Prices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Live Recording from The Zurich Opera House, 2004
Set Design by Rolf Glittenberg A staging of Claude Debussy’s only completed opera, Pelléas et Mélisande, recorded live at the Zurich Opera House. The opera’s premiere in Paris in 1902 brought the new century to the stage. It came quietly, introducing a new female figure that provided the visual artists of l’art nouveau with a fascinating alternative to such femmes fatales as Oscar Wilde’s Lulu and Frank Wedekind’s Salome. Debussy (1862-1918) adapted a dreamlike libretto by the Belgian playwright and poet, Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) and in the music retained the symbolic quality of the mysterious, almost static fairytale. Conductor Franz Welser-Möst and director Sven-Eric Bechtolf have become one of the leading partnerships in contemporary music theatre. The characters are impressively enacted by Rodney Gilfrey and Isabel Rey in the title roles. Occasionally placed in wheelchairs that hint at emotional as well as physical inadequacies and frequently doubled by puppets, Debussy’s protagonists are kept at a distance in their subconscious dream world. Franz Welser-Möst conducts a performance that is clear, well structured, unsentimental and attuned to the alertness and pioneering spirit of a score that even today has lost none of its radiance. The designer Rolf Glittenberg set the work in a remote operatic universe that is both greyish white and ice cold. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, DTS 5.0, dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i FULL HD Subtitle Languages: FR (Original Language), GB, DE, IT, ES Running Time: 161 mins FSK: 0 Region Code: Worldwide Worldwide available, excluding Japan | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Falla: Noches en los jardines de Espana
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) The internationally renowned pianist Joaquín Achúcarro has been described as ‘the consummate artist’ and ‘the leading pianist from Spain’; he has won plaudits and prizes around the world. In 2000 he was named ‘Artist for Peace’ by UNESCO in recognition of his extraordinary artistic achievements. This DVD presents an evocative recital of Spanish-inspired music, given by Achúcarro in Madrid, and a triumphant performance of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle, recorded in Berlin. Including a note by Joaquín Achúcarro written for this release. “I have only heard this sound from Rubinstein” Zubin Mehta “There is something special with Achucarro. Very few musicians can extract this kind of sound from the piano” Sir Simon Rattle Sounds formats: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio Surround Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 27 mins (Berlin) + 75 mins (Madrid) FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | 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. |
|
|
| |  | Paavo Järvi conducts Stravinsky & DebussyRecorded live at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, September and November 2012
Conducted by Grammy award winning Paavo Järvi the Orchestre de Paris exquisitely performs three landmark pieces of orchestral music. Both of Stravinsky’s ballet scores and Debussy’s L’Après-midi d’un faune are well suited for a DVD recording. The wildly varying moods under Järvi’s expert guidance are superbly caught in this high quality production. The orchestra undertake international tours and aims to reach all genres of people. Järvi became the Music Director at the beginning of the 2010/11 season, and after just seven months his contract was extended to the end of 2016. | 
| | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |
|
