DVD Videos

DVD + CD

The Dialogos ensemble presents a highly original DVD. Here, far from the traditional filming of a staged performance, Alpha and Katarina Livljanic offer a genuinely cinematographic work based on the epic poem of the Croatian writer Marko Marulic. Musically speaking, this project comes into the category of a ‘reconstruction’, inspired by listening to and studying Dalmatian Gregorian and Glagolitic sources from the time of Marulic and by melodies of oral tradition. In this research, it was necessary to study the most archaic layers of what is known as Glagolitic chant. This repertory, curiously sung in the local vernacular even though it belonged to the Roman rite, was preserved in manuscriptswritten in the Glagolitic alphabet used in medieval Croatia. The archaic beauty of the text is fabulously illustrated here by images of incredible aesthetic refinement. For lovers of fine sound recordings, Alpha offers as a bonus CD the audio version of the project as realised at the time of filming.

1 DVD (Subtitles: French, Croatian, German, English - Time: 66’, not including making of - PAL) + 1 CD Bonus - DVDpack

World famous tenor Christoph Prégardien continues his series of recordings for Challenge Classics of Schubert song-cycles, with what many consider to be the composer’s greatest work in the genre “Winterreise”. As with previous critically acclaimed releases in the series the pianist is Michael Gees. This DVD release features video of a performance of the work as well as the documentary “Winterreise, Der dritte Weg” (Winterreise, the third way), which presents interviews with Prégardien and Gees and behind-the-scenes footage of the studio recording process.

DVD specifications:

Region code: 0 (region free)

Rating: E (exempt)

Picture format: 16:9, NTSC (region free)

Sound format: Stereo Dolby Digital 2.0, Surround Dolby Digital 5.1

The Mariinsky label releases its second opera DVD & Blu-ray, Prokofiev’s 'The Gambler'. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2010, it stars celebrated Russian tenor Vladimir Galuzin and bass Sergei Aleksashkin, and is conducted by Valery Gergiev. It is of fundamental significance that under Gergiev’s baton the Mariinsky Orchestra and opera company have performed all of Prokofiev’s symphonies, concerti and operas on numerous occasions.

Georgian director Temur Chkheidze, who also presented the Mariinsky’s last production in 1996 and directed the opera with critical success at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001, gives a fresh look to Prokofiev’s first opera.

Set in the fictional town of Roulettenburg in the mid-19th Century, 'The Gambler' is a four-act opera that displays the dramatic highs and lows involved in the game of chance. At the centre of the story is Alexei, who is in love with The General’s step-daughter, Pauline. All of the characters fall victim to the temptation of gambling, each one consumed by the obsession and greed that drives them.

Vladimir Galuzin, who plays the role of Alexei, is indisputably one of the world’s leading dramatic tenors, known for his unrivaled stentorious voice and extremely vivid characterisations of some of the most demanding roles. A Mariinsky soloist since 1990, he is much in demand internationally, performing regularly during the last two decades as a guest of most of the world’s most prominent opera houses, concert halls and festivals. The role of The General is played by Russian bass Sergei Aleksashkin. Three-time recipient of the Golden Sofit, St Petersburg’s most prestigious theatre prize, Sergei has been a Mariinsky Theatre soloist since 1989, singing title roles in Mussorgsky’s 'Boris Godunov' and Glinka’s 'Ruslan and Lyudmila'.

DURATION 2 hours 35'

Recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre, June 2010

Performed in Italian: subtitles in Russian, English, Japanese, German and French

This release is the first complete recording of all of Cage’s works for organ, plus 4’33” (on this DVD version only).

The organ is ideally suited to Cage’s aesthetic — its multitude of stops make it the ultimate prepared instrument. The fact that sound emanates from a number of pipes placed at discrete locations in space nicely accords with Cage’s idea of the separation of sounds in space. And it represents vast possibilities that could be released as sound through the use of chance operations. For this reason Cage’s organ music occupies a small but quite important place within his output.

For Some of 'The Harmony of Maine' Cage selected 18th-century American hymns by Billings, Law, and Belcher and altered them by extending certain tones and removing others through chance operations so as to attenuate the functional harmony underlying them. Here and there, melodic fragments from the original hymns remain. The 1978 and 1987 works were written for the German organist Gerd Zacher, an important champion of new music.

American organist Gary Verkade, a student of Gerd Zacher, is on the faculty of the Musikhögskola in Piteå, Sweden. He has appeared at major festivals and concerts throughout Europe and the USA. Verkade was one of the registrants in the first German performance of Some of 'The Harmony of Maine'. The DVD allows the listener to enjoy the sounds of the spectacular organ and its acoustic in surround sound while viewing Tim Chu’s painterly films of the organist with the up to six registrants needed for some of the pieces.

Includes booklet with trilingual notes by Rob Haskins.

DVD BONUS:

– Gary Verkade discusses performing Cage on the organ, how “chance” is applied to the performances and gives musical examples (31 minutes)

Performance of 4'33"

Dedicated stereo and 5.1 surround mixes.

Recorded live at Philharmonie Berlin on 21 June 2010.

The Süddeutsche Zeitung summed up this highly acclaimed performance of Bruckner's monumental Fifth Symphony by saying: “Both Bruckner’s belief in God, as it majestically wells up out of the chorale of the Fifth, and his deeply tragic world view, collide with one another in Barenboim’s interpretation”. The operatic experience of the conductor was almost tangible, revealing the “sheer dramatic instrumental battle between Bruckner’s God and the Devil – between heaven and hell – without betraying Bruckner’s unerring sense of striking proportions.” The release of this “contrapuntal masterpiece” (as Bruckner, not without pride, referred to this work) is part of Daniel Barenboim’s Bruckner cycle with the renowned Staatskapelle Berlin.

