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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Spira Mirabilis
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 | 
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| |  | Menahem Pressler in RecitalRecorded at the Cité de la Musique, Paris, March 2011
For more than 50 years, Menahem Pressler was the driving force of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio, giving 6.000 performances until the trio stopped concertizing in 2009. Menahem Pressler is now returning to a solo career. During this recital filmed at Paris’ Cité de la Musique 2011, Menahem Pressler plays two of the most imposing works in the piano repertoire: Beethoven’s penultimate sonata and Schubert’s last sonata which both require unusual emotional involvement from the performer. Menahem Pressler is the last representative of a pianistic tradition directly connected with the great German and French piano schools: he studied with several pupils of the illustrious Ferruccio Busoni but also received valuable advice from Robert Casadesus or Paul Loyonnet who opened the world of Ravel and Debussy to him. “Pressler’s ability to give all the voices prominence while simultaneously isolating the melody was amazing. His fingers still retain a youthful facility.” The Washington Post Picture format: 1080i 16:9 Sound formats: PCM Stereo Region code: all (worldwide) Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 88 mins “His technique may be somewhat dimmed, but the twinkle of his distinctive sound remains as fresh and beautiful as ever; so, too, his astute pointing of musical structure, and the sheer love with which he communicates these great works...Pierre-Martin Juban's straightforward, well-judged direction provides a fine match between style and subject.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Garrick Ohlsson playing Chopin Piano ConcertosRecorded at the Warsaw Philharmonic, 2009
This concert programme includes both Chopin Concertos with Garrick Ohlsson and the Warsaw Philharmonic under the baton of Antoni Wit. Bonus: The documentary pays tribute to Chopin’s art to his highly original writing and show how much of a contribution it made to 20th century music and modern-day piano music with the participation of Garrick Ohlsson, Bella Davidovich, Evgeny Kissin, Piotr Anderszewski, Yuja Wang . To this end we are combining two approaches: a narrative approach with a biographical account, which focuses on the composer’s most creative periods. And an analytical approach with first-hand accounts by some of the greatest performers of his works. Among them: Garrick Ohlsson, Bella Davidovich, Evgeny Kissin, Piotr Anderszewski and Yuja Wang. The first approach captures Chopin’s genius in his time by evoking his life, his work, his existential concerns and his musical influences. The second approach, which forms the mainstay of this documentary, conveys the passion artists have for performing Chopin and their understanding of his music today, which appears to be so easy and is yet so difficult to play. Filmed archives of prestigious pianists, some of whom are no longer with us, complete this portrait of Chopin’s art. Picture format: 1080i Full HD 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM Stereo, DTS Master Audio HD Region code: All (worldwide) Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 150 mins (97 min performance, 53 min documentary) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Steve Reich: Phase to FaceRecorded in 2009
A student of Darius Milhaud and Luciano Berio, musician Steve Reich (born 1936) quickly developed a style all his own inspired by Baroque music, Bartók, Webern and Stravinsky, as well as jazz, traditional music (especially African), and Hebrew cantillation. As a trailblazing exponent of minimalist music, Reich rejected the characteristic complexity of mid-20th-century classical harmony and tonality in order to make large-scale works from minimal materials a single chord, a brief musical motif, a spoken exclamation – thereby reconciling sacred and popular music. In this profile he looks back on the key stages of his 40-years lasting career, from the formation of his own group, Steve Reich and Musicians, to the American avant-garde he helped to create, from new video performances to his quasi-religious music. Despite his success and wide recognition Steve Reich has never renounced his independent spirit. This film is about the artist and his music. From the analogue tapes of his first recorded pieces to current technology of sampling and video. We see him at work and clips from his performances and concerts in Le Havre, Tokyo, Rome, New York and Manchester. Bonus: "Talks in Tokyo with Steve Reich" (18 min.) & "A brief History of Music by Steve Reich" (9 min.) Picture format: 1080i Full HD 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM 2.0 Region code: All (worldwide) Booklet notes: English, German, French Languages: English, German, French, Japanese Running time: 52 mins (Documentary); 28 mins (Bonus) German FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Martha Argerich live at Verbier FestivalRecorded live at during the Verbier Festival, Switzerland, 22 July 2009 (Beethoven, Scarlatti) and 17 July 2010 (Shostakovich, Bizet).
