DVD Videos

This is the first-ever concert DVD of Hélène Grimaud capturing her appearance with Claudio Abbado in a fascinating all-Russian concert programme recorded at Lucerne Festival in 2008. Claudio Abbado has invited Hélène for a variety of programmes since they first performed together in the early 90s and this is the first document of their collaboration, about which the Neue Züricher Zeitung wrote: “Grimaud played with naturalness and chamber-musical spirit….a phenomenal orchestra inspired by its charismatic conductor.”

The repertoire of the DVD throws light on various facets of Russian life and music. Two works – Tchaikovsky’s symphonic fantasia inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Stravinsky’s concert suite from the fairytale ballet The Firebird – depict the dramatic struggle between the forces of good and evil and the ultimate triumph of the former. And Hélène Grimaud is the soloist in a performance of one of the beloved classics of the late Romantic repertoire, Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. For Hélène Grimaud, to perform the concerto with Claudio Abbado was “a dream”.

This DVD features behind-the-scenes material shows Hélène Grimaud in conversation and in rehearsal.

Co-Director C. P. Von Maldeghem, Set Design by Stefan Mayer & Costume Design by Moidele Bickel.

Giuseppe Verdi’s 1857 opera, “Simon Boccanegra”, about the Genoese doge who in the 14th century strove for settlement and peace – an allegory for Italy’s modern battle for freedom -was unsuccessful. It was not until 24 years later that he was able to produce a new version together with his librettist, Arrigo Boito, who made the plot more appealing to the audience. But it is primarily in the music that Verdi now dares to pursue new avenues which although had already been established, are now to be consistently followed: arias and recitatives are replaced by a style of declamation that pervades the entire work. The orchestra too is ennobled from an accompanying ensemble to a commentarial one. In the production of the second version by Peter Stein, one of the biggest theatre directors of the 20th century, the production becomes a rediscovery of this opera. Claudio Abbado competently conducts the soloists and the choir and orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and yields an extraordinary sound.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 16:9

Running Time: 143 mins

FSK: 0

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES, IT, CN

Region Code: 0

NTSC 16:9, PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region Code: 0, FSK: all audiences

Original Language: D

Subtitles: Deutsch, English, Français

Running Time: 113 mins

What makes Abbado's Mahler performances so remarkable is that their impact is never achieved at the expense of the multiple sensitivities, subtleties and extreme sophistication. Together with one of the world's leading youth orchestras - the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester - Abbado performs Mahler's Fourth Symphony and Schoenberg's Pelleas und Melisande, the latter being preceded by an introduction that offers fascinating insights into this unparalleled composition. Introduction to Pelleas und Melisande by Alberica Archinto and Elli Stern.

This was the first ever live TV broadcast from the Carinthian Summer Festival, filmed at the famous Abbey Church at Ossiach. But for the music lover, the concert is more than worth treasuring for musical reasons, featuring, as it does, the young Claudio Abbado conducting a performance of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with two of Italy's leading singers. The rest of the programme comprises two magnificent examples of Vivaldi's 'concerti con titoli.

"The most respected living conductor" The New York Times

“Abbado’s account brings greater intensity and ardour to this piece than any rival” Penguin Guide***

Claudio Abbado conducting ‘his’ Lucerne Festival Orchestra, an exclusive ensemble of handpicked musical stars, with the bonus of exceptional soloists. The line-up of the band includes such luminaries as Ilya Gringolts and Sabine and Wolfgang Meyer, alongside members of the world's great orchestras. The cello section alone boasts Natalia Gutman, Clemens Hagen and Valentin Erben. Every recording of Abbado is an event and his best-selling recordings with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra have set new standards in the interpretation of Gustav Mahler as we approach the centenaries of his birth and death. His Mahler 3 is a best-seller and this Symphony, No. 2, is his personal favourite. "It's different having best friends together. Everyone is there to enjoy making music, to take pleasure, to play with enthusiasm, with passion. They are prepared to do any crazy thing I ask them for the sake of the music. To fly, to walk through fire." Claudio Abbado

A four DVD Box, an attractive Christmas offer, brings famous masterpieces to the viewer in the form of firstclass concert performances by all-star casts and a highly informative documentary where musical examples are introduced by experts helping to understand the work's structure.The bonus films also trace locations relevant to the composition, allowing the viewer to embark on a journey back to the time and place in which the work was written. …interpreted by an all-star cast:

"Mr. Shaham and indeed Brahms could do no wrong. The violinist is a virtuoso and a player of deeply intense sincerity." The New York Times

"Mr. Abbado… is one of a few international conductors at the height of the profession…" The New York Times

"One of the last old-style maestros" The Guardian [on Kurt Masur]

"It's the Schumann concerto, most of all, that audience members will be unable to forget." The New York Times [Martha Argerich]

An all star ensemble of early and baroque music specialists masters the delicate beauty of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos: the alternating solo and ensemble parts all shine with musical excellence, the communication between the musicians is outstanding, the structure of the music is always clear and intuitively understood.

The orchestra features outstanding artists such as Giuliano Carmignola, Michala Petri, Alois Posch, Reinhold Friedrich and Ottavio Dantone.

It was formed by Claudio Abbado and his choices speak for themselves: Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart achieve a rare homogeneity of sound.

"When Claudio Abbado, recently described by the New York Times as 'the most respected living conductor', teams up with the renowned period-instrument violinist Giuliano Carmignola, the result promises to be very special." Classic FM

“Teamed up here with his recently-formed young Italian ensemble, Orchestra Mozart, and his former protégé, skilled period-violin specialist Giuliano Carmignola, Abbado makes this familiar music appear fresh and vital, as if you’re hearing it for the first time.” Classical Source

"It’s different having best friends together. Everyone is there to enjoy making music, to take pleasure, to play with enthusiasm, with passion. They are prepared to do any crazy thing I ask them for the sake of the music. To fly, to walk through fire." (Claudio Abbado)