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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Lux AeternaClaudio Abbado in Rehearsal
A film by Norbert Beilharz This Documentary shows Claudio Abbado as he is rehearsing Giuseppe Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with world-famous singers Montserrat Caballé, Cecilia Gasdia, Lucia Valentini-Terrani, Peter Dvorsky, Chris Merritt , Samuel Ramey and the Choir and Orchestra of the Scala di Milano. It documents rehearsals in at three different locations: the church of San Marco in Milan, the main stage at Teatro alla Scala and in one of the rehearsal rooms of the opera house, recorded in 1985. An opportunity to see and directly compare the performances of the well acclaimed sopranos Montserrat Caballé and Cecilia Gasdia and the tenors Peter Dvorsky and Chris Merritt. Director Norbert Beilharz is a worldwide renowned specialist for classical music documentaries. DVD release comes right in time for the 80th Anniversary Celebrations of Claudio Abbado in June 2013 and will be accompanied by two further EuroArts June releases: Claudio Abbado Anniversary Box (Item. No.: 2059588 and the Abbado Beethoven Box (Item No.: 2057374) Special Packaging: Digipak with hotfoil embossing + Sticker 8Oth Anniversary Edition Picture format DVD: NTSC 4:3 Sound format DVD: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Booklet notes: English, French, German Running time: 119 mins | 
| | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
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| |  | Rachel Podger at the Three Choirs Festival
Rachel Podger (violin/tutor); students: Colin Scobie, Violeta Barrena (violin); George Clifford (baroque violin); Hetti Price, Vladimir Waltham (baroque cello) All regions; running time 2 hours and 39 minutes “Podger is utterly undogmatic, preferring instead to see all instruments as tools at the service of any musician's primary focus: the music itself...The freedom in her own playing, it soon transpires, is built on an understanding of Bach's harmonic thinking...the spontaneity that informs Podger's every phrase ultimately derives from discipline” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | A ritualisation by Peter Sellars
Recorded live at the Philharmonie Berlin on 11th April 2010 It is no surprise that Sir Simon would one day tackle this most comprehensive of Bach’s compositions in view of his much applauded interpretation of the St. John Passion in 2006. The Berliner Morgenpost wrote at the time: “A performance of this musical calibre renders superfluous all questions about authenticity and historical performance practice. At the Philharmonie Sir Simon Rattle and his orchestra performed the St. John Passion [...] with highly concentrated and flawless beauty devoid of any distorting indulgence.” German daily Die Welt hailed this performance of the St. Matthew Passion as “Simon Rattle’s Easter miracle,” and The Guardian in the UK wrote: “I challenge you not to be an emotional wreck by the end of it: the singers, especially Mark Padmore as the Evangelist, give the performance of their lives; Sellars sensitively connects the Passion story with the performances and the audience, without distorting Bach’s drama; and Rattle and his players are collectively raised to spooky, spiritual levels of inspiration.” Both the double-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions contain booklets with introductory texts, biographies and photos. Bonus footage includes a conversation between Peter Sellars and Simon Halsey, conductor of the Rundfunkchor Berlin. Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese Running time: 195 mins (concert); 51 mins (bonus feature) Picture format: NTSC Audio formats: PCM Stereo Dolby Digital 5.1 DTS 5.1 Please Note: JAPAN - Due to contractual reasons I'm afraid we are not allowed to sell this product to customers in Japan. “The long rehearsal period, the expertise of everyone involved and the authority of the solo singers: all this quickly becomes evident...All the soloists embody their roles to an engrossing degree of identification...this is a defiantly modern performance, one that exults in disturbance and the irony that arises from a deeply intimate staging within the round of the Berlin Philharmonie: appropriate in terms of architectural politics but jarringly opulent and public.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012 “Some of Sellars's gestures...are searing, and the rapt attention of the audience leaps out of the screen...Padmore is a great Evangelist and this must be his greatest performance of the role...while the symbiosis entwining vocal and instrumental soloists leavens Simon Rattle's compelling musical direction. Ultimately, a St Matthew Passion even greater than the sum of its parts - and they were already pretty awesome to being with!” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ***** “It sounded like a risky undertaking...but the resulting “ritualization” of Bach’s oratorio, captured on DVD, is most riveting and moving. Mr. Sellars has the choirs and orchestras facing each other in the round, turning the Passion into a soul-searching dialogue between individual and society, man and God. Instrumentalists and singers, too, enter into communion with one another” New York Times, 23rd November 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Sylvie Guillem At Work & PortraitFilms by André S. Labarthe & Nigel Wattis
