Prices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, on 2nd, 5th and 8th July 2008.
Agnès Letestu, Stéphane Bullion, Michaël Denard, Dorothée Gilbert, Delphine Moussin, José Martinez, Eve Grinsztajn, Karl Paquette, Laurent Novis, Béatrice Martel & Simon Valastro The Paris Opera Ballet & Orchestra of The Opera national de Paris, Michael Schmidtsdorff (conductor) & John Neumeier (stage director) Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players. Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel that also inspired the stories of Verdi’s La Traviata and Hollywood’s Moulin Rouge, John Neumeier creates a riveting dance drama around the famous woman of lore, La Dame aux camélias. The passionate tale of Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval unfolds ingeniously through a drama-within-a-drama as they meet at the theatre during a performance of Manon Lescaut. So begin their romantic adventures in Paris, brought to life by Neumeier’s intense and refined choreographic language. Chopin’s ravishing music highlights this exceptional neo-classical ballet, featuring the star dancers of the Paris Opéra Ballet. This lavish production, filmed live at the Palais Garnier in High Definition and full surround sound, is all about love, passion, danger and glorious dancing from one of the best ballet companies in the world. ‘John Neumeier has created a ballet in which emotions go crescendo … Agnes Letestu, the great dramatic heroine, triumphs in this ballet danced to music by Chopin.’ Figaro PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 191 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT
“A full length ballet which does justice to the Dumas novel on which La traviata is more loosely based. John Neumeier's poetic choreography is blessed with Agnès Letestu's Marguerite.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Chopin: The Piano Concertos
To mark the bicentenary of Chopin’s birth, two leading Russian pianists tackle the great Romantic composer’s two piano concertos: Evgeny Kissin plays the F minor Concerto op. 21, a key work in Chopin’s output, while Nikolai Demidenko performs the E minor Concerto op. 11, a virtuoso display vehicle of the first rank. They are accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic under the direction of Antoni Wit. Enthusiastically acclaimed by the audience at Warsaw’s Philharmonic Hall on 27 February 2010, this memorable concert has been captured in first-class sound and picture quality. Picture Format Blu-ray: HDCAM 1080/59,94 Sound Formats Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: 96:54 min Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “Anyone who (like me) has found themselves resistant to Kissin's toy-soldier showmanship...needs to hear his brilliant account of the Concerto in F minor...In pianism of bel canto beauty, Kissin uncovers all the yearning of the slow movement, and delivers a crisp finale notable for its elastic buoyancy and perfectly judged rubatos” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | Andris Nelsons, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Yefim Bronfman at the Lucerne Festival, 5th September 2011
Andris Nelsons is one of the most sought-after young conductors on the international scene today and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent in Summer 2011 when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival. This concert, available on DVD and Blu-ray features, amongst a programme of Rimsky-Korsakov, Beethoven and Dvořák, the Grammy Award-winning pianist Yefim Bronfman performing Beethoven’s majestic Fifth Piano Concerto and Chopin’s Etude in F major. Andris Nelsons is a regular conductor with many of the world’s top orchestras. Total: 110 minutes BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo 16:9, HD “every gesture and expression dovetails with what we hear. Subtle yet soaring, these orchestral performances are shaped by a conductor who enjoys every second of his job, and equally enjoys the musicians before him - the superb Concertgebouw players, peerless in technical finesse and the elegant colouring of phrase and line.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 *** “Nelsons is engrossed in the music, and it’s impossible not to succumb to his obvious and infectious enthusiasm...That’s one of the unexpected joys of this concert; everyone is clearly having fun...A delightful overture, a competent concerto, and a Scheherazade to die for.” MusicWeb International, July 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  | 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. |
|
|
| |  | Daniel Barenboim plays The Chopin Piano ConcertosLive Recording from The Philharmonie Essen, 2010
For the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frédéric Chopin, the renowned Ruhr Piano Festival in Essen invited the Staatskapelle Berlin to give a truly special program: the rare combination of Chopin‘s two piano concertos in one concert. For this purpose Daniel Barenboim, the orchestra‘s principal conductor, handed over the reins of „his“ ensemble to up-and-coming young conductor Andris Nelsons, assuming the role of piano soloist instead. The press raved: „Storms of applause for a dream couple: Daniel Barenboim and Andris Nelsons won over the audience […] with their rousing Chopin interpretations“. While Barenboim fi lls the solo parts with pulsating life and dance-like grace, the exciting young talent Andris Nelsons dazzles with his magnetic physical presence and the broad gestures with which he fires on or pulls back his enthusiastic musicians. Nelsons opens the concert with a rousing account of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 44, the “Mourning” Symphony. Chopin wrote the two piano concertos when he was only 19 and 20; they were among the last works that he composed in Poland before leaving for France. Filled with youthful fire and freshness, the works showcase the pianist‘s virtuosity, and contain much of interest for the orchestral musicians as well, including poignant solo interludes for clarinet and bassoon. