present all the duets composed by Fanny Hensel and Felix Mendelssohn. Fanny Hensel’s and Felix Mendelssohn’s parallel journeys as composers began with the two songs they composed for their father’s birthday in 1819. On that occasion, the two siblings created settings of the same text, a situation that occurred several times over the course of their compositional careers. It can be seen as the beginning of their close artistic liaison as well as, possibly, their rivalry as composers. This release sheds a light on the interesting relationship between these two talented composers, and the programme is a fascinating juxtaposition of the two.

Otto Klemperer was one of the most important German conductors of the 20th century. After his return from emigration he guest-conducted some of the most important orchestras in Germany - including the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He did not assume the position of Chief Conductor in his homeland again, however: he felt estranged and alienated from post-war Germany, and this was compounded by his advanced age and poor health. In April 1956, Klemperer conducted the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks for the very first time - the debut of a man who was almost 71 years old. Up to May 1969, he would conduct a total of eleven evening concerts in Munich. The audiences were always just as delighted as the critics. The latter emphasized the "utmost perfection" of his interpretations and were aware that, due to the conductor's advanced age and state of health, the Munich concerts bore "the seal of the unrepeatable", and that "those fortunate enough to hear these concerts will remember them all their lives". This new album from BR-KLASSIK features Klemperer's interpretations of Haydn's Symphony No. 101, "The Clock" (recorded in the concerts of October 18 and 19, 1956), and Brahms' Fourth Symphony (recorded on September 26 and 27, 1957). - Both works form part of the core classical and romantic symphonic concert repertoire with which Klemperer, like his Munich orchestra, was so familiar.

Bruckner's symphonies form the backbone of Late Romantic symphonic music. Indeed, he can be said to have reinvented the symphony – something that not even Liszt or Wagner had dared to do in the wake of the groundbreaking masterpieces by Beethoven that until then had ranked as the climax and end-point of the genre. It was Bruckner and, somewhat later, Brahms who sought and found new methods of reviving the symphonic genre and developing it further. In this regard, Bruckner's approach was entirely new.

From the outset, he relied on the sound of the large orchestra, and rather than mixing the individual groups of instruments he tended to either separate them from each other or couple them together like organ registers. Terraced dynamics, that is, the immediate juxtaposition of piano and forte without transition, was also something Bruckner derived from the organ. As a church musician, he had close contact with these and other elements of Baroque music, and they flowed into his symphonies.

As far as dramaturgical development was concerned, he tended to favor Schubert; indeed, it was the organic continuation and alternating interconnection of themes Bruckner had learned from Schubert that also explains the unprecedented performance length of his symphonies.

Bruckner's Nine Symphonies are a constant in the repertoire of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, as in those of all major orchestras. The special feature of the release being presented here by BR KLASSIK is that the recordings are conducted by not only one but a total of four conductors closely associated with the orchestra, all of them proven international Bruckner experts. More than in any other compilation, common features in interpretation (also due to the same orchestra) as well as fascinating differences due to the various interpretive approaches of the respective conductors can all be detected. In these recordings it also becomes clear what brilliant contributions Herbert Blomstedt, Bernard Haitink, Mariss Jansons and Lorin Maazel have made over the decades to Bruckner’s symphonic oeuvre.

REVIEW:

Here we have a marvelous collection of Anton Bruckner’s symphonies Nos. 1-9 played by the Bavarian Radio Symphony under the baton of four outstanding conductors. Lorin Maazel recorded the first two symphonies in 1999. He does not provide any new insights, but the performances are thrilling nevertheless. The fifth and sixth symphonies with Haitink are also wonderful interpretations, but Blomstedt’s Ninth and the recordings with Jansons are more fluent and warmer than the other performances. Blomstedt offers an interpretation aimed at salvation, without any fear of death. This positive view is good for the music, but also enables profound moments of contemplation. For Jansons one could summarize and say that Jansons inspires his orchestra to a breathtakingly intense playing. From the very beginning one feels the strong lyrical and luminous power providing an eloquent, rhetoric performance.

