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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro’s debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke’s, London, with Britain’s eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro’s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum, Madrid. “Achúcarro’s approach is unorthodox in today’s stick-to-theletter-of-the-score, mechanically perfect musical world. His rubati seem excessive to some; to others, like a throwback to a Golden Age. For all of his reverence for the great composers whose music he plays, he maintains a healthy sense of their humanity as well. “Our duty is first of all to understand what composer does and wants, and then to try to deliver it the best we can, but also to serve the music,” he says. “And maybe sometimes the composer is wrong.” He adds, “People say you must follow the text. But if you follow the text, perhaps the music is not totally served.” … And he views what he does as a performer as an act of creation in its own right.” The Washington Post Extra features: Joaquín Achúcarro: 50 years on Documentary including interviews with Plácido Domingo, Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. Running time 131 mins Region code All regions Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size: BD50 Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0 & 5.1 PCM Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “all three sections of both versions benefit from the masterly hand of director Robin Lough who, unlike many of his peers, knows how to let the music speak for itself without the need for frantic cuts and cross-fades...The short recital filmed in the Prado captures Achúcarro at his intimate best” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Brahms: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3
The DVD continues the success of the Brahms CD with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis, released in March (4778767). Recent reviews are excellent and will certainly make for an outstanding DVD: “Never before have Mutter and Orkis seemed so joined at the hip, giving and taking, conducting dialogue, chasing each others’ thoughts . . . She plays with a new degree of maturity and depth, especially visible in the slow movements. The disc’s high point is the adagio from the first sonata, in G major, where Mutter’s gold thread is reduced to a dusky murmur before shifting through tones as subtle as they are various. Orkis’s contribution is equally vital, whether keeping pace with limpid filigree or, at the close, pedalling up a penumbra of resonance to balance Mutter’s whispers. Magical music-making, this. Elsewhere, Mutter shows that she is able to become passionately alive without shaking with neuroses. In the third sonata, in D minor, the finale lives up to Brahms’s instruction -- "presto agitato" -- but never races over the top. Throughout, speeds and dynamics are controlled with regard for the music’s inner substance, not its outward show . . . The CD’s delectable virtues also include Deutsche Grammophon’s clear, well-balanced recording. A masterly issue . . .” The Times (London) On this recording, Anne-Sophie Mutter, accompanied by pianist Lambert Orkis, shares her up-to-date thoughts on the Brahms Violin Sonatas that have been central to her repertoire from the start of her career As bonus material the DVD includes Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis in conversation in English (with subtitles), Anne-Sophie Mutter on Brahms’s Violin Sonatas in German and the promotional video. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Claudio Abbado conducts Brahms & DvorakRecorded live at the Teatro Massimo, Palermo, 1 May 2002
The town of Palermo was illuminated and Claudio Abbado revealed his strong Sicilian roots. Viewers of this concert, broadcasted on TV all across Europe, were inspired to see the maestro so relaxed, gesticulating so emphatically. This was the last time in his twelve years as the orchestra’s artistic director Claudio Abbado conducted a European Concert. The Berlin Phil played elegantissimo, with magnificent solos, mastering the ensemble passages with supreme ease. Their interpretation of Dvořák's Ninth Symphony could not have been more sophisticated and marvellous. Gil Shaham, one of the greatest violinists of our time, delivers a formidable interpretation of the complex and demanding Brahms concerto, already having recorded this concerto with Abbado in 2000. Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sound formats BD: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio Region code: All Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 112 mins FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Dances & Dreams: Gala from Berlin 2011Recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonic, 31 December 2011
In 2011 the Berliner Philharmoniker and their musical director Sir Simon Rattle welcomed in the New Year with a gala concert programmed with ‘Dances & Dreams’. Spinetingling and inspiring performances of music by Dvořák, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky and Brahms are complemented by the extraordinary talent of the multi-awarded Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today’s pianists, and his passionate performance of the renowned Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard Grieg is mesmerizing. Kissin's musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today's pianists. Picture format: 1080i Full HD 16:9 Sound formats: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio Surround Region code: All (worldwide) Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 89 mins German FSK: 0 “Where Rattle and company radiate love, Kissin gives us duty. Still, nothing else casts a chill. Hearing the orchestra's splendours, observing the smiles and eye contact, you'd never believe the past stories of turbulence between musicians and conductor...The Blu-ray edition, as always, is markedly crisper” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Europa Konzert 2010 from OxfordRecorded live at Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, 1 May 2010
For over 20 years, the Berliner Philharmoniker have celebrated their foundation on May 1st with the annual Europa Konzert - this year’s concert takes place in Oxford. The orchestra under the baton of worldwide renowned musician Daniel Barenboim, welcome cellist Alisa Weilerstein who has attracted widespread attention for a playing that combines natural virtuoso command and technical precision with impassioned musicianship. "Daniel Barenboim´s programme played to the orchestra's strengths, and the sound was sumptuous. The plush strings and refulgent brass permitted him to unfold the introspective third-act prelude to Wagner's Die Meistersinger with glacial slowness, while the energy that pulsed through Brahms's First Symphony, its phrases sculpted in great expressive arcs with every detail and woodwind solo thrillingly realised, was irresistible. Between the prelude and the symphony, Barenboim conducted the young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein in Elgar's Cello Concerto … Barenboim's approach was refreshingly un-English, a bonus in Elgar, and the sound of the orchestra in the climaxes was overwhelming." Guardian Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats BD: PCM 2.0, DTS HD Master Audio Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 83 mins FSK: 0 “There's no old man's regret in [Weilerstein's] performance, which is passionate and full-blooded, and shot through with grief and longing rather than any nostalgia...Barenboim has always been an excellent Brahmsian...and he rounds the concert off with a richly satisfying account of the First Symphony. No real surprises, but not far from perfection” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “The young American cellist Ailsa Weilerstein simply steals the show. Her musicianship is absolutely stunning. She captures a perfect balance between introversion and songfulness, sensitivity and whimsy, seemingly at one with the music...The filming captures the event's rapt atmosphere, if a bit busily.” Classic FM Magazine, June 2011 **** “[The Elgar] is gripping from the very start...[Weilerstein] never holds back and takes some impressive risks, perhaps inspired by an accompaniment that convinces me, for the time, of the Berlin Philharmonic being the finest orchestra for Elgar, as well as for everything else.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2011 “[In the Brahms and Wagner] the Berliners' majestic playing is deeply impressive, their timbral and intonational blend bordering on the miraculous...playing at this level of achievement still has the power to have one shaking one's head in disbelief at its sheer expertise...[Weilerstein] plays with compelling flair and understanding” International Record Review, January 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Thomas Dausgaard conducts 4 Symphonies
These are four great symphonies that have all played a special role in the close collaboration between the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Thomas Dausgaard. The symphonies are recorded in the beautiful Koncerthuset in Copenhagen. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is specialized in Scandinavian repertoire. Bonus material: In a series of interviews, Thomas Dausgaard explains his close collaboration with the orchestra, the concerts and the four great yet altogether very different masterpieces by Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius and Nielsen. Running Time Total: 168 minutes Picture 16:9, HD BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles Bonus: English, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Italian “Dausgaard himself is energetic, impassioned, easy to read and obviously intent on providing on providing as clear a musical picture as possible. He is also an excellent talker...But watching and listening confirms that, although he conducts from his heart, he has a strong intelligence guiding him. There aren't too many conductors around today who balance those crucial values as successfully as he does.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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