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When Gielen started confronting orchestras and audiences with Performances of Beethoven that took the composer’s metronome markings literally, he was met with displeasure and incomprehension on all sides. The prevailing opinion was that there was something wrong with Beethoven’s metronome (or else with the conductor who took the figures seriously). But Gielen refuses to see why Fate necessarily has to knock at the door slowly (in the Fifth). “Why can’t it knock rapidly? After all, Fate is impatient.” And a gigantic movement like the Allegro con brio of the “Eroica” is incomprehensible except at the fast tempo Beethoven asks for. The Legendary Recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's symphonies with SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg. Picture format DVD: NTSC 4:3 Sound formats DVD: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Subtitles: English, German, French Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: DVD 1: 110 mins, DVD 2: 114 mins, DVD 3: 141 mins “they are in every way worth hearing. Whilst there is nothing flashy or of novelty for its own sake about these performances they are imaginative, coherent and well considered. Internal balance is superbly well controlled so that the listener is constantly amazed at just how much they have missed in other performances...All in all this is a set impressive for its understanding, honesty and conviction” MusicWeb International, March 2013 | 
| | | 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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| |  | including nine documentaries in a hardcover box
After the very successful release of the single DVDs we now release Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1 – 9 including nine one hour documentaries, one for each film. 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, Böhm, Järvi etc. This is the Beethoven cycle of the 21st century! 9 DVDs or 3 Blu-rays in a valuable hardcover box with 16 hours of concerts and documentaries. “Thielemann´s reading of the Beethoven symphonies stands heads and shoulders above the countless and mostly undistinguishable versions on offer.” Die Presse “The performances, the Vienna Philharmonic on top form, can't help sounding wonderful...oddly, it is the discussions that are the most enjoyable elements in this ambitious set.” BBC Music Magazine * * */ * “This is growling, mane-shaking Beethoven: a traditional approach to the music with full sound and large forces. Thielemann takes a precise yet lyrical approach to the music, as he discusses and demonstrates in the three hour-long accompanying musicological discussions.” Classic FM Magazine * * * * Total: 956 minutes Symphonies: 446 minutes Documentaries: 510 minutes BD: dts-HD MA 5.0, PCM Stereo Subtitles E, F, Sp, I, Kor., Chin. Blu-ray: 3 BD in a harcover box “Listen to the Scherzos and Minuets of the first four symphonies. They fairly spring out of the blocks with a muscular tension that brooks no obstacle or oppositions, the orchestra perfectly weighted body in total control of its limbs and members...most of these performances seem contrived as a luxuriously appointed bulwark against feared forces of change and dogma...The concert films show an orchestra in happy union with its conductor” Gramophone Magazine, April 2012 “the hour-long film that accompanies each of the nine masterpieces here...is chock-full of revealing information...the radiant sanity of [Thielemann's] approach shines through every bar...for a set in which the Austro-German invincibility of this extraordinary music is felt gradually mounting through the cycle as a whole, as if in one magnificent sweep, we haven't had a set to compare seriously with this since Karajan's final cycle of the 1980s.” International Record Review, January 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7-9and Documentaries about each Symphony
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 DVD: DTS 5.0, PCM Stereo Subtitles E, F, Sp, I, Kor., Chin., Jap. Packaging NTSC: 2 DVD Amaray Booklet English, German, French “The performances, the Vienna Philharmonic on top form, can't help sounding wonderful...oddly, it is the discussions that are the most enjoyable elements in this ambitious set.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2011 ***/* “This is growling, mane-shaking Beethoven: a traditional approach to the music with full sound and large forces. But just because it's big boned doesn't mean it's not elegant. Thielemann takes a precise yet lyrical approach to the music, as he discusses and demonstrates in the three hour-long accompanying musicological discussions.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2011 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Furtwängler conducts BeethovenThe Best of the World War II Legacy
Beethoven: | Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 55 'Eroica' recorded on 19th and 20th December 1944 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Coriolan Overture, Op. 62 recorded on 27th and 30th June 1943 Berliner Philharmoniker Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b recorded on 2nd June 1944 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 recorded on 27th and 30th June 1943 Berliner Philharmoniker Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 'Pastoral' recorded on 20th and 22nd March 1944 Berliner Philharmoniker Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 recorded on 27th and 30th June 1943 Berliner Philharmoniker Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 recorded on 31st October and 3rd November 1943 Berliner Philharmoniker Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' recorded on 22nd and 24th March 1942 Tilla Briem (soprano), Elisabeth Höngen (contralto), Peter Anders (tenor), Rudolf Watzke (bass) Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonic Choir |
Reissuing one of Music and Arts’ best-selling discs: these are the best World War II performances of Beethoven’s symphonies under the baton of Furtwängler. Previously released versions on our label were acclaimed in Fanfare, American Record Guide, Pulse!, Absolute Sound, Diapason, Musica, and numerous other journals. Symphony No. 9 has been completely re-mastered for this edition. “Separating these performances from the circumstances in which they took place may be impossible – the booklet includes a photographs of Furtwängler conducting in Berlin, with Hitler and Goebbels sitting in the front row – but there is some remarkable music-making here, especially the surging, majestic Eroica, the exaggeratedly romantic Fourth and the furious, frantic Ninth” The Guardian, 28th March 2013 **** |
| | | (also available to download from $32.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Klemperer in Concert
