The Cleveland Orchestra Centennial Celebration concert performed September 29, 2018 at Severance Hall. Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra. Features pianist Lang Lang. The concert includes the following pieces:
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24
Richard Strauss “Symphonic Fantasy” from Die Frau ohne Schatten
Johann Strauss, Jr. Wiener Blut
Ravel La Valse
Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Herbert G. Kloiber was Executive Producer for Clasart Classic/belvedere records. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
Herbert G. Kloiber was a highly successful Austrian media mogul in the field of popular movies and TV programs, especially in German language markets. He has a personal interest in the fine arts and is a friend of fellow Austrian Franz Welser-Möst. Working with Bryan Large, Kloiber brought us a wonderful Bruckner Symphony No. 4 (published by Arthaus) and a gorgeous Ein Deutsches Requiem, both with the Cleveland Orchestra and Welser-Möst. These two titles are on the very short list of excellent videos of symphony music made in Western countries. (Most of the good symphony videos in Blu-ray come from NHK in Japan.)
Kloiber also produced several recordings of Brahms major works
Read MoreRobert Schumann Scenes from Goethe’s Faust concert. Directed 2017 by Jürgen Flimm at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Stars singers Roman Trekel (Faust/Doctor Marianus), Elsa Dreisig (Gretchen/Una Poenitentium), René Pape (Mephistopheles/Evil Spirit/Pater Profundus), Katharina Kammerloher ) (Marthe/Sorge/Mater Gloriosa), Evelin Novak (Not/Magna Peccatrix), Stephan Rügamer (Ariel/Pater Ecstaticus), Gyula Orendt (Pater Seraphicus), Adriane Queiroz (Mangel/Mulier Samaritana), and Natalia Skrycka (Schuld/Maria Aegyptiaca). Also stars actors André Jung (Faust/Horold), Sven-Eric Bechtolf (Mephistopheles/Liechen), Meike Droste (Gretchen/Astrolog/Engel/Tümer), and Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Zueignung) . . . this was the official reopening concert for the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden after many years of renovations.
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 1 ("Titan") and Symphony No. 4. Danielle Gatti conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Released 2019. Grade: NA
Read MoreBrahms Symphonies 1-4 (complete symphonies) concert. Performed in 2018 at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Paavo Järvi conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Music video directed for TV by Jean-Pierre Loisil. Also contains the documentary film The Brahms Code directed by Christian Bercer. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Well folks, forget about the silly PR that the musicians of Bremen play Brahms best. But it’s also apparent from numerous reviews that Järvi and his scaled-down chamber orchestra play Brahms plenty well with forces that Brahms had in mind when he composed.
Read MoreCharles Ives Universe, Incomplete symphony and performance art piece. Directed 2018 (as a world premiere) by Christoph Marthaler at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum, Germany as part of the 2018 Ruhrtriennale Festival. Titus Engel is music director for the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Rhetoric Project, and the Schlagquartett Köln with the assistance of multiple student percussion groups. Dancers are Joaquin Abella, Tora Augestad, Liliana Benini, Bérengère Bodin, Marc Bodnar, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Bendix Dethlieffsen, Haizam Fathy, Altea Garrido, Ueli Jäggi, Jürg Kienberger, Antonio J. Navarro, Michael Wilhelmi, Thomas Wodianka, Clements August Becker, and Helmut Schmitt.
