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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Gran Teatro La Fenice New Year’s Concert 2012Live Recording From The Gran Teatro La Fenice, 2012
Jessica Pratt (soprano), Walter Fraccaro (tenor) & Alex Esposito (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of The Gran Teatro La Fenice, Diego Matheuz As is now customary, the first part of the 2012 New Year‘s Concert from Teatro La Fenice is exclusively orchestral, with Symphony No.5 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The second part, with soloists Jessica Pratt, Walter Fraccaro and Alex Esposito as well as the choir, is dedicated to melodrama, ending with the traditional chorus “Va pensiero” from Nabucco and the toast “Libiam ne lieti calici” from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. The twenty-seven year old conductor and violinist Diego Matheuz is a graduate of the internationally known Venezuelan Sistema and is already widely known as one of the most promising developing talents from the Americas. In 2005 he began studying conducting and soon attracted the attention of Sir Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado, with whom he worked in Caracas, Lucerne and Bologna. In September 2011 he was appointed as Principal Conductor of the Teatro La Fenice. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray) Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i High Definition Format: DVD 9, NTSC, 25 GB (Single Layer) Running Time: 108 mins + 27 mins (bonus) FSK: 0 Region Code: Worldwide Worldwide available | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Britten‘s War Requiem: 50th anniversary in Coventry
2012 brings the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Britten‘s War Requiem, one of the most powerful pacifist statements in music. The first performance took place in 1962 in the newly consecrated Coventry Cathedral, built alongside the ruins of the old cathedral, left as a sombre reminder of the wartime bombings. On 30 May 2012, 50 years to the day, Britten‘s masterpiece returns to the cathedral, performed as at the premiere by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloists from three once warring nations. The anniversary performance is conducted by the CBSO‘s Music Director, Andris Nelsons, featuring the Canadian soprano Erin Wall, English tenor Mark Padmore singing the role written for Peter Pears, and German baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. Choral forces are provided by the CBSO Chorus and Youth Chorus. Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was commissioned to compose a work for the inauguration in 1962 of Coventry’s new cathedral, adjoining the old cathedral that had been bombed and nearly completely destroyed by the German Luftwaffe at the beginning of World War II in November 1940. The commission gave Britten complete freedom to choose the type of music to compose. He conceived of setting the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead interwoven with nine poems by the English poet Wilfred Owen, who had been killed in World War I. It has become one of the defining masterpieces of the twentieth century: a devastating meditation on the pity of war that is every bit as relevant today. "The light-filled building was used to full effect. The CBSO Youth Chorus was positioned at the high altar beneath Graham Sutherland's Christ in Glory tapestry, all golden section and green resurrection...Padmore sang with visionary intensity. Müller-Brachmann maintained an unadorned simplicity of expression." Fiona Maddocks, The Observer, on the live performance Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray) Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i FULL HD Audio Languages: Sung in Latin and English Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES Running Time: 97 mins FSK: 0 “The three soloists are not, perhaps, quite as eminently as the originals, but they're all excellent...[Nelsons's] un-English reading, more tautly controlled and vigorous than Britten's own, reveals unexpected hues and beauties in the score. This never drags, despite so much inner darkness, and the camera enhances the performance” BBC Music Magazine, January 2013 ***** “[Padmore] is simply outstanding...Erin Wall projects the soprano part extremely well...Orchestra and choirs played their parts admirably but the overall accolade...must go to Andris Nelsons for the wonderful way in which he holds the whole thing together.” MusicWeb International, January 2013 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Fauré: RequiemLive Recording
