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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Set the Piano Stool on FireA Film by Mark Kidel
This superb documentary chronicles the remarkable master-apprentice relationship between the internationally-acclaimed classical pianist Alfred Brendel and the prodigy Kit Armstrong. Over a period of two years, beginning with Brendel’s retirement from public performance and culminating with Armstrong’s first concert with the world-renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the film observes Brendel imparting his wisdom and experience to his exceptionally gifted student, who begins to discover a new emotional depth to his virtuoso playing. Beguiling, touching and often humorous SET THE PIANO STOOL ON FIRE is a fascinating portrait of the creative process. Aspect ratio 16:9 Dolby Digital 2.0 76 mins. approx. “[Armstrong] is a dream of a subject for a documentary, and director Mark Kidel follows his progress over [two years], focusing mainly on his growing relationship with the great pianist and his family...This film, one hopes, will be fascinating to return to in 20 years' time when Armstrong, whether as pianist or composer or both, has set the world on fire.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011 “An extraordinarily intimate portrait... sweet and touching” The Guardian, 2nd June 2011 “One of the most fascinating films about pianists ever made...the tutorial relationship between Alfred Brendel and Kit Armstrong is fraught with significance.” The Independent, 13th May 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Ludovico Einaudi: Royal Albert Hall Concert 2010Live 2nd March 2010
Ludovico Einaudi’s ‘Nightbook’ tour in 2010 was an unqualified success. Following on the heels of his massive studio album, the lineup included a full string ensemble and some extra instruments too, providing a sensitive backdrop to Ludovico’s entrancing piano style. The crowning height of the tour was the London concert, at the Royal Albert Hall. Here, the full theatricality of presentation could be exploited; the musicians arriving onstage from all compass points, playing in procession, the whole concert captured on DVD. But, theatrical though it may be, the set makes for a delightful listen, available on a double CD set. The 2CD set and the DVD are available separately; the DVD is the only available concert footage of Einaudi on the format. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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Michael Schanze (as The Entertainer), Winfried Hübner, Christoph Gehr & Michael Schlenger Ensemble of the World Theatre Choirs Andechs & Young Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Mast (conductor) & Hellmuth Matiasek (stage director) Stage and costumes: Thomas Pekny Lights: Georg Boeshenz Performed in the Florian Barn of the Andechs Monastery A rascal’s tale, both fascinating and amusing, and presented in Orff’s “rootsy” and powerful Bavarian style. “Astutuli” are the cheeky super-bright people who get taken all too easily by a clever con-man. Nobody wants to be the dumb one; thus, the audience first lose a healthy sense of truth, then they lose their clothes and their purses and eventually all their dignity. “Everything is make-believe!” shouts the entertainer before disappearing with his accomplice and the loot. It’s a rascal’s tale, a story of deception, which is both fascinating and amusing. But behind all that – and unnoticeable until the very end – we find deceit, spoonfeeding and theft. DVD-Video with English subtitles Dolby Digital 5.1, DVD-9 / 105 min. regional code: 0 (PAL, colour), frame size: 16 : 9 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The Bernauer Woman
Christoph Gehr (Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria), Julia Urban ( Agnes Bernauer, Kaspar's daughter), Peter Rappenglück (Kaspar, barber), Fred Maire (Monk), Winfried Hübner & Reinhold Lampe (Burghers of the city of Munich) & Heinz Schmidtpeter (Chancellor of Duke Ernst) Small World Theatre Choir Andechs & Young Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Mast (conductor) & Hellmuth Matiasek (stage director) Stage and costumes: Thomas Pekny Lights: Georg Boeshenz Performed in the Florian Barn of the Andechs Monastery Orff’s Bavarian piece is about the love affair and eventual marriage — which is not befitting their social positions — of Duke Albrecht III and Agnes Bernauer, the beautiful daughter of a barber-surgeon from the city of Augsburg. Albrecht’s father, Duke Ernst, feels that this marriage jeopardises rightful succession and has Agnes declared a witch and drowned in the Danube River. Duke Albrecht III founded the Andechs Monastery in 1455 and is buried in the conventual church where Carl Orff is laid to rest. DVD-Video with English subtitles Dolby Digital 5.1, DVD-9 / 105 min. regional code: 0 (PAL, colour), frame size: 16 : 9 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Stéphanie D’Oustrac (Armide), Paul Agnew (Renaud), Claire Debono (La Gloire, Phénice, Lucinde), Isabelle Druet (La Sagesse, Sidonie, Mélisse), Nathan Berg (Hidraot ), Marc Mauillon (Ubalde Aronte), Marc Callaghan (Artémidore), Andrew Tortise (Le Chevalier Danois), Laurent Naouri (La Haine) & Anders J. Dahlin (Un Amant fortuné) Les Arts Florissants, William Christie Book: Philippe Quinault; direction: Robert Carsen; designer: Gideon Davey; Production: Théâtre des Champs-Elysées October 2008 For any enthusiast of Baroque music, the production of Lully's Armide at the Theatre des Champs Elysées, directed by William Christie