Martha Argerich proves once again her great pianistic technique in a wave of virtuosity, performing emblematic works of the greatest composers ever. Martha Argerich has long been hailed as one of the greatest and most uniquely imaginative pianists. She is most admired for the pure joy of her music-making and her individual approach to each work, each situation and each audience. The Verbier Festival, held each summer in the Swiss Alps, has developed over eighteen years into one of the most important classical music festivals in Europe, bringing together great musical talent and dedicated music lovers alike from across the globe. Martha Argerich celebrates her 70th birthday on the 5 June 2011. Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM 2.0 Region code: All Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 87 min FSK: 0 “Both directors capture [Argerich's] unique artistry...she sets about the down-to-earth matter of sublime music-making, pulling all her colleagues into her spell...Takacs-Nagy partners Argerich sensitively. Using no baton - just the occasional pencil - he never loses sight of the landscape in a quest for its fruits, and his way of shaping long phrases and building paragraphs is as special as his airy rhythms and attention to inner voices.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Jurowski conducts BeethovenRecorded live at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 4 February 2010
Vladimir Jurowski conducts Beethoven gathers the lesser known Symphony No. 4 - composed when Beethoven was enjoying one of the most peaceful time of his life - with the celebrated Symphony No. 7 and the Coriolan Overture. For this performance filmed live at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Vladimir Jurowski chose to collaborate with the musicians of the world famous Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment who perform on period instruments, shedding a radically different light on works that we are so accustomed to hear on modern instruments. As the youngster of today’s classical music scene, Jurowski already gained international stardom in conducting. “Vladimir Jurowski, more medium than conductor, produces ever more faultlessly gorgeous, languid sounds." Robert Thicknesse, The Times Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM 2.0 PCM 5.1 Region code: All Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 89 mins FSK: 0 “The sound is magnificent...The performances are well-crafted, and the camerawork shows just enough for Jurowski fans of his well-choreographed conducting...it is worth hearing just for the wonderfully rasping horns in the Trio, and the especially beautiful account of Symphony No. 4” BBC Music Magazine, August 2011 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Jurowski conducts Strauss & RavelRecorded at Cité de la Musique - Paris, January 2009
This programme captures the musical encounter between one of the most talented conductors of his generation with arguably the best chamber orchestra musicians. They are joined by worldwide renowned pianist Hélène Grimaud in a programme featuring Strauss and Ravel, a perfect combination of familiar repertoire and works that deserve to be discovered. Vladimir Jurowski surprises the listener by a fresh style and approach. In combination with the charming and incisive Grimaud, he invites us to drift away with this extraordinary performance. Both artists are very thoughtful about the music they make and create a pure enjoyment for ear and eye. The award-winning Hélène Grimaud presents a lively rendition of Ravel’s concerto. Together with the orchestra lyricism and sonorous harmonies are expertly teased out. Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 81 min FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Piotr Anderszewski: Unquiet TravellerA film by Bruno Monsaingeon
Bruno Monsaingeon has dedicated a great part of his life to directing movies about the greatest musicians of our times (Gould, Richter, Menuhin, Oïstrakh…), sharing with us his passionate vision of artists. His last movie, which has already been awarded in several festivals, is an especially living portrait of the non-conformist pianist Piotr Anderszewski. Somewhere between documentary and fiction, this « rail-road-movie »’s setting is a winter journey through Poland to Budapest, in a train in which the pianist has taken his grand piano with him... In this movie, Piotr Anderszewski gives us his most inner thoughts about music and about his qualms, through words we get while this special train strides through theland of his childhood, revealing his true nature, generous but tormented. A brilliantly built film by Bruno Monsaingeon, utterly poetic and deeply emotional, which invites us to join the journey… Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats BD: PCM 2.0, PCM 5.1 Region code: All Booklet notes: English, Polish, French Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Polish Running time: 83 mins Audience: all “Anderszewski's personal reflections on the music that means the most to him prove to be absolutely fascinating, and one is drawn irresistibly to his restless way of looking at the world. There are some wonderful performances too - Szymanowski with his violinist sister Dorota, excerpts from a rehearsal of the Brahms D minor Piano Concerto with Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia, as well as Bach, Chopin and Mozart, the composer with whom Anderszewski most closely identifies.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2009 **** “Suitably subtitled "Unquiet Traveller", this DVD is a dazzling portrait of a pianist rapidly acquiring cult status. Anderszewski… speaks movingly of his greatest loves, of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Szymanowski and, most of all, Mozart. There are superb examples of Bach (a razor-sharp Gigue from the First Partita), Mozart, Beethoven (the recording sessions for the First Concerto), Chopin, Schumann and Szymanowski, all played and described with a breathless and romantic wish to communicate at a bewildering number of different levels.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009 “Photogenic and big-souled, Anderszewski proves utterly beguiling...It's touchingly beautiful...and Anderszewski's playing is to die for.” The Guardian, 11th December 2009 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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