DVD Videos

This series of TV programmes presents the very best of the 16th Verbier Festival with worldwide renowned artists such as Susan Graham, Martha Argerich, Yuri Temirkanov and Philippe Jaroussky.

Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (Russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов), Russian conductor of Circassian (Kabardian) origin, celebrated his debut with the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (formerly the Leningrad Philharmonic) in early 1967.

Temirkanovs interpretation of Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 is strongly influenced by Russian heritage which the orchestra positively evokes under his direction and expertise.

He is a frequent guest conductor of major orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic or New York Orchestra. Being principal Guest Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre, he has also been appointed as Music Director of the Teatro Regio di Parma in January 2009.

Since 1988 he has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic with whom he regularly undertakes major international tours and recordings.

In 2002, he received the Abbiati Prize for Best Conductor.

In 2003 he was named Conductor of the Year in Italy. In the same year President Vladimir Putin bestowed the President’s Medal on Maestro Temirkanov.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 53 min

FSK: 0

This series of TV programmes presents the very best of the 16th Verbier Festival with worldwide renowned artists such as Susan Graham, Martha Argerich, Yuri Temirkanov, Stephen Kovacevich, and Philippe Jaroussky.

Together with Malcolm Martineau on the piano, the Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham features a fascinating compilation of well-known French composers.

Both have also toured with the program - comprising nearly two dozen songs by as many composers - to great acclaim. The recital Graham and Martineau gave this past summer at the Verbier Festival in French-speaking Switzerland brought down the house.

Being Musical America’s 2004 Vocalist of the year, Graham is well-known as an expert in French melodies. The genre is known as a very tricky one, but she presents the songs with a fascinating jewel-like clarity and gleaming tone. Martineau is the perfect counter-part who adds some finely judged French seasoning.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 60 min

FSK: 0

La bohème remains one of the most popular of all operas with its stark contrasts of lively humour and poignant tragedy. This new production by Jonathan Miller for English National Opera, filmed at the London Coliseum in February 2009, also features a brand new English translation by Amanda Holden. Miller and designer Isabella Bywater have set Puccini’s opera in the Paris of the 1930s, the era of the Depression. Together they have created an un-romanticised view of bohemian life drawing inspiration from the realism and atmosphere caught in the films and sepia-tinted photos of the period. The young British tenor Alfie Boe takes the role of the struggling poet Rodolfo and US soprano Melody Moore is his tragic lover Mimí. They are joined by US soprano Hanan Alattar as Musetta, Roland Wood as Marcello, Pauls Putninš as Colline, and David Stout as Schaunard.

Peruvian conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya is the conductor, making his ENO debut with this passionate and unforgettable score.

“...Miller...observes human behaviour in ways that can be immensely telling” INDEPENDENT

“Miguel Harth-Bedoya draws a superb account of the score from the ENO orchestra: passionate yet supple, evoking the crackle of fire in the garret one minute and the stirrings of love the next” EVENING STANDARD

“Alfie Boe's slightly earnest, boyish charm was through and through honest, from start to tragic finish.....the intensity and truthfulness he communicates is irresistible” INDEPENDENT

“..Amanda Holden’s fresh, skilled new translation…” OBSERVER

Approx Duration: 120 mins

Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Colour

Region Code: All regions

Audio:

L-PCM Stereo & Dolby Digital 5.1

Surround

Subtitles:

English (also sung in English)

Melodramma in Four Acts

Libretto by Marco D’Arienzo.

First performed at the Teatro Regio, Turin, on 5 March 1876, Lauro Rossi’s penultimate opera Cleopatra caught the public’s attention in the wake of Verdi’s Aïda (1871).

Like that better-known work, it contains some wonderful arias and set pieces, including a marvellous Act 1 banquet scene, Cleopatra’s Act 2 aria, the thrilling ensemble that closes Act 3, and the confrontation between Cleopatra and Octavian in Act 4, all making for compelling viewing and listening.