Read MoreSir Karl Jenkins The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace concert. Performed 2019 at the Mercedes Benz Arena, Berlin. Sir Karl Jenkins (The Armed Man) and Grant Llewellyn (Lament for Syria) conduct the World Orchestra for Peace and the World Choir for Peace (Chorus Master Nicol Matt). Soloist singers are Leah-Marian Jones, Yumeji Matsufuji, Pauline Rathmann, and Amir Aziz. Features cellist Valentino Worlitzsch. Directed for TV and produced by Hefin Owen; executive production by Gareth Williams; music production by Gwawr Owen; film editing by Gareth Owens and Chris Lawrence. Sung in English, French, Arabic, Welsh, German, Latin, and Japanese. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreChristmas Oratorio. Music is Bach concert of 6 cantatas (BWV 248) to a sacred text. Recorded 2018 at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Gotthold Schwarz conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the Thomanerchor Leipzig with soloists Dorothee Mields (soprano), Elvira Bill (alto), Patrick Grahl (tenor for Evangelist part), Markus Schafer (tenor for arias), and Klaus Hager (bass). Sung in German. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: NA
Read MoreSchumann Complete Symphonies:
Symphony No. 1 "Spring"
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish"
Symphony No. 4
In 2018, Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden at the Suntory Hall, Tokyo. Directed for TV by Akira Miki. Released 2019, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read More2019 Europakonzert: Daniel Harding conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker this year in its traditional “Europakonzert” on May 1 celebrating the founding of the orchestra on May Day. Normally this event occurs in a different European city in a beautiful venue of historical significance. Performed 2019 at the Orsay Museum (Musée d'Orsay) in Paris. Here’s the program:
Wagner “Good Friday Spell” from Parsifal
Wagner '“Wotan’s Farewell” and “The Magic Fire” from Die Walküre (Concert Version)
Wagner “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde
Berlioz “Royal Hunt” and “Storm” from Les Troyens
Berlios “Love Scene” from Romeo et Juliette
Debussy Pelléas and Mélisande Concert Suite (Suite by Claudio Abbado, based on the Orchestral Suite arranged by Erich Leinsdorf)
Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Read MoreBlomdstedt Conducts Beethoven Box Set released 2019. Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Gewandhausorchester, the MDR Rundfunkchor, the GewandhausChor and the GewandhausKinderchor from 2015-2017. Below are the discs. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Beethoven Triple Concerto and Beethoven Symphony No. 5. The Triple Concerto features Isabelle Faust (violin), Jean-Guihen Queyras (cello), and Martin Helmchen (piano).(Grade: N/A)
Beethoven Symphony No. 6 and Symphony No. 7. (Grade: N/A)
Beethoven Symphony No. 9. Features Simona Šaturová (soprano), Mihoko Fujimura (alto), Christian Elsner (tenor), Christian Gehaher (baritone). (Grade:N/A)
Released 2019, three disc set has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Total Grade: N/A
Read MoreBruckner Symphony No. 2. Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden. Performed 2019 at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Directed for TV by Alexander Radulescu. Released 2019, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Bruckner wrote 9 symphonies. Now with this HDVD of Bruckner S2, Thielemann has recorded HDVDs of all 9 Bruckner symphonies with the Staatskapelle Dresden. All of these were published by C Major except for Bruckner S7 — this came out under the Opus Arte label! We have done a basic story on all the Thielemann Bruckner HDVDs. Of course, all of these HDVDs were fine performances with good sound recording. We did a detailed review of the S9 and graded it B-. We gave the HDVD of S6 a D+. The weak grades were caused by the grave illness DVDitis.
According to Christian Hoskins, writing in the December 2019 Gramophone at page 68, no other conductor has managed to do
Read MoreHDVD stands for “High-Definition Video Discs” and also for “High-Definition Video Download (Including Streaming).” Voices of Music is a non-profit performance project focused on early music (mostly before 1800) based in San Francisco. Their main activity is giving live performances in California. But thanks to co-director David Tayler, they are also taking a lead in making recordings of early music available to all. Their most important recording initiative is to publish YouTube videos, most of which run from 2 to 15 minutes. Typically, a video is devoted to a single piece of music. The musical forces playing range from soloists to complete chamber orchestras. Usually, each video is supported by a donor who underwrites expenses.
Of the YouTube videos published by May 2019, about 100 were in 4K!
Read MoreBerlioz Symphonie fantastique concert. Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts a Berlioz evening with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Performed 2018 at the Opéra Royal — Château de Versailles. The program:
Symphonie fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un artiste
Overture from Le Corsaire
La Mort de Cléopâtre cantata
“Chasse Royale e Orage” from Les Troyens
“Monologue et air de Didon” from Les Troyens
Features contralto Lucile Richardot. Directed for TV by Stéphan Aubé. Package contains both a DVD and a Blu-ray disc. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRiccardo Chailly conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for a night of famous Ravel works. Recorded 2018 at the Lucerne Festival. The following music is performed:
Valses nobles et sentimentales
La Valse
Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 1
Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2
Boléro
Directed by Ute Feudel; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read More2018 New Year's Concert a/k/a Silversterkonzert by the Berliner Philharmoniker. Daniel Barenboim conducts and is piano soloist at the Berlin Philharmonie. Here is the program:
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 26 “Coronation”
Ravel Rapsodie espagnole
Ravel Alborada del gracioso
Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte
Ravel Boléro
Bizet Carmen Suite No. 1 (excerpts)
We only cover gala and New Year’s concerts if the program is substantial (not just pops, marches, polkas, and waltzes). This program is attractive, and we are also encouraged in that the sound file was recorded with 96kHz/24 bit sound sampling. Directed for TV by Torben Jacobsen. The official video trailer below has several nice whole-orchestra and multi-section shots that suggest that Jacobsen has tried to reduce the amount of DVDitis in his video content. Released 2019, the disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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