DVD Videos

Gennadi Rozhdestvensky was the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 1978 – 1981. The three performances on this disc are taken from two concerts during the

1981 Proms season and represent him at the highest point of his relationship with the orchestra.

One of the premier conductors of Russian music, Rozhdestvensky is well known for his interpretations of (and love for) ballet scores, having first conducted the Nutracker at the Bolshoi aged 20.

In this complete performance of The Nutcracker’s second act, Rozhdestvensky’s deep understanding of the music and affinity for it are evident.

The 1979 recording of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty with the BBCSO on BBC Legends was a Penguin Rosette winner – Rozhdestvensky is described as giving caring and sensitive direction, loving attention to detail, narrative drama and having light rhythmic touch and delicacy of feeling. He remains even today, one of the great interpreters of Russian music.

This is the first DVD release.

1DVD

Sound format: LPCM stereo/enhanced mono

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 64’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

Zubin Mehta, born in Bombay in 1936, is one of the greatest conductors on the rostrum. ‚I have been conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker longer than many of its musicians have been members. I began in 1961 and since then have not missed a single season. During all those years I have been able to observe continually that the Berliner Philharmoniker sets standards for outstanding orchestral achievements.‘

The theme of his ‚St. Petersburg Night‘ at the Berlin Waldbühne is, of course, Russian music. The centrepiece is one of Tchaikovsky‘s most frequently played and effective compositions: his Piano Concerto No. 1 in B fl at minor. This work has spread the fame of Russian music all over the world. Its memorable melodies and original rhythms never fail to captivate audiences.

Daniel Barenboim, was the soloist for the Tchaikovsky concerto in Zubin Mehta‘s music night. With this combination of master conductor, master pianist and leading orchestra, success was, of course, assured. The twenty thousand people in the audience at the Berlin Waldbühne, sold out weeks beforehand, expressed their thanks with tumultuous applause.

The other works in the programme were also enthusiastically received, in particular the familiar sounds of Tchaikovsky‘s ‚Swan Lake‘ and Rimsky-Korsakov‘s orchestral scherzo ‚The Flight of the Bumblebee‘ from his opera ‚The Legend of Tsar Saltan‘, which was played with astounding virtuosity.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, PAL

Running Time: 97 mins

FSK: 0

Paul Czinner’s acclaimed 1956 filming of the Bolshoi Ballet’s first-ever tour of Great Britain, which preserves two complete programs: a Bolshoi Highlights Program featuring Raissa Struchkova in the Walpurgisnacht from Gounod’s Faust, and Galina Ulanova in The Dying Swan and a thrilling performance of Giselle with Ulanova and Nikolai Fadeyechev

Also included in the Highlights Program is the celebrated Spring Water ballet, set to music by Rachmaninoff and danced with dazzling virtuosity by the outstanding members of the Bolshoi troupe

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are under the direction of Gennadi Rozhdestvensky and Yuri Faier

In Dance Magazine, critic Clive Barnes eulogized the artistry documented here: “Everything the Russian critics have written about her is true. The impeccable technique, the expressive body, the intellect, the informed face; yet Ulanova has something criticism could never define, something you might look for in Shakespeare’s sonnets.”

“The greatest performance by an interpretive artist within my experience” – Clive Barnes, Dance Magazine (1998) [on Ulanova’s Giselle as seen documented here]

In 5.1 DTS Surround Sound

First time on DVD

"The Philadelphia sound – c’est moi!” Eugene Ormandy

The music of Spain held an exotic attraction for composers from other lands. The Russians Glinka and Rimsky Korsakov found inspiration here, as did the French composers Lalo, Massenet and Ravel, who claimed Basque descent on his mother's side, and Bizet, whose opera Carmen is imbued with the spirit of the country. Spain provided Verdi with a narrative source, and another Italian, the demon violinist Paganini, was equally a master of the quintessential Spanish instrument, the guitar.