Blu-ray Sale - Up to 40% off

Directed by Gérald Caillat and Pierre-Martin Juban

Spira Mirabilis is an extraordinary new project drawing together some of Europe’s finest young players.

It offers a radical new approach to classical music. Mostly in their 20s and 30s they study, practice and perform together symphonic repertoire without the guide of a conductor.

This Blu-ray disc includes the documentary “La Spira” which portraits the musicians and their intense work sessions and scenes from collective life and documents their way of creating a special attitude and breaking down the traditional barriers between performer and audience.

Extra: Schumann’s Symphony No. 1 Spring performed by the musicians of Spira Mirabilis filmed by Pierre-Martin Juban and Gérald Caillat at the Teatro Luciano Pavarotti in Modena on December 7, 2010

Picture format Blu-ray Disc:1080i Full HD, 16 :9

Sound formats Blu-ray Disc: PCM Stereo

Region code: All (worldwide)

Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian

Booklet notes: English, French, German, Italian

Runnning time: 88 mins documentary, 43 mins concert

German FSK: 0

Devised and directed for the stage by John Caird.

Recorded at the Royal Opera House, London, December 2007

Twin Spirits is a unique and intimate, live theatrical performance by a chamber ensemble of actors, singers and musicians, portraying the deep and ultimately tragic love between the composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara Wieck. In this intensely moving performance of words, song and music, the Schumanns’ long separation, so formative an influence on their lives, is reflected in the division of the ensemble into male and female groups. Robert’s letters to Clara are read by Sting and his songs sung by Simon Keenlyside, with accompaniments and instrumental music played by Iain Burnside and Sergej Krylov. Clara’s letters to Robert are read by Trudie Styler and her songs sung by Rebecca Evans, with accompaniments and instrumental music played by Natalie Clein and Natasha Paremski. The narrator, Derek Jacobi, links together the letters and lyrics to complete the essential outline of the story. Conceived and directed by John Caird, Twin Spirits was first performed in June 2005 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London and has since been experienced only at private performances for charity by small audiences of all ages and interests, leaving them deeply touched and inspired.

Picture 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound 2.0 & 5.0 PCM

Video codec AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size BD50 Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT + EN (songs only) Menu language EN

Region code All regions Running time 206 mins Dimensions W135 H170 D12 (mm)

The Waldbühne in Berlin is one of Europe’s ideal outdoor amphitheatres. It is home to the Berlin Philharmonic’s summer concerts, which are among the most popular classical events in the world, attracting audiences of 20,000 or more people.

In July 2011 the orchestra, under the ebullient direction of Riccardo Chailly, presented this concert of effervescent works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Nino Rota and Ottorino Respighi.

All three composers possessed an unerring instinct for composing music that is guaranteed to please the ear of the listener. In their own individual ways, each of them powerfully demonstrates a phenomenal handling of tone colour. Their music sparkles with light one moment and lurks in the shadows the next.

Riccardo Chailly is famous for having one of the broadest repertoires in the business, ranging from the orchestral highways of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner through to the 20th century byways via Bach, the core operatic repertoire and almost anything else - he is an omnivore, with the brilliance to match.

Picture format BD: NTSC (1080i Full HD)

Sounds formats BD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 105 mins

As part of the official Nobel Week, the world’s most renowned artists are gathering each year to pay tribute to the Nobel Laureates. An event of world class stature and performances of highest international standard. Members of the Swedish Royal Family as well as guests of the Nobel Foundation are attending the highly acclaimed event, which gathers internationally renowned artists and conductors each year.

Very special highlight was this year’s soloist Martha Argerich, one of the very charismatic and brilliant pianists, performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major under Yuri Temirkanov leading the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. The program also includes Prokofiev’s Suite from Romeo and Juliet.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1941, Martha Argerich had her performing debut at the age of eight. Her breakthrough came in 1965, when she won the prestigious Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Working with most of the world’s leading conductors Argerich is passionate about supporting young talents. In 1999 the first International Martha Argerich Piano Contest was held in Buenos Aires, a competition that she founded and of which she is now the chief judge.

Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9

Sound format: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio

Region code: All

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 80 mins

German FSK: 0

The blind up-and-coming Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii - an astonishing virtuoso on his instrument – performs with the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. In 2009 he hit the Top Ten of the Japanese Charts with his first album “début”. He also won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009.

At the White Nights Festival he played works by the Russian composers Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. Here he plays Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano Concerto No. 1.

As a bonus Nobuyuki Tsujii performs his own Elegy for the Victims of the Tsunami of March 2011, a stirring and moving piece dedicated to his home country Japan.

This performance also includes Shostakovich Symphony No. 14.

Live recording from the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, 8 July 2012.