-- Pizzicato

The "Great" C major Symphony was the last symphony that Schubert composed – a “Finished” to follow his "Unfinished", the first two movements of which he had just completed before discontinuing work on it (for reasons unknown). In contrast to his far shorter Sixth Symphony, also in C major, it was named "the Great" - and it is indeed a great and magnificent work, marking the culmination of his symphonic oeuvre. It is monumental and representative, and was written with large audiences very much in mind. Schubert began this composition in August 1824, or possibly even as late as March 1825. Most of the work on it took place in the summer of 1825, during the longest Journey of his life. It took him from Vienna via Linz, Steyr, Gmunden (where he found the scenery "truly heavenly"), Salzburg and then up to Bad Gastein, where he saw some magnificent alpine peaks. The first page of the score manuscript is dated "March 1828" – possibly the month in which he finally completed the work. On November 19 of that same year, Schubert died at the age of only thirty-one. The symphony was premiered posthumously on March 21, 1839 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and conducted by the Gewandhaus Kapellmeister at that time - the 30-year-old Felix Mendelssohn. This exciting live recording features the special acoustics of the Herkulessaal of the Munich Residenz.

-----

REVIEW:

Mariss Jansons presides over an uncommonly engaging performance of Schubert’s uplifting ‘Great’ C major symphony. This is great music-making of unshakable conviction.

– MusicWeb International

Aleksandra Kuls was born in 1991. Her successes include First Prize at the Jozsef Szigeti International Violin and Viola Competition in Budapest and two special awards at the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition in Poznan in 2011. She graduated from the Zenon Brzewski Secondary Music School in Warsaw, where she studied with Magdalena Szczepanowska. For this release, Aleksandra has chosen works from J. S. Bach, Krzysztof Penderecki, Sergei Prokofiev, and Eugene Ysaye. These pieces offer a broad overview of solo violin output, from Bach’s early Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004, to Penderecki’s La Follia which was premiered as recently as 2013.

SYMPHONY NO. 2

Also available on Blu-ray

Frederic Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboim’s stage debut, and as a pianist he has decided to devote this year to the great Romantic master of the keyboard. Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in a small village near Warsaw, and on the eve of the 200th anniversary of this date Barenboim gave this wildly acclaimed Warsaw recital as part of an extensive European tour. The program comprised some of the composer’s best-known works, including the great B flat minor Sonata with its famous Funeral March, which sounded to many “as the composer may well have imagined it”. While Chopin used to advise his piano scholars to take singing lessons, Barenboim, as an experienced conductor of operas is most familiar with the human voice as well. With his brilliant virtuosity, he lead the audience through a most colorful program, once again proving his talent for this composer.

"After almost six decades of experience on stage, Daniel Barenboim continues to need and to seek out contact with an audience. […] Musically speaking, those contacts have always been particularly intense when Barenboim has been able to display his ability to play quietly, an ability that continues to amaze, with its feeling for a velvet touch that is neither brittle nor saccharine but always characterized by a serious, substantial beauty." -- www.klassikinfo.de

Recorded live at the Filharmonia Narodowa, Warsaw, 28 February 2010.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

C. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in D, op. 1. J. V. STAMIC Viola Concerto in G. A. STAMITZ Viola Concerto in B? • Jan P?ruška (va); Ji?í B?lohlávek, cond; Prague Philharmonia • SUPRAPHON 3929 (57:51)


Jan P?ruška’s survey of the Stamitz (Stamic is the Czech spelling) family’s works for viola and orchestra sandwiches Jan Václav Stamic’s Concerto between two by his sons, Carl and Anton. If viola jokes circulated as widely in the composers’ era as they do today, they didn’t inhibit the composition of brilliant solo works for an instrument that seems at least subsequently to have acquired the reputation of being played by failed violinists (the difference between an onion and a viola being that nobody cries when you cut a viola, and so on). Carl’s Concerto features imposing tuttis and brilliant passagework (some of it almost Baroque in its dogged reliance on bariolages and arpeggios) built on ingratiating thematic material and strutting its fashionable style in textures that set the virtuosic solo in high relief, especially in the final movement. P?ruška plays warmly in the slow movement and commandingly in the outer ones, roughing up his tone only in the very highest registers; in his hands, the viola seems even at this date fully worthy of the Concerto that Walton later wrote for it. The engineers place his viola center stage in very clear and lifelike recorded sound. And even if the Concerto can’t quite maintain musical interest throughout, the textures and gestures almost suffice—after all, works in a new genre (think of early color or wide-screen movies) often depend for their effect more than later critics might prefer on the medium rather than on the message. And in this case, the medium still makes a striking impression.