Picture Format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sound Formats DVD: PCM Stereo

Dolby Digital 5.1

DTS 5.1

Region Code: 0 (worldwide)

Running Time: 76:49 min

Disc Format DVD: DVD-9

The Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opens a new series of DVDs released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute presenting outstanding artistic events.

The first disc in the series is a recording of a solemn mass celebrated on 17 October 2010 at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, where traditionally on the anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s death, in front of his heart, a recreated funeral service is combined with Mozart’s Requiem, which in accordance with the composer’s wishes was performed at his funeral in Paris. During Chopin Year, this event gained a special dimension: the Requiem was treated to a masterful rendition by the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, the Collegium Vocale Gent and Accademia Chigiana Siena choirs, and the soloists Christina Landshamer, Ingeborg Danz, Robert Getchell and Matthew Brook, under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe, recorded for the first time ever in its liturgical version, and in its original period sound.

Produced in HD film technology, preserving the highest possible sound quality, it conveys in a sophisticated way the unique atmosphere of both the ceremony and the venue.

This release also inaugurates the cycle ‘Romantic Requiem’, comprising recordings of funeral masses by nineteenth century composers to be performed in front of Chopin’s heart at Warsaw’s Holy Cross Basilica. The Institute will shortly be issuing Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, also under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe.

The Mariinsky label is delighted to release the first of four operas on DVD in 2013 with Verdi’s 'Attila'. Released in celebration of Verdi’s anniversary year, acclaimed Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov stars in the title role, in this the premiere of Arturo Gama’s production. He is ably supported by soprano, Anna Markarova in the role Odabella; baritone, Vladislav Sulimsky in the role of Ezio and tenor, Sergei Skorokhodov. The bluray release, filmed in the Mariinsky Opera House will feature a stunning picture gallery of scenes from the performance in addition to the three-act opera.

As is the case with many of Verdi’s operas, his ninth opera, 'Attila' is imbued with the spirit of Risorgimento, the national liberation movement of the Italian people against foreign rule and for the unification of trampled Italy. The plot, which tells of the struggle of Aquileia, one of the last remaining strongholds of once eternal Rome, against the barbarian hordes of Attila, King of the Huns, received an enthusiastic reception from the audience present at the premiere at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, and yet is rarely performed in today’s opera houses. Since the premiere in 2010, the Mariinsky has revived Arturo Gama’s production each season, most recently in January 2013.

A two-time Grammy Award winner for his Verdi readings, Ildar Abdrazakov has quickly established himself as one of opera’s most sought-after basses. Since making his La Scala debut in 2001 at only 25, the Russian singer has become a mainstay at leading houses worldwide. His powerful, yet refined voice coupled with his compelling stage presence have prompted critics to describe him as a “sensational bass … who has just about everything – imposing sound, beautiful legato, oodles of finesse”, The Independent.

Arturo Gama has been the Stage Director of the opera company at the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin in Germany since 2005. He has staged a large number of productions, including 'Bluebeard’s Castle', 'Tosca', 'Die Zauberflöte' and 'Roméo et Juliette'; his most recent work was Richard Wagner’s 'Tannhaüser'. He originates from Mexico City and at the end of his dance career with the National Dance Company of Mexico, the Komische Oper Berlin offered him the position of Assistant Director, working with well-known directors including Harry Kupfer, Andreas Homoki, Peter Konwitschny, David Alden, Hans Neuenfels and Willy Decker.

Robert Wilson [director, lighting, design]

Giuseppe Frigeni [co-director]

Frida Parmeggiani [costumes]

Heinrich Brunke [lighting]

Naïve present Debussy's fascinating opera in the legendary staging by Robert Wilson. Eternity, minimalism, enigma, all those elements ideally connect to the unique atmosphere in Debussy's music.

Stéphane Degout and Elena Tsallagova lead an outstanding cast including Anne Sofie von Otter, Vincent Le Texier, Franz Joseph Selig…

‘Georg Solti is the hero of the British archive releases produced by ICA Classics.’ (Diapason)

In October 2012 music-lovers celebrated the centenary year of ‘one of the world’s greatest conductors’ (The Independent). This concert – a rare gem from the BBC archives – shows

Sir Georg Solti at the height of his powers with his favourite orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, of which he was music director from 1969 to 1991, in an alliance that was revered among audiences and critics alike.

Released for the first time on DVD, this concert is the last in Sir Georg Solti and his beloved CSO’s European tour in 1985. The Chicago Tribune wrote in January of that year, ‘He (Solti) and the CSO are firmly established as the most leonine team in symphonic music today, and that team has had everyone roaring from Stockholm to Zurich.’ Solti himself wrote: ‘My term as musical director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was the happiest time in my professional life.’ The programme on this DVD features Mozart’s Symphony No.39, Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4, and an encore of Fêtes from Debussy’s Nocturnes – all performed with the flair, passion and majestic artistry for which Solti was famed.

His interpretation of Mozart has been hailed as arguably one of the greatest in history. ‘There are certain composers on whose work Solti has stamped his mark with a distinction that has never been equalled, nor probably ever will be, so that his conduit of their intentions has become integral to the experience of listening to them.’ (The Observer)

The booklet note for this release is written by Humphrey Burton, who directed the cameras for the BBC at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the 2 February 1985 – the concert from which this DVD is taken. His first-hand, unique insight and behind-the-scenes information provide a fascinating glimpse into the inner workings of the concert, the CSO and the maestro.

Sound format: Enhanced Mono

DVD format: NTSC

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 83’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None