AT WORK Sylvie Guillem joined the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera when she was just fifteen and earned the distinction of Prima Ballerina within a mere four years. At the age of nineteen, she became an étoile in Nureyev‘s “Swan Lake”. It shows her dedication to perfection, but also reveals that her meteoric rise to the pinnacle of her profession has left her refreshingly unspoilt. This film shows the prima ballerina in her daily round of classes, rehearsals and performances, revealing her dedication to perfection. Guillem’s preparation for Nureyev’s “Raymonda”, her first performances in Rudi van Dantzig’s “Four Last Songs” and William Forsythe’s “In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated”, and her appearance at a gala, dancing Béjart’s “La Luna”, are all recorded for posterity in this film. PORTRAIT Sylvie Guillem is a dance superstar whose breathtaking technique ranks her beside the likes of Nureyev and Baryshnikov. She rarely agrees to interviews but co-operated fully with director Nigel Wattis for this profile. The programme centres on film of Guillem rehearsing and performing a range of pieces, both contemporary and classical, which display her astonishing virtuosity. Guillem talks about her work with some of the world’s most interesting and acclaimed choreographers. Her sharp intelligence and intimate knowledge of their work, as well as her insights into the world of dance, are fascinating and informative. Maurice Béjart, Mats Ek, Anthony Dowell and critics John Percival and Clement Crisp are among the contributors who discuss Ms Guillem’s remarkable talent, career and personality. “On stage, she is spectacular: as powerfully sensual as she is graceful and vulnerable. To dance like Guillem takes more than long legs and flawless technique. She is an artist who brings her own interpretation to a choreographer’s work.” The Independent | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Celibidache conducts Prokofiev and Dvorak
Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) has been called a musical giant, a magician, a brilliant lion-tamer and an enfant terrible of classical music. He was a legend in his own lifetime, mesmerizing orchestras audiences and critics with his intensity and brilliance. Celibidache himself claimed that not a single French conductor was capable of conducting French music - a bold statement that makes this recording even more interesting. This DVD shows most of what made Celibidache a legend in his own lifetime and offers todays viewer to participate in the musical wonders he produced. This is a new release of the series of Metropolitan Munich programmes. Picture format DVD: NTSC 4:3 Sound formats DVD: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 Original language: German Subtitles: English, German, French Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 114 mins German FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Leonard Bernstein conducts ShostakovichRecorded live Concert: live recording from the Royal Festival Hall, London, 9 June 1968
Lovingly restored, using the finest state-of-the-art technology, classic archive features great performances from legendary artists, offering a unique historical glimpse into our classical heritage. Sourced from the BBC Archive. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony is given an electrifying reading by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the great Leonard Bernstein. His innate musicality and commanding presence is complemented by his unbounded energy, embracing the majestic properties of this great work. As a bonus, this DVD offers an enthralling glimpse of Bernstein in rehearsal with the orchestra. Picture format DVD: NTSC 4:3 Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo Region code: 0 Original Languages: English Subtitles: English, German, French Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 91 mins (40 mins performance, 51 mins interview) German FSK: 0 “Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in a searing rendering from the LSO and Bernstein, but marred by variable sound in this 1966 broadcast.