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 Resolution: 1080i FULL HD Running Time: 110 mins Blu-ray Disc: 25 GB (Single Layer) FSK: 0 “One cannot help but admire his effortless command in the two Chopin piano concertos...captured in pin-sharp picture quality and excellent, well-balanced sound...His almost boyish enthusiasm (despite the relaxed tempos) and obvious relish of performing show no sign of waning as he nears his 70th birthday, and (particularly for a part-timer) his technique shows remarkably little evidence of wear and tear.” International Record Review, January 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Daniel Barenboim: The Warsaw RecitalCelebrating Frédéric Chopin’s 200th birthday. Live from the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall
Chopin: | Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 'Marche funèbre' Fantasia in F minor, Op. 49 Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2 Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 Waltz No. 2 in A flat major 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 1 Waltz No. 3 in A minor 'Grande Valse Brillante', Op. 34 No. 2 Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2 Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57 Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque' Mazurka No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7 No. 3 Waltz No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1 'Minute Waltz' |
Frédéric Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboim’s stage début, 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. Picture Format Blu-Ray: HDCAM 1080/59,94 Sound Formats Blu-Ray: DTS HD Master Audio PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: 90:45 Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “Not especially celebrated for his Chopin...Barenboim is - it goes without saying - a towering musician who is worth hearing here...Opening with the F minor Fantasia, Barenboim is on magisterial and musically imaginative form. His almost Lisztian approach to the B flat minor Sonata is excitingly turbulent”” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 **** “The Barcarolle and sequence of three Waltzes are quite beguiling...a magnificent and genuinely impassioned account of the A flat major Polonaise...The neat, unfussy direction makes the film a pleasure to watch.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | 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. |
|
|
| |  | Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 75 years Anniversary Concert & Documentary COMING HOMEa film by János Darvas
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra - a cultural icon of Israel and one of the greatest classical ensembles in the world - celebrated its 75th Birthday on December 26th, 2011 together with three outstanding soloists of the younger generation – Julian Rachlin, Evgeny Kissin and Vadim Repin. The concert took place in the spectacular Hangar 11 at the harbor in Tel Aviv. Zubin Mehta conducted a spectacular programme of Saint-Saëns, Bach, Chopin, Chausson and Beethoven. The film ‘Coming Home’ by János Darvas portrays the orchestra and tells of its moving history, which is both a reflection of the history of Israel and the fate of the Jews in the 20th Century. With texts from memoirs, with material from radio interviews, home movies and photos from the orchestra’s archives, as well as from private collections, the film will not only tells the story of the orchestra, but draws parallels to the fates of many individuals. Historical footage brings the 75-year history of the orchestra to life in concerts with Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman. Interviews with orchestra members from the early years weave through talks with musicians that joined later, and with current orchestra members. Moreover, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman and Pinkas Zukerman have their say. We also get the opportunity to watch the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsals, concerts and tours. Part of the EuroArts Israel Philharmonic Anniversary Campaign with two more must have releases: - 75 years anniversary concert & documentary “Coming Home” (Cat. No. DVD 2059098 + Cat. No. BD 2059094) - Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Anniversary Edition - 5 DVDs Box Set incl. Classic Archive: Arthur Rubinstein plays Chopin (Cat. No. 3079638), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 70th-Anniversary Concert (Cat. No. 2055878), Bernstein conducts Brahms (Cat. No. 2072048) + New Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 60th-Anniversary, Concert, 1996 & Joint Concert, 1990. Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Subtitles: English Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 148 mins (95 mins Concert + 53 mins Documentary) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Lang Lang: Live In ViennaBlu-ray release includes 25 mins of 3D footage of performances of the repertoire from the album.
