DVD Videos

Ahead of next year’s Britten centenary, Tony Palmer’s 1967 classic film is made available again. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the Aldeburgh Festival, cofounded by Benjamin Britten along with singer Peter Pears and writer Eric Crozier, and the opening by The Queen of the new concert hall at Snape.

Sean Day-Lewis of The Daily Telegraph raved, "A superb film (which) may well achieve the status of a classic, repeated again and again over the years... the brilliant editing (was) of the highest quality, making a natural partnership of music and picture."

DVD specifications:

Region: 0 (All Regions)

Rating: E (Exempt from Certification)

Duration: 53 mins

Picture Format: NTSC (all regions)

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is a cultural ambassador for Israel, and is regarded as one of the best orchestras in the world.

Recorded in the Mann Auditorium, Tel Aviv in March 2010, this concert sees the Israel Philharmonic conducted in this all-Beethoven programme by the eminent conductor and violinist Itzhak Perlman.

After the Egmont Overture, Perlman and the orchestra are joined by the Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey Trio for the beautiful ‘Triple’ Concerto. The programme concludes with the rousing and evocative ‘Pastoral’ Symphony.

Part of the EuroArts Israel Philharmonic Anniversary Campaign with two more must have releases:

- 75 years anniversary concert & documentary “Coming Home” (Cat. No. DVD 2059098 + Cat. No. BD 2059094)

- Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Anniversary Edition - 5 DVDs Box Set including Classic Archive: Arthur Rubinstein plays Chopin / Rubinstein in conversation with Bernard Levin (Cat. No. 3079638), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 70th-Anniversary Concert (Cat. No. 2055878), Bernstein Conducts Brahms (Cat. No. 2072048) + New Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 60th-Anniversary, Concert, 1996 & Joint Concert Israel Philharmonic Orchestra / Berliner Philharmoniker in Tel Aviv, 1990.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sound formats DVD: PCM Stereo

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 99 mins

This could well be the most ambitious recording of any Mahler symphony ever and a once-in-a-generation classical event and an unforgettable night for the city of Caracas.

This truly unique account of Mahler’s most extraordinary symphony is part of Gustavo Dudamel's planned Mahler cycle, this time featuring BOTH orchestras with which he is most closely associated - the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, who have both played acclaimed Mahler concerts with Maestro Dudamel in the US and in Venezuela. The performance also features an immense vocal force including a massed choir of young Venezuelan voices and a line-up of international soloists.

The performance was seen in hundreds of theaters in the United States and Canada, as well as those in Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. In Venezuela, it aired on the state television channel, Tves, to mass audiences.

This special DVD and Blu-Ray will be released to coincide with the Opening Concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra season in September 2012.

Extra Material: 17 minutes documentary on the DVD and Blu-Ray which gives a unique insight into this world-beating Mahler recording.

A unique synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring cycle. Arranged by Lorin Maazel, the work was designed to be free flowing (no breaks) and chronological, beginning with the first note of Rheingold and finishing with the last chord of Goetterdaemmerung. All the music is Wagner's, and even the transitional material is drawn from the original scores. To convey the breadth and scope of the entire work, Maazel also excerpted material from each opera in proportion to the whole cycle. The result is a 75-minute symphonic journey through Wagner's four great operas.

Consisting of four monumental operas, Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung was one of the most ambitious musical projects ever composed, and has been successful in every respect. With its huge orchestras, sprawling mythological plot, and intense musical drama, the Ring changed the world of music. Orchestrally, they are probably the most complex operas in history, and only the most intrepid of orchestras are up to the challenge.

One of the world's greatest ensembles, the Berlin Philharmonic, has built an unparalleled reputation in the music of Wagner and his contemporaries. This synthesis by conductor Lorin Maazel includes all the standard Ring orchestral excerpts such as Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried's Rhine Journey, as well as most of the leitmotifs known to exist in the score. The result is a unique and innovative symphonic suite (played without interruption) performed by one of the world's most esteemed orchestras.

Including the EuroArts & Idéale Audience Catalogue - this catalogue brings together two prestigious audio-visual production companies: EuroArts in Germany and Idéale Audience in France, including all new releases from 2012 and all available DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.

Picture format: NTSC - 16:9

Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: All

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Bonus-Original Language: English

Bonus-Subtitles: German, French, Japanese

Running time: 88 mins (83 mins-Performance + ca. 5 mins-Bonus)

The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra - a cultural icon of Israel and one of the greatest classical ensembles in the world - celebrated its 75th Birthday on December 26th, 2011 together with three outstanding soloists of the younger generation – Julian Rachlin, Evgeny Kissin and Vadim Repin. The concert took place in the spectacular Hangar 11 at the harbor in Tel Aviv. Zubin Mehta conducted a spectacular programme of Saint-Saëns, Bach, Chopin, Chausson and Beethoven.