From the brooding opening scene in which Diomedes foretells the fall of Egypt to Cleopatra’s death scene, this gripping grand opera by one of Italy’s forgotten masters springs vividly to life in this revival filmed at the 2008 Macerata Sferisterio Festival.

Total Running Time: 114:56

NTSC: No Region Coding

Aspect Ratio: 16:9

Dual Layer Disc

Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Dolby Surround 5.0

Worldwide Available

One of the most promising young violinist, Valery Sokolov, and one of the most prestigious chamber orchestras, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, play under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy at the Cité de la musique in Paris.

This concert captures Sokolov’s collaboration with Vladimir Ashkenazy, an established conductor who himself has been a major soloist for the past half-century, in one of the most demanding pieces of the violin repertoire: Sibelius’ violin concerto.

The producer Bruno Monsaingeon has followed and documented the career of Valery Sokolov since 4 years from the beginning of his career. This film shows a quite intimate view on Sokolov playing Sibelius` Violin Concerto.

This 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.

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.

Bonus: full concert programme including both Chopin Concertos with Garrick Ohlsson and the Warsaw Philharmonic under the baton of Antoni Wit.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD Documentary: PCM Stereo

Sounds formats DVD Concert: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Original Language: English

Subtitle Languages: English, Français, Deutsch, Polski, Japanese

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: DVD 1: 53 min (documentary, DVD2: 82 min (performance)

FSK: 0

Subtitles: English, French, Italian, Spanish

This programme captures the musical encounter between one of the most talented conductors of his generation with arguably the best chamber orchestra musicians. They are joined by worldwide renowned pianist Hélène Grimaud in a programme featuring Strauss and Ravel, a perfect combination of familiar repertoire and works that deserve to be discovered.

Vladimir Jurowski surprises the listener by a fresh style and approach. In combination with the charming and incisive Grimaud, he invites us to drift away with this extraordinary performance. Both artists are very thoughtful about the music they make and create a pure enjoyment for ear and eye.

The award-winning Hélène Grimaud presents a lively rendition of Ravel’s concerto. Together with the orchestra lyricism and sonorous harmonies are expertly teased out.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 81 min

FSK: 0

Charisma X presents the visionary work and ideas of Greek composer and architect Iannis Xenakis, structured around musical performances, interviews and testimonies from Xenakis’ collaborators and those with a deep understanding of his work.

Xenakis appears in rare historical footage…talking about his multimedia electronic work La Legende d’eer, with film of the performance and the Diatope in front of the Pompidou Centre; he demonstrates the UPIC, the computer which he designed that allows music to be drawn on a computer screen; speaking about his opera Oresteïa and various Greek legends which influenced his work.

It explores the relationship between his music and architecture, including working for Le Corbusier. His architectural achievements of the Philips Pavilion at Expo 58, the convent of La Tourette, his home in Corsica, and the houses he designed for his daughter Mâkhi and composer Mâche are shown.

The film also includes an interview with an eyewitness to Xenakis’ devastating injury which he suffered as a Resistance fighter in Athens (1945), which has affected his life and work.

Directed by: Efi Xirou; Produced by: Gina Petropoulou with Vox-documentaries, Greek Film Centre, ERT

With commentary from: Georges Aperghis, François-Bernard Mâche, Gerard Pape, Curtis Roads, George Koumentakis; and featuring Françoise Xenakis (author & Xenakis’ wife), Makis Solomos, Sharon Kanach, Mâkhi Xenakis...

16:9 widescreen, Region 0 (playable all regions), NTSC

Greek, French & English, with Subtitles: English, French,

German, Greek

62 minutes

This is the first ever DVD release of RAI’s made-for-television production of Adriana Lecouvreur. Marcella Pobbe in the title role is mesmerizing from the instant she appears on screen. This telecast was made in 1955, only three years after the composer’s death.

NTSC (Black & white)

REGION: 0

SUBTITLES: No