EuroArts sucessfull DVD Release now on Blu-ray! Baritone Matthias Goerne, soprano Chen Reiss and cellist Eric Picard come together at Paris’s renowned Salle Pleyel for a concert of Fauré’s works for chorus and orchestra. They are joined by the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of its new musical director, the GRAMMY Award-winning conductor Paavo Järvi. Central to the programme is Fauré’s profound and graceful Requiem, which is complemented by the Cantique de Jean Racine and the rarely performed psalm-setting Super flumina Babylonis, all beautifully sung by the Choeur de l’Orchestre de Paris, and imbued with a delicate intensity by Järvi. With the expressive Élégie for cello and orchestra, this is a luxurious all-Fauré event. Including a 15 mins Interview with Paavo Järvi as a bonus. Picture format: 1080i 16:9 Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: all (worldwide) Subtitles: Latin, German, English, French Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 87 mins (72 mins Performance & 15 mins Bonus) “the expert choir's native French vowel sounds are a joy in themselves, [and] Eric Picard gives a mesmerising account of the haunting cello Elegie...If that wasn't enough, there follows a performance of the Requiem with the sensational Chen Reiss and Matthias Goerne the equal of any I have heard live or on disc...Unmissable.” International Record Review, June 2012 “This is an appealing concert that cleverly mixes the familiar with the unfamiliar and includes a well-known piece in an unfamiliar guise...Jarvi keeps the music flowing along nicely...The violas and cellos are wonderfully expressive throughout...Isabelle Soulard's video direction is pleasingly unobtrusive.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012 “Reiss sings [the Pie Jesu] with feeling, and with audible words” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 *** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | staged version
Stage Director - Claus Guth Recorded live at the Theater an der Wien, 2009 Claus Guth, one of the most interesting and successful German stage directors in the area of theatrical music, has created a unique concept for the staging of Handel’s most famous work. Winner of the Diapason d'Or and the BBC Music Magazine Award, Spinosi and Ensemble Matheus is internationally acclaimed for its interpretations of early music on authentic period instruments. Video director Hannes Rossacher, internationally known as one of the leading video directors for rock and pop events (Rolling Stones), has captured this unique performance of the oratorio on film. “there are some penetrating ideas lurking behind the underlying premise, which in essence orbits around the moral, theological and familial fallout surrounding a suicide...the singing blazes with conviction...Not a Messiah for the faint-hearted but there are rich rewards for the open-mindedly indulgent.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 “The singing is very good (Susan Gritton and [Richard] Croft are particularly fine) and Jean-Christophe Spinosi's conducting is luscious.” Classic FM Magazine, January 2011 ** | | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
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| |  | A Concert for New YorkIn Remembrance and Renewal - The Tenth Anniversary of 9/11
The New York Philharmonic - America’s preeminent symphony orchestra - gave “A Concert for New York” to mark the tenth anniversary of the events of 9/11. What work could be better suited to the occasion than Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony with its “evocation of every aspect of life” and “its profound sense of hope”, as the Philharmonic’s Music Director Alan Gilbert put it? This concert became an unforgettable event, a “consistently impressive” performance with “gripping playing”, “magnificent” soloists and an “excellent” chorus (New York Times). BONUS (tbc): Alan Gilbert & Zubin Mehta about “A Concert for New York” Picture Format Blu-ray: Full HD Sound Formats Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: approx. 96 min (tbc) Running Time Bonus: approx. 15 min (tbc) Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “Alan Gilbert has the right sense of momentum and expectation” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 *** “Mahler’s extravagance must be appealing to DVD producers. With this music there’s a wide dynamic range and huge forces to watch...it’s predictably an emotive occasion. And Alan Gilbert’s performance is pretty sound, even if you crave a little more recklessness and excess. The recorded sound is a little raw, and you do get a feel for the sheer terror which this symphony can evoke” The Arts Desk, 14th December 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Boulez conducts Mahler