Lang Lang’s first recording for Sony, the start of a new exclusive long-term partnership - recorded live at Vienna’s prestigious Musikverein earlier in 2010. Lang Lang: Heralded as the “hottest artist on the classical music planet” by the New York Times, 28- year-old Lang Lang began playing the piano at the age of 3, gave his first public recital aged 5, and won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians Competition at the age of 13. Since then he has become a global phenomenon, playing sold out recitals and concerts in every major city in the world. Testimony to his success, Lang Lang recently appeared in the 2009 Time 100 – Time Magazine's annual list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In 2008, over 5 billion people viewed Lang Lang’s performance in Beijing’s opening ceremony for the Olympic Games, and he has inspired over 40 million Chinese children to take up the piano – a phenomenon coined by The Today Show as "the Lang Lang effect." More recently, Lang Lang was chosen as an official worldwide ambassador to the 2010 Shanghai Expo. He has performed at prestigious events including at The White House and The Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony. Continuing his presence on the world stage, Lang Lang was featured at the 2008 Grammy Awards and the 2009 Classical Brit Awards, pairing up with jazz great, Herbie Hancock, for an astounding performance that was broadcast live to 45 million viewers worldwide. Lang Lang has made it his mission to share classical music around the world, with an emphasis on training children and young musicians through education, outreach programs, master classes and financial support. He launched the Lang Lang International Music Foundation in New York with the support of UNICEF. In May 2009, Lang Lang and his three chosen young scholars from the foundation performed together on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In addition to his numerous commitments, Lang Lang holds the title of the first Ambassador of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. His role in this groundbreaking project created by YouTube and Google reflects his devotion to building new audiences and bringing classical music to young people worldwide. A brand in himself, Lang Lang has become the face of numerous global campaigns. Steinway has created five versions of the “Lang Lang Steinway” designed for early music education - the first time in Steinway’s 150-year history that an artist’s name has been used to produce pianos. He is a global brand ambassador for the entire Sony Corporation, including its Electronics arm, with whom he anticipates achieving innovative and creative possibilities for the future. Lang Lang also holds brand partnerships with Audi Automobiles and Aegon's worldwide financial services, amongst others.Lang Lang’s performance clothes are provided by Versace. In February 2010, Lang Lang joined Sony Music Entertainment as an exclusive recording artist. “The first movement of his Appassionata is gracefully conceived, and he brings a properly Beethovenian authority to the variations of the slow movement, before seguing gracefully into whirlwind finale...But the chief appeal of this CD lies in the fact that it's pulsatingly live...Lang Lang dares, and wins” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 **** “It's hard to imagine a programme to better display the pianist's prodigious range.” The Independent, 20th August 2010 **** “...let me say at once that the youthful excess and rampant exhibitionism of much of Lang Lang's earliest work is today transformed into playing which for the greater part is as stylish and perceptive as it is brilliant...Clearly everyone is having a ball and, make no mistake, doubting Thomases should take time off to listen to a major talent.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2010 “He is intense and focused in the "Appassionata", sharp and lively in Beethoven's early C major sonata. His Albéniz is thrillingly colourful, his Prokofiev vivid and pungent...the technical command is peerless and the emotional warmth envelops us. He is surely the Horowitz of our generation” The Observer, 12th September 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Lionel Bringuier & Nelson Freire Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Leading Chopin interpreter Nelson Freire is the soloist in Chopin’s lyrical and brilliant Second Piano Concerto. On the podium the young French conductor Lionel Bringuier makes his Proms debut conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra and gives a sizzling performance of Roussel’s Symphony No.3 and of Ravel’s score for the ballet 'Daphnis et Chloé' - Suite No 2. Chopin wrote his concerto at the age of 19 while crazily in love with an opera singer, but it's the work itself which is the object of adoration for soloist Nelson Freire who describes himself as having something of a 'crush' on the piece after first hearing it as a teenager. The three other works on the programme chart French music over a century of changing musical tastes, beginning in 1844 with Berlioz's vivid evocation of a swashbuckling pirate adventure in his overture 'Le corsaire'. By 1912 the tides of modernism influenced Ravel's lavishly scored, pastoral ballet Daphnis and Chloë, with its famous opening soundscape of dawn breaking over the forest canopy, and by the 1930s Roussel's Third Symphony reflected the trends of neo-classicism. "It was around the beginning of the second movement of Albert Roussel's Third Symphony that the playing of the BBC Symphony Orchestra – under the outstanding 23-year-old French conductor Lionel Bringuier, making his Prom debut – moved into top gear. From that point on, the orchestra's awareness of its own sound, collectively and individually, became heightened to an unusually compelling degree. The playing stayed on this exalted level until the end of the concert, which closed with Ravel's second Daphnis and Chloé suite...shaped with a certainty of direction that never compromised the music's inherent sensuousness. It provided a sensational climax to the evening." George Hall, The Guardian 13/8/2010 Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, 08/2010, Running time 95 min. Booklet: French, German, English Image 1BD25, Colour 16/9, 1080i Full HD Sound PCM Stereo, DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 “the least flashy of virtuosos, [Freire] conjures up a phenomenal palette of colours by the most economical means. I would urge anyone to hear this performance with Bringuier...You can sense even the oldest, most cynical hands in the band responding to his charismatic direction with enthusiasm...All in all, a tremendous concert.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2013 “If it was a bold idea to invite this young French conductor to the BBC Proms, it was surely madness to film the concert. But thank goodness the BBC and innovative label BelAir took the chance, as this is a model of filmed music-making. Bringuier’s rapport with the orchestra (and with soloist Nelson Freire here on scintillating form) is immediately evident. Thoroughly recommended” Classical Music, May 2013 | 
| | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
|
|
| |
|
Gramophone Magazine