Picture format Blu-ray: 1080i Full HD 16:9

Sound format Blu-ray: Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM Stereo

Region code: All

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 110 mins

Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players

Shostakovich’s musically brilliant and ingeniously panoramic opera about love, lust, power and oppression is fabulously performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons in this authoritative production. Stage director Martin Kušej builds on formidable musical strengths to forge a relentless drama that explores with emotional conviction the shadowy, layered boundaries between victims and perpetrators. First-rate protagonist Eva-Maria Westbroek is phenomenal in her gripping interpretation of Katarina, compelling the entire cast, including the choir, to almost unbearable realism in their portrayal of timeless human weaknesses.

‘With one of the finest orchestras in the world conducted by an eminent Shostakovich conductor, supported by superb soloists and a very tasteful stage setting… [Eva-Maria Westbroek’s] portrayal of the heroine is absolutely superb…the passions and emotions raised by the composer are superbly realised… The soloists and chorus are all superb.’ Music Web International

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - The Tragedy of Katerina Ismailova - A documentary film by Reiner E. Moritz, including interviews with Martin Kušej, Mariss Jansons and leading members of the cast.

Set and Costume Design by David Borovsky.

At first glance, the title of Shostakovich’s opera seems to speak for itself: Katherina, neglected and unhappy in her marriage, commits the most heinous crime just like the Shakespearian Lady Macbeth. But Nikolai Leskov’s short novel, which portrays Katherina as a monster, was only the starting point for Shostakovich to elicit understanding for an oppressed woman whose pursuit for self-determination is suppressed by society. Through combining satiric, grotesque and tragic elements in his music, Shostakovich succeeds in striking the balance between repulsion at Katherina’s immoral acts and sympathy for her. Violence, eroticism and the paralysing boredom of Russian society in the 19th century are the founding elements of this composition.

The choir and orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by James Conlon accompany tremendous soloists such as Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Vladimir Vaneyev and Vsevolod Grivnov in the original language in this live recording.

Following the success of the enlightening first series of Keeping Score, MTT and SFS return with three further programmes that combine one-hour documentaries with live concert performances. The new programmes explore the music and stories behind the music.

Each of the three DVDs in Keeping Score Series 2 features a documentary episode - with MTT guiding us through the composers’ perspectives and influences - coupled with a live concert performance of each work. The programmes are designed to engage and entertain viewers of all levels of musical background. With outstanding production values, they are released on DVD and Blu-Ray HD formats, making SFS the first orchestra to distribute its product on Blu-Ray disc.

In 1937 Russia, at the height of Stalin’s purges, the Communist Party strongly denounced Dmitri Shostakovich’s most recent works. Fearing for his life, the young composer wrote a symphony ending with a rousing march. But to many, the triumph rang hollow. Even today, people wonder just what Shostakovich was trying to say. Was the symphony meant to celebrate Stalin’s regime? Or did it contain hidden messages protesting the very system it seemed to support?

The New Year's Concert in Vienna has been a glorious tradition for over six decades. A best-selling classical event year on year, the concert has unique global appeal. It is broadcast on TV and radio to over 50 countries, and is viewed by tens of millions of people all over the world.

The 2009 New Year's Day Concert will be conducted by the Argentinean-Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim for the first time. From 1991-2006 Barenboim was the principal conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and since 1992 has been the General Music Director of the State Opera Unter den Linden in Berlin. Barenboim's debut with the Vienna Philharmonic took place in 1989, and he has since been a regular guest.

In 1999, Barenboim and the late Palestinian academic Edward Säid founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, in which young musicians from the Middle East and Israel perform together. Among the many awards Barenboim has received, was the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in Vienna in 2006. In September 2007 Barenboim was named as United Nations Peace Envoy.

The concert programme for 1st January 2009 will be the customary collection of Viennese delights, with six first time performances.

The first part of the concert is inspired by the conductor’s biography. For example, the waltz Märchen aus dem Orient (Tales from the Orient), alludes to a modern “fairy tale” – the founding of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a symbol of inter-cultural tolerance. Other first performances in the first half include J. Strauss II’s Schnellpost-Polka (Express Mail Polka) and J. Hellmesberger’s Valse Espagnole (Spanish Waltz).

The second part of the concert makes constant allusions to the life and work of Joseph Haydn, culminating with the final movement of Haydn’s Symphony No.45 - 'Farewell Symphony'. This is the first time a work by Haydn has featured in the New Year’s Concert programme, and it will launch a year of events marking the bicentenary of the death of this great Austrian composerwho died in Vienna in May 1809. Other first appearances in the second half of the concert include J. Strauss I's Zampa-Galopp and J. Strauss II’s Alexandrine's Polka.