Jan’s Concerto sounds older, and in the context of the other works, arguably stodgier, than Carl’s, though it still cuts a dashing figure. The strings don’t back off so far during the tuttis, and the solo part, fighting for attention, doesn’t sound generally so brilliant as it does in the concertos of Stamitz fils ; but the prominent continuo by itself isn’t a sign of age: even Haydn employed a sort of figured bass.


Anton’s Concerto, like his brother’s, comes from an era farther removed stylistically than chronologically than that of his father. It’s more restrained in the brilliance of its display, however, than Carl’s Concerto, perhaps because, as in his father’s works, the strings don’t provide such a springboard from which the soloist can vault—or perhaps because of the more subdued key in which it’s written.


Collectively these pieces, played with such aplomb by both soloist and orchestra and so brightly recorded, make a very appealing showcase for the solo viola. They make a case that violists and lovers of string instruments might wish had been decided more favorably by succeeding musical judges. But, as the recording proves, it’s not too late. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Robert Maxham

The CD "Northern Lights" with violinist Kathrin ten Hagen, violist Itamar Ringel and the Folkwang Kammerorchester under the direction of Johannes Klumpp, presents works of Scandinavian and Baltic composers, in particular composers of the late Romantic and contemporary Modern periods. Featured are compositions by Ole Bull, Peteris Vasks, Kurt Atterberg, Anders Eliasson and Jean Sibelius. Consisting of sixteen youthful musicians, Essen, Germany’s Folkwang Kammerorchester, founded 1958, continues to earn acclaim through its festival performances throughout Europe and beyond.

Matthias Racz, together with the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester (Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra) and their director Johannes Klumpp, presents works for bassoon and orchestra, like the Concerto for bassoon by Jean Francaix, who wanted to write a piece with serious music, but without gravity. He developed a highly distinctive approach based on his knowledge and mastery of past musical styles that secured his stature as a preeminent and highly individual composer.

The compositions of Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) are frequently overlooked in favor of more popular works of the time. The works here are especially appealing as they are written in a very familiar style, but are full of surprises and unexpected turns. This is the second installment in the series of Pleyel’s works. Performing these pieces are violinist Cornelia Loscher, violist Robert Bauerstatter, and the Camerata Pro Musica under the direction of Christian Birnbaum.

Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.

The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, under the baton of master conductor Claudio Abbado, present this new recording of Anton Bruckner’s first Symphony. The version performed here is the “Vienna” version of 1891, edited by Gunter Brosche. “Abbado uncovered the radical nature of the work with its fascinating accumulations of intensity and abrupt interruptions... Long and enthusiastic standing ovations at the end for the conductor and orchestra.” (Die Welt)

Also available on Blu-ray

THE NOBEL PRIZE CONCERT 2010
Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 in C major, Op. 72b
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

Joshua Bell, violin
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Sakari Oramo, conductor

Bonus:
- Interviews featuring Joshua Bell, Sakari Oramo, and Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

CLAUDIO ABBADO
and the SIMÓN BOLÍVAR YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF VENEZUELA
LUCERNE FESTIVAL AT EASTER 2010

Sergey Prokofiev: Scythian Suite, Op. 20

Alban Berg: Lulu-Suite

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, Act II: Ach! Ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathetique"

Anna Prohaska, soprano
Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Center, Lucerne, 18-19 March 2010.

Five years after first conducting the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra in their Venezuelan home, Claudio Abbado continues his commitment to this stunning ensemble in this first joint audiovisual concert recording. Prokofiev’s extrovert Scythian Suite is a gift for the boundless energy of these young players, while the intricacy and anguish of Berg’s Lulu-Suite are an Abbado speciality, with soprano Anna Prohaska, in her Lucerne Festival debut, singing the heroine’s dazzling statement of self-justification. The concert ends with an impassioned account of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique, his final symphony, one of the most moving works in music history.

"Abbado ... draws everything from this orchestra - and everything this marvel requires is there." -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"...a sound that, even in the dazzling glare of the brass, kept its razor-sharp edge and precise outlines. And so left room for incredible colours to emerge..." -- Zentralschweiz am Sonntag

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 112 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Classical Music

CHRISTMAS TRILOGY MOON DANCES

MAHLER: Symphony No. 9 in D major / BOULEZ: Rituel / Notati

Initiated by Hunter College’s conductor Reuben Blundell, this project features premiere recordings of turn of the century works for string orchestra. The works included on this album are by composers such as Carl Busch, Horatio Parker, Arthur Foote, and many more. Reuben Blundell conducts the Gowanus Arts Ensemble for this recording.