Born in 1925 in Montbrison, France, Pierre Boulez is one of the most distinguished composers and conductors in the world today. With his uncompromising approach to the score, Pierre Boulez’s Mahler readings have long fascinated critics and audiences alike. Boulez eschews the romanticized readings common in performance tradition and instead reveals the real joy and terror in Mahler’s large-scale symphonies. Vocalists Diana Damrau and Petra Lang join forces with the Staaatskapelle Berlin and the Staatsopernchor as the perfect ensemble to bring Boulez’s vision of this gargantuan piece to life. Boulez’s interpretation is truly infused with light. This performance really does give a new perspective on a much-loved symphony. Picture format: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sound format: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio Region code: All Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 89 mins | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Mahler: Symphonies 1-10, Totenfeier & Das Lied von der ErdeAll full HD live recordings taken from the 2009-2011 Mahler celebration at Amsterdam Concertgebouw
Mahler: | Symphony No. 1 in D major 'Titan' Daniel Harding Symphony No. 2 in C minor 'Resurrection' Revised Edition by Renate Stark-Voit and Gilbert Kaplan (2006) Ricarda Merbeth (soprano) & Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano) Netherlands Radio Choir, Mariss Jansons Symphony No. 3 in D minor Bernarda Fink (mezzo soprano) Netherlands Radio Choir, Boys of the Breda Sacrament Choir & Rijnmond Boys’ Choir, Mariss Jansons Symphony No. 4 in G major Miah Persson (soprano) Iván Fischer Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor Daniele Gatti Symphony No. 6 in A minor 'Tragic' Lorin Maazel Symphony No. 7 in E minor Pierre Boulez Symphony No. 8 in E flat major 'Symphony of the Thousand' Christine Brewer (soprano), Camilla Nylund (soprano), Maria Espada (soprano), Stephanie Blythe (mezzo), Mihoko Fujimura (alto), Robert Dean Smith (tenor), Tommi Hakala (baritone), Stefan Kocán (bass) Netherlands Radio Choir, State Choir Latvia, Bavarian Radio Choir, Mariss Jansons Symphony No. 9 in D major Bernard Haitink Symphony No. 10 in F sharp major Performing version by Deryck Cooke Eliahu Inbal Totenfeier Anna Larsson (contralto) Fabio Luisi Das Lied von der Erde Anna Larsson (contralto), Robert Dean Smith (tenor) Fabio Luisi |
“its employment of various conductors enables one to more closely observe their subtle differences in technique...It's also a delight to see such detailed camera direction, with the musicians foregrounded just as they appear: the revelation of the battery of eight French horns in the 3rd is all the more thrilling for its sudden appearance.” The Independent, 29th December 2012 ***** | 
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| |  | Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1-7Recorded live at the Concert Hall of the Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne, 2003-2009
Claudio Abbado is undeniably the supreme Mahler conductor of our time. With his Lucerne Festival Orchestra he has set new standards in the field of classical music, especially in the interpretation of works by Gustav Mahler. The core of the orchestra is provided by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, itself an élite body of players. Soloists like violinist Kolja Blacher, clarinettist Sabine Meyer, oboist Albrecht Mayer, violist Wolfram Christ, cellist Natalia Gutman, the Hagen Quartet and members of the Alban Berg Quartet to name just a few, make the Lucerne Festival Orchestra a star-studded ensemble. The DVDs and Blu-ray Discs of Claudio Abbado's Mahler symphonies recordings Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 have already proven to be true Best-sellers. On the occasion of Mahler's 100. Anniversary of Death (May 18), EuroArts will release a luxurious 4 Blu-ray Box set, including the Mahler Symphonies Nos. 1-7 with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Claudio Abbado. Packaging: Digipack in Slipcase with 72 pages Booklet Blu-ray Disc 1: Mahler: Symphony Nos. 1 & 2; Blu-ray Disc 2: Mahler: Symphony Nos. 3 & 4; Blu-ray Disc 3: Mahler: Symphony Nos. 5 & 6; Blu-ray Disc 4: Mahler: Symphony No. 7 An aficionado must-have! “It’s different having best friends together. Everyone is there to enjoy making music, to take pleasure, to play with enthusiasm, with passion. They are prepared to do any crazy thing I ask them for the sake of the music. To fly, to walk through fire.” Claudio Abbado “Has there ever been a suaver, more transparent Mahler performance or one in which everything stays so beautifully in tune? ... Abbado’s music-making is a celebration of the purest joy.” The Gramophone Magazine Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats BD: PCM 2.0, DTS HD Master Audio Region code: All Subtitles:: English, German, French (Italian, Spanish) Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 550 mins FSK: 0 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the oldest concert orchestra in the world, and their Music