Beethoven: | Missa Solemnis in D major, Op. 123 06.06.1955 Annelies Kupper (soprano), Sieglinde Wagner (alto), Rudolf Schock (tenor), Josef Greindl (bass) North West German Radio Chorus & Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' 07.06.1960 Wilma Lipp (soprano), Ursula Boese (alto), Fritz Wunderlich (tenor), Franz Crass (bass) Singverein der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Wien & Philharmonia Orchestra | Brahms: | Ein Deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 20.02.1956 Elisabeth Grümmer (soprano) & Hermann Prey (bass) Cologne Radio Choir & Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra | Mahler: | Symphony No. 4 in G major 11.02.1954 Elfride Trötschel (soprano) Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra Kindertotenlieder 17.10.1955 George London (bass) Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra |
These recordings were all made in the mid-1950s in Cologne, where the great German conductor Otto Klemperer’s work for the local radio station was a key element in his career. His work with the orchestras of the Cologne radio station produced benchmark performances of Classical and Romantic works, some of which are featured here on recordings of public concerts. Here is Klemperer in his element, for as he said himself, he needed the concert atmosphere “to be in top form”. This 4-CD set includes outstanding recordings of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Kindertotenlieder, Brahms’ Requiem, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Philharmonie Berlin and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, 2000-2001
Blu-ray release of the successful DVD Box on the occasion of Claudio Abbado’s 80th Anniversary. In February 2001 the Berliner Philharmoniker and Claudio Abbado were guests at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome with all Beethoven symphonies. Their success was overwhelming with standing ovations after each performance. This exclusive box containing the complete Beethoven Symphonies performed by the Berliner Philharmoniker includes a special multi-angle feature: each Disc offers sequences from the “conductor camera” showing the maestro from his perspective. Including the 26 mins interview “Abbado on Beethoven”. Critics spoke of seminal moments in the history of music. Picture format Blu-ray Disc: 16:9 Sound formats Blu-ray Disc: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: All (worldwide) Subtitles (Symphony No. 9): English, French, German, Spanish, Italian Booklet notes: English, French, German Running time: 413 mins |
| | | Scheduled for release on 3 June 2013. Order it now and we will deliver it as soon as it is available. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, February 2001 (Nos. 1-8); Recorded live at the Philharmonie, Berlin, May 2000 (No.9)
These recordings are the fruit of decades of Claudio Abbado’s deep involvement with Beethoven. Many years of shared artistic experience create a tangible harmony and understanding between the orchestra and Abbado. His musical intentions and the orchestra’s musical expression become one, leading to an outstandingly beautiful unity of sound. The live performances were an overwhelming success with standing ovations after each of the concerts. Critics considered the concerts as seminal moments in the history of music. A conductor camera option allows to see Abbado from the perspective of the orchestra. Includes Abbado’s interview about Beethoven. All in all: a priceless document of the work of one of the greatest artists of our time. Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 Booklet notes: English, German, French Subtitles: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish Running time: 413 mins (DVD1 106 mins, DVD2 78 mins, DVD3 122 mins, DVD4 81 mins + 26 mins Bonus) German FSK: 0 “Abbado, a Furtwängler admirer in principle, seems ever more Italian, his tauter lyricism allied to a sense of forward movement influenced, we are told, by period practice. The surprise is not the Mediterranean luminosity and scrupulous attention to instrumental detail - one expects nothing less from this source - but the animating sense of line. The Seventh Symphony... knows precisely where it's going and why... The sense of joy present throughout is overwhelming by the close.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009 “the joy and the life behind these performances makes it pretty plain why he chose this set as his “legacy set” for Beethoven...the peerless playing and outstanding direction make it a joy to experience.” MusicWeb International, March 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 & 'The Beethoven Project'
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| |  | The Essential Beethoven
Beethoven: | Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 'Choral' The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, technically brilliant and incredibly enthusiastic orchestra brings out all levels of Beethoven's 9th symphony and we listen to Beethoven at his very best: exuberant, emotional, lucid, tender, clear, triumphant… simply magnificent! The standing ovations are well deserved! Angela Denoke,Waltraud Meier, Burkhard Fritz & René Pape The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72b The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18 No. 4 This DVD is a unique document of a Beethoven concert the Juilliard String Quartet gave at Polling in Bavaria in 1975.The viewer can enjoy, in an idyllic setting, chamber music in its purest form, where communication within the ensemble takes centre stage and there is no place for star allure. Juilliard String Quartet String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 'Rasumovsky No. 1' Juilliard String Quartet String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131 Juilliard String Quartet Fidelio, Op. 72 A spectacular production greeted by thunderous applause and loud cries of "bravo", directed by Pierluigi Pier'Alli and featuring an all-star cast:Waltraud Meier and Peter Seiffert, two of today's most distinguished German singers. Carsten Stabell, Waltraud Meier & Peter Seiffert Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Lorin Maazel Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 Recorded live at the prestigious Klavier-Festival Ruhr in May 2007, this DVD recording reflects both a very individual and special reading of Beethoven's music and the artist's life-long dedication to the composer. Barenboim conducts and plays at the same time.This DVD brings together two musical masterminds. Daniel Barenboim (piano & conductor) Staatskapelle Berlin Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73 'Emperor' Daniel Barenboim (piano & conductor) Staatskapelle Berlin |
Discover in this Christmas box 4 pieces by the best Romantic composer ever, interpreted and conducted by the greatest artists of today: Lorin Maazel, Daniel Baremboim, René Pape,Waltraud Meier… NTSC · 16:9 (DVD2: NTSC · 4:3) PCM Stereo · DD 5.1 · DTS 5.1 Region Code: 0 Booklet Notes: GB, D, F Subtitles: GB, D, F, E Running Time: 437 mins FSK: all audiences | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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