DVD Videos

Live recording from the Prague Spring International Music festival 2011 Documentary – The Most Youthful Prague Spring Opening Recorded live at the opening concert of the 66th Prague Spring International Music Festival at the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, Prague, May 12, 2011 Performing Smetana’s My Country in its entirety is a daunting challenge even for seasoned professional orchestras.

But what about an orchestra of conservatoire students? “It’s audacity, of course, yet artists only grow through challenges. And these young artists must receive a lot of them.” Jiří Bělohlávek’s words perhaps most appositely encapsulate the essence of the ambitious project by means of which the Prague Conservatoire celebrated the bicentenary of its foundation: opening the 2011 Prague Spring festival with My Country.

Bělohlávek first encountered the 130-member student orchestra in Polička at a five-day gathering, at which he shaped their joint performance. The Prague Spring concert proved to be a great triumph.

This DVD bears witness to that which was also highlighted by the critics: the young players’ surprisingly high interpretational level and, above all, exceptional enthusiasm and energy. When listening to the recording, one can – with a certain new hope – recall that in previous centuries Prague could proudly boast of being the “conservatoire of Europe”. The traditional My Country opening concert, as performed by young musicians – sheer audacity that paid off.

Total time: 102:28

Picture PAL 16:9

Language Czech / Subtitles English

The new DVD featuring the violin virtuoso Pavel Šporcl captures one of his two unique open-air concerts at the Smetana Litomyšl festival with the Slovak Roma cimbalom band Romano Stilo that took place in the middle of June 2010 in the castle courtyard.

The concerts were truly extraordinary events for Pavel owing to the unusual repertoire and the special atmosphere both on the stage and among the audience.

While Pavel Šporcl regularly steps out from the domain of classical music to embrace zestfully other genres, Romano Stilo cannot be considered an orthodox cimbalom band either. In addition to Gypsy, Russian, Hungarian and Romanian folk music, they performed compositions by Pablo Sarasate, Johannes Brahms and Aram Khachaturian, as well as the film themes from Schindler’s List and The Fiddler on the Roof, all of them spiced with a soupçon of jazz... Pavel plays a repertoire that seems to be the natural domain of musicians with Gypsy blood with such mastery and abandon that one feels tempted to look into his family tree – and Romano Stilo are a wonderful partner to him. It was a true joy to be there – and this DVD affords you the unique opportunity to savour their splendid performance.

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With over 20,000 attendances, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world.

This year the Berliner Philharmoniker play under the baton of Ion Marin, one of the most exciting conductors on today’s musical scene. They welcome "America's Beautiful Voice", Grammy Award winning soprano Renée Fleming, who has a devoted international following wherever she appears. Her career has been built on success across a wide range of musical styles, but she is best-known for her excellence in opera worldwide.

The device of the evening was “Night of Love”- the most beautiful Opera Arias in combination with atmospheric instrumental pieces.

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

Subtitles: English, German, French

Running time: 130 mins

FSK: 0

Based on the amphitheatre in the ancient Greek city of Epidaurus, and nestled in a natural valley, the Waldbühne theatre seats 22,000 in leafy comfort and remains one of Berlin‘s favourite open air concert venues, with magnificent views of the stage. World class conductors lead the Berlin Philharmonic in evening concerts of popular favourites.

At the Waldbühnen concert in 1994, the Berlin Philharmonic put a programme together under the heading ‚A Night of Dances and Rhapsodies‘, which presented the works of central European composers. The dance and folk pieces of music from the 19th century, which the orchestra performed under the baton of Mariss Jansons, emphasised the different styles and trends from this musically significant era.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, PAL

Running Time: 101 mins

FSK: 0

Region Code: 0

Worldwide available excluding USA/CA, Japan

Here are the greatest moments from the “ultimate in galas” (Opera), a “roof-rattling vocal display and the kind of cheering and free-flowing, heartfelt emotion on both sides of the footlights that opera evinces more than any other art form” - New York Times

The gala celebration immediately catches the attention with spectacular performances by stars such as Dame Joan Sutherland, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Mirella Freni, Marilyn Horne, Birgit Nilsson, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Gedda, Alfredo Kraus and many others

“The world's most famous opera singers [in] a dazzling sequence of performances” - New York Times

“It's always a privilege to sing at the Met, but this is something very special. I don't think there's ever been anything this grand in the history of opera” - Luciano Pavarotti

This product features an awesome roster of international star conducters: from James Levine, Leonard Bernstein and Thomas Fulton to Jeffrey Tate, Richard Bonynge

2 DVDs LIVE from the Met from October 22, 1983

Music by Smetana & Dvorak

In the year of the centenary of the birth of Karel Ancerl, one of the most distinguished conductors of the 20th century, this DVD is an invaluable and authentic document of magnificent artistic achievement and a turbulent life. The recording of the opening concert of Prague Spring 1968 captures Ancerl’s performance of Smetana’s My Country with the Czech Philharmonic which – over the 18 years he was at the helm – he managed to transform into one of the world’s finest symphony orchestras. Ancerl’s “harvest” of the fruit of many years of diligent work was in fact also the beginning of his leave-taking from his orchestra, as well as his homeland itself. At the time of the Soviet-led invasion

of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 the conductor found himself in Toronto. Save for a single guest appearance in Prague in 1969, he was never to return to his country. The second filmed concert shows Ancerl in action in 1966 with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the outstanding Polish violinist Henryk Szeryng performing Beethoven’s violin concerto. The 1968 documentary is a unique encounter with Karel Ancerl. This compact picture of his true personality is supplemented by a comprehensive booklet containing a plethora of fascinating and not generally known biographical information.

“I believe that music and art have their justification only if they try to ennoble man. Without this ethical justification, art is no more than a clever game.” Rafael Kubelik