and staged by Robert Carsen, was an exceptional event. The last and most successful collaboration between Lully and his librettist Quinault, Armide is the ideal of the genre as desired by Louis XIV: a tragic opera that achieves the perfect fusion of music, song and dance. William Christie leads the orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florissants and a dazzling cast. Stephanie D’Oustrac is the imperious sorceress Armida, overcome by the violence of a forbidden passion. The bewitching choreography is by Jean-Claude Gallotta. NTSC 16.9, Dolby 5.1, All zones Language: Fr, Subtitles: Eng, Spa, Ger, Ita, Fr 3h 18min 18s “Christie and his ensemble...surpass themselves in revivifying this 325-year-old score with imaginative articulation and expressive flair. Gideon Davey's designs are as impressive as Jean-Claude Gallotta's choreography. The cast, too, is remarkable...Not only is the result a comprehensive package supplying an exemplary performance of an unfamiliar Baroque masterpiece, but it vindicates Lully as a great dramatic composer.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 ***** “Something of a problem for present-day directors, it's brilliantly solved here by Robert Carsen...d'Oustrac makes a magnificent Armide, passionate and despairing. Agnew, so experienced in this repertoire, is equally memorable...There's excellent support from Nathan Berg and the other singers...Christie conducts with his customary exuberance: roll on Atys, revived last May at the Opera Comique!” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Carsen's elegant, stylised approach fits Lully like a glove...The opera itself is a beautifully sustained disquisition on the nature of desire, to which Carsen brings exquisite eroticism and a fine understanding of how to blend song, dance, psychological detail and ceremonial spectacle into a convincing whole. Les Arts Florissants plays it ravishingly for William Christie...It's classy, sexy entertainment. Treat yourself.” The Guardian, 8th December 2011  BBC Music Magazine
DVD & Blu-ray Choice - September 2011 |
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| |  | tragedy by Sophocles translated by Friedrich Hölderlin
Katrin Gerstenberger (Antigonae), Anja Vincken (Ismene), Oleksandr Prytolyuk (Choragus), Andreas Daum (Kreon), Markus Durst, Jeffrey Treganza (Guards), Sven Ehrke (Hämon), Mark Adler (Tiresias), Thomas Mehnert (A messenger) & Susanne Serfling (Eurydice) Darmstadt State Theatre Orchestra and Male Chorus, Stefan Blunier (conductor) & John Dew (stage director) Creon, new ruler of Thebes, issues a burial ban for Polyneices, Oedipus’ son. Antigonae disobeys Creon’s orders and buries her brother, so as to abide by the laws of the Gods. Despite the warnings of the citizens and the seer Tiresias, Creon sentences Antigonae to death by walling her in. However, by annihilating Antigonae, Creon also destroys his very own existence: in quick succession, his son, who is engaged to Antigonae, and his spouse commit suicide. German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL 139+10 min | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | tragedy by Sophocles translated by Friedrich Hölderlin
Norbert Schmittberg (Oedipus), Dimitry Ivashchenko (A priest), Andreas Daum (Kreon), Oleksandr Prytolyuk (Choragus), Markus Durst (Choragus), Mark Adler (Tiresias), Yamina Maamar (Iokasta), Stefan Umhey (messenger from Corinth) & Hans-Joachim Porcher (shepherd of Laius) Darmstadt State Theatre Orchestra & Male Chorus, Stefan Blunier (conductor) & John Dew (stage director) According to the Delphic Oracle, Oedipus, ruler of Thebes, can only save his city from doom if he solves the murder of his predecessor Laius. In the course of the investigation, Oedipus himself is accused of regicide and realises that several years earlier, he unwittingly killed Laius, his own father, and married Jocasta, his mother. Thereupon, Oedipus blinds himself. German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL 126+10 min | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 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 DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 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 ***** “Most pianists a quarter of her age would struggle to match her. One can only marvel at the depth of expression, spontaneity, sense of discovery and playfulness she brings to [the Beethoven]...Just when you think everyone is in top gear, the whole ensemble shifts up another notch - and then goes into overdrive. Thrilling stuff.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded 2010
Teddy Tahu-Rhodes (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count), Rachelle Durkin (Countess), Sian Pendry (Cherubino), Warwick Fyfe (Bartolo), Jacqueline Dark (Marcellina), Kanen Breen (Don Basilio) Opera Australia Chorus & Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Patrick Summers Recorded live at the Sydney opera House, this Blu-Ray, DVD and CD performance received the following review: “Stellar cast.....from the first bars of the overture you know you are in for a good time...a spectacular cast on every level....” The Daily Telegraph | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Marie Gautrot (Djamileh), Sébastien Guèze (Haroun) & Armando Noguera (Splendiana) Theatre Imperial de Compiegne, Pierre Jordan Comic Opera in one act, under the direction of Pierre Jordan from the Theatre Imperial de Compiegne. No listed DVD competition | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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