Director Riccardo Chailly have already acquired legendary status – glorious reviews and many awards for their recordings testifying to their continuing success. At Leipzig’s International Mahler Festival, to mark the centenary of Mahler’s death, they performed his monumental Second Symphony in the Gewandhaus – together with two marvellous soloists and choral forces quite beyond compare. About the final movement the composer said: “The increasing tension, working up to the final climax, is so tremendous that I don’t know myself, now that it is over, how I ever came to write it.” Picture Format Blu-ray: Full HD Sound Formats Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: 95:42 min Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “[Chailly] has turned wiry Gewandhaus strings into muscular proponents; the first real moment of magic is when he gives the cor anglais space to etch the Alpine idyll at the heart of the first movement...Chailly's facial expressions rightly express his sheer sense of visceral enjoyment...And Sarah Connolly's part in the proceedings is surprisingly intense” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 **** “this one is something special. The acoustic of Leipzig's Gewandhaus hall is a star in itself: the offstage horn and trumpet fanfares sound as thrilling as the orchestra's playing, itself near-fabulous from start to finish...[Chailly's] conducting charts a wonderfully sure path through Mahler's epic conception. And in the 'Urlicht' movement Sarah Connolly's singing, like the orchestra's playing, is as moving and beautiful as it's possible to imagine.” Classic FM Magazine, February 2012 ***** “these are red-blooded performances. The Italian conductor has long been a respected Mahlerian, capable of welding the symphonies’ huge structures and quixotic moods into a coherent musical statement...Sarah Connolly deliver[s] a radiant “Urlicht”” Financial Times, 15th October 2011 **** “Chailly's Resurrection is unashamedly mainstream, more straightforward than Bernstein's, sunnier and more muscular than Abbado's, with forthright contributions from harp and percussion...the excellent Sarah Connolly provides a lovely, intimate reading of the 'Urlicht' and there is no lack of tension as the epic finale crashes in...Christane Oelze is outstanding too, at once bright and warm.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is arguably the grandest and most ambitious piece of symphonic music ever written. The composer himself regarded it as his opus summum, and an incredible number of participants at the hugely successful Munich première in 1910 earned it the nickname “Symphony of a Thousand”. At Leipzig’s International Mahler Festival 2011, Riccardo Chailly commanded almost 500 musicians, and the overwhelming result of their joint effort inspired the Leipzig-based and internationally renowned artist Neo Rauch to the painting for the cover of this Blu-ray. Picture Format Blu-ray: Full HD Sound Formats Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo Region Code: 0 (worldwide) Running Time: 92:19 min Disc Format: BD 25 FSK: 0 “these are red-blooded performances. The Italian conductor has long been a respected Mahlerian, capable of welding the symphonies’ huge structures and quixotic moods into a coherent musical statement...They also convey the physical thrill of the “live” experience, with Erika Sunnegardh risking all in the high soprano lines” Financial Times, 15th October 2011 **** “Michael Beyer’s direction on this Accentus DVD is unobtrusive in the best possible way...The clarity and force of the choral sound is remarkable, especially that of the cheerful-looking GewandhausKinderchoir. You’ll reach the end of Part One spiritually transfigured...It’s an overwhelmingly affirmative experience, and Chailly brings out the joy as well as the solemnity.” The Arts Desk, 5th November 2011 “How good to see Riccardo Chailly so radiant at the end of this great event. It's an exhilaration he earns through sheer work as well as injecting the adrenalin at most of the right moments...Chailly holds the attention between movements and makes you realise how many soloists within the orchestra have to sing, too. His leader, the superb Sebastian Breuninger, assists him between blazes...Chailly's rendering leads the field on DVD” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 **** “In exchanging ceremonial pomp and adrenaline-rush for an unforced, unmannered, surprisingly lyrical approach, Chailly unearths a wealth of rarely heard contrapuntal detail and secures a rare unanimity of response. The solo singers and here purely local choral forces are on the same exalted level as his venerable band whose dark transparency and unique, late-Romantic sound are, he believes, perfect for these scores” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Gramophone Magazine