Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 - DVD & Blu-ray videos

This series of DVDs will make the publicly broadcast BSO concerts from this era available for the first time since they were broadcast.

This rare material, filmed in colour, represents some of the earliest televised concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and William Steinberg, and has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques.

It is of exceptional musical interest and historic value.

The BSO’s Music Director for just three seasons, Steinberg spent a great deal of time in the USA, having left Europe following Music Director positions in Cologne, Prague and Frankfurt. He also co-founded the Palestine Orchestra, later the Israel Philharmonic. His time with the BSO came at the end of his career following his position as the Music Director of Pittsburgh Symphony, which he held for over twenty years. Steinberg’s precise and minimalist technique belies the intensity with which the orchestra responds to his baton – the performances are lively and full of character.

Steinberg’s CD release of Mahler’s Second Symphony on ICA Classics has received excellent reviews, described by Gramophone as ‘a startlingly direct statement of a score that is too often treated to extremes of mood and tempo’ – and by Classics Today as having ‘moments that set a new standard in this music’.

The Haydn is new to Steinberg’s discography.

Two of ICA’s BSO DVDs featuring Charles Munch as conductor, have been awarded the Diapason d’Or in France’s Diapason magazine.

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 86’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None

This is a Beethoven Symphonies Cycle of the 21st century! Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 – 9 incl. and each DVD includes a one-hour-long documentary for each symphony.

Includes an hour-long documentary for each symphony where Maestro Thielemann and Joachim Kaiser (the most famous German music critic) discuss and analyze in an entertaining conversational exchange Thielemann’s interpretation, complemented by excerpts from rehearsals as well as by comparisons of Beethoven cycles with Karajan, Bernstein etc. – no aspect of Beethoven’s symphonic œuvre will remain unaffected!

The Documentaries include legendary footage of performances from Karajan, Bernstein, Böhm, Järvi etc

This is the first Beethoven Cycle of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in full HD and 5.0 sound.

Running Time: Total: 325 minutes

Symphonies: 155 minutes

Documentaries: 170 minutes

Sound BD: dts-HD MA 5.0, PCM Stereo

Subtitles E, F, Sp, I, Kor., Chin., Jap.

Packaging Blu-ray box

Booklet English, German, French

Introductions:

Bernstein on Beethoven - Symphony no. 2 & 6

Bernstein & Maximilian Schell on Beethoven - Symphony no. 7

Recording Place & Date:

Musikverein, Vienna, February 1978 (Sinf. 2)

Musikverein, Vienna, November 1978 (Sinf. 6, 7)

Vladimir Jurowski conducts Beethoven gathers the lesser known Symphony No. 4 - composed when Beethoven was enjoying one of the most peaceful time of his life - with the celebrated Symphony No. 7 and the Coriolan Overture.

For this performance filmed live at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Vladimir Jurowski chose to collaborate with the musicians of the world famous Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment who perform on period instruments, shedding a radically different light on works that we are so accustomed to hear on modern instruments.

As the youngster of today’s classical music scene, Jurowski already gained international stardom in conducting.

“Vladimir Jurowski, more medium than conductor, produces ever more faultlessly gorgeous, languid sounds." Robert Thicknesse, The Times

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

Running time: 89 mins

FSK: 0

Claudio Abbado conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker and soloists Anatoly Kocherga and Kolja Blacher at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg.

The 1996 concert began in honour of their Russian hosts with popular highlights from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and the Cavatina from Sergei Rachmaninov’s Aleko. The second part of the concert features Beethoven’s Violin Romances, with Kolja Blacher leading the orchestra to an enthusiastic reception from the audience, and the Seventh Symphony.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO, DD 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, PAL

Running Time: 90 mins

FSK: 0

Each year, the Berliner Philharmoniker celebrates the anniversary of its creation (May 1st, 1882) with an unforgettable concert taking place in a different big European city each time. In 2008, the ‘Europa Konzert’, was held in the Tchaikovsky Academy of Moscow, a holy place for music. The BPO is considered the best orchestra in the world, and it is conducted by the renowned Sir Simon Rattle. Vadim Repin, Prince of the violin - as many people call him - has been compared to Oistrakh. Bruch's is one of the most famous and best-loved of all violin concertos; the Symphony in Three Movements of Stravinsky highlights the virtuosity and the expertise of the Berlin Phil, whilst Beethoven's 7th Symphony shows the incomparable tone pallet of this orchestral limousine.

"The musicians are very articulate, they are very open, they are very curious. They always want to know why we are doing something. They don't just do it - they are not an obedient orchestra in that way, but they are a very creative orchestra." Sir Simon Rattle

NTSC 16:9

PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Running time: 92 minutes