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Sir Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti (1912–1997) had been the Music Director of the Opera House, Covent Garden for two years by the time this performance the overture to Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer was filmed. His reputation for recording Wagner was becoming established, having achieved great success with the first complete recording of Das Rheingold in 1958 for Decca. This studio recording comes just two weeks after he performed orchestral extracts from Götterdämmerung and Tristan und Isolde at the Proms with the ROH Orchestra, a recording released on BBC Legends to great acclaim. Solti’s studio recordings of Richard Strauss operas were groundbreaking, achieving him a great reputation as a Strauss conductor with high levels of expressiveness, drama and precision. This performance of Beethoven 5 was filmed during his tenure as Chief Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and was the work that reputedly led Solti to decide to become a conductor on hearing a recording with Erich Kleiber. It is clear from this thrilling performance that his sense of drama did not diminish with age. This DVD benefits from fascinating bonus rehearsal footage of Don Juan and an interview with John Culshaw in which Solti talks about performing the music of Strauss. Solti’s Complete Wagner Edition on Decca is a Penguin Guide first recommendation. This is the first DVD release. Sound format: Enhanced Mono Picture format: 4:3 Running time: 78’ Subtitles: F/G Menu languages: English Booklet languages: E/F/G Region code: 0 Territory Restrictions: None | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Celibidache Rehearses Bruckner’s NinthA Jan Schmidt-Garre Film
For a full sixty minutes Celibidache rehearses Bruckner’s Ninth – a key work for the composer, who did not complete any more compositions after he finished the Adagio. It is also a key work for Celibidache, who towards the end of his life frequently returned to working on Bruckner’s late symphonies, performing them in guest appearances all over the world with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. In no other documentary film about Celibidache does one experience with such immediacy the moment of music being created. “I breathe with you, and that is the secret of phrasing: where you breathe and how you breathe.” “We always think that there’s an interpretation. An interpretation of what? How can you interpret a landscape? If you have to go from Plön to Eutin, are there interpretations? Or do you have to come up with the lakes, the forests, the pathways and so on? You can’t interpret them. You can experience them – and that’s the difference!” Sergiu Celibidache Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 5, NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE, GB, FR, ES, IT, JP Running Time: 60 mins FSK: 0 “The first five minutes are uncomfortable. After that, with Celibidache virtually the camera's sole focus as he rehearses the Adagio of Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, this film is hard to resist.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2011 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Karajan and Menuhin
Director Henry-Georges Clouzot The first Karajan Blu-ray ever! Karajan is the classical music star! Karajan/Menuhin first time on DVD and Blu-ray (no CD recording exists too) Filmed in 1966 on 35 mm by film director H.–G. Clouzot, the creator of classic "films noirs" such as "Quai des Orfèvres" and "Wages of Fear" Mozart violin concerto and Dvorák Symphony No. 9 are very popular works. Total: 107 minutes Violin Concerto 29´ Symphony 40´ 24 minutes rehearsal Mozart violin concerto No. 5 15 minutes rehearsal Dvorák Symphony No. 9 Booklet English, German, French “an electrifying performance by a rejuvenated Berlin Philharmonic at the peak of its powers; it is also a visually stunning record of a masterclass in virtuoso conducting...[The bonus-feature] is a high-speed, high-octane conversation...with a fascinating array of musical, historical and wider cultural references thrown in by both parties.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Karl Böhm - In Rehearsal & Performance 3Recorded at the Vienna Musikverein
The paternalistically strict maestro from Graz, one of the leading conductors of the 20th century, was respected and feared by his musicians as an uncompromising but expert orchestral trainer and an unassailable authority of the first order.This historical documentary grants us an insight into Böhm's ear for detail in rehearsing Schubert's "Great" C major Symphony, while also allowing us to experience the fascinating result of his work in the rehearsal room in the form of the ensuing concert. "Whatever the explanation, it is clear that Böhm maintained the ability to make an orchestra responsive both to the most minute inflections of his baton and to the playing of their colleagues." The Guardian DVD: 4:3 b/w DVD: PCM Stereo, Mono Original language: German Subtitles: German, English, French Booklet Notes: German, English, French Running time: 120 minutes “his insights in the rehesarsal sequence are deeply absorbing” BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 **** “…Colpi does exactly what Clouzot and Karajan agree is the point of a music film… to place "the spectator in a privileged position whilst you tell him your story" (Clouzot) and to give him "an added sense of the greatness of the music we are playing"… unlike many rehearsal films, the conductor and his men appear at ease while they are observed. ...the rehearsal reveals some hows, and a few whys, to the performance that follows: vibrant, unfussy, lacking the richness and refinement of Böhm's DG recording in Berlin but gaining some careless Viennese rapture in the process.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013