The film ‘Coming Home’ by János Darvas portrays the orchestra and tells of its moving history, which is both a reflection of the history of Israel and the fate of the Jews in the 20th Century. With texts from memoirs, with material from radio interviews, home movies and photos from the orchestra’s archives, as well as from private collections, the film will not only tells the story of the orchestra, but draws parallels to the fates of many individuals. Historical footage brings the 75-year history of the orchestra to life in concerts with Arturo Toscanini, Arthur Rubinstein, Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim and Itzhak Perlman. Interviews with orchestra members from the early years weave through talks with musicians that joined later, and with current orchestra members. Moreover, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman and Pinkas Zukerman have their say. We also get the opportunity to watch the Israel Philharmonic in rehearsals, concerts and tours.

Part of the EuroArts Israel Philharmonic Anniversary Campaign with two more must have releases:

- 75 years anniversary concert & documentary “Coming Home” (Cat. No. DVD 2059098 + Cat. No. BD 2059094)

- Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Anniversary Edition - 5 DVDs Box Set incl. Classic Archive: Arthur Rubinstein plays Chopin (Cat. No. 3079638), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 70th-Anniversary Concert (Cat. No. 2055878), Bernstein conducts Brahms (Cat. No. 2072048) + New Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: 60th-Anniversary, Concert, 1996 & Joint Concert, 1990.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

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

Region code: 0

Subtitles: English

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 148 mins (95 mins Concert + 53 mins Documentary)

‘The point of Britten’s conducting was never how he looked when doing it; instead it was about the sheer musicality he brought to the task…’

(Paul Kildea). The revelatory films presented on this DVD feature Britten with his favoured English Chamber Orchestra performing at two very different times of his life, with equal value.

Filmed at Christmas 1964, the main programme of Mozart’s Symphony No.40 and Britten’s own Nocturne shows a man in his prime. The Mozart was a particular favourite of Britten’s and his admiration for it certainly comes across in the performance. This DVD release is a major addition to his discography as the symphony was previously only available on LP.

The footage is modern in its approach and captures Britten close-up in a way that had not been seen before.

In the Nocturne, we see and hear Peter Pears in fresh voice, performing one of many pieces that were written for him, and which Britten and Pears had recorded four years previously. With this DVD we are able to see the closeness between composer and performer. An original review of the piece in Gramophone comments:

‘I cannot think of any settings of English words more imaginative than these of Britten’s.’

The bonus is a colour film from mid-1970, with Britten at home in Snape Maltings for a gala re-opening of the concert hall, performing Mendelssohn’s ‘Scottish’ Symphony. The physical difference is clear to see, though all his trademarks are still in evidence and the quality of the music remains undiminished. It is of particular interest as it is the only known recording of this work with Britten.

This is the first release of this material on DVD.

Sound format: Enhanced Mono

DVD format: NTSC

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 67’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

In 2011 the Berliner Philharmoniker and their musical director Sir Simon Rattle welcomed in the New Year with a gala concert programmed with ‘Dances & Dreams’.

Spinetingling and inspiring performances of music by Dvořák, Ravel, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky and Brahms are complemented by the extraordinary talent of the multi-awarded Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin. Kissin’s musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today’s pianists, and his passionate performance of the renowned Piano Concerto in A minor by Edvard Grieg is mesmerizing.

Kissin's musicality, the depth and poetic quality of his interpretations, and his extraordinary virtuosity have placed him at the forefront of today's pianists.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, DTS 5.0

Region code: All (worldwide)

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 89 mins

‘Luckily for all of us, it wasn’t enough for Leonard Bernstein to compose music and conduct orchestras. He felt equally compelled to talk about music – to try and explain what made it tick, what made it good, and what made it affect us in all the ways that music does. The other piece of good luck was that Leonard Bernstein and television came along at the same time. They were born for each other.’ (Jamie Bernstein)

The films on this DVD are taken from the ‘Symphonic Twilight’ series of TV programmes made in the mid-Sixties that were the brainchild of Humphrey Burton, then the newly appointed Head of Music and Arts Programmes for the BBC.

In his booklet notes for this DVD, Burton reveals himself to have been instrumental in bringing Bernstein the conductor to the wider British public, who knew him foremost as the composer of West Side Story. In 1965 Burton persuaded Bernstein to conduct the LSO at the Royal Albert Hall and the resulting Mahler 8 was a spectacular occasion, broadcast to the nation.

The following year, they put together these programmes, filmed specifically for the new television audience. The works Bernstein chose to record are twentieth-century orchestral masterpieces, for which he is known to be a champion. His recordings of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony for CBS Records and Deutsche Grammophon were acclaimed by critics worldwide, and his interpretation of The Rite of Spring in 1959 elicited an enthusiastic ‘Wow!’ from Stravinsky himself! They are accompanied on this DVD by an in-depth interview, given here as a bonus and subtitled in French and German.

Sound format: Enhanced Mono

DVD format: NTSC

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 83’

Subtitles: F/G

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None