Concert

Verdi Messa da Requiem

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Verdi Messa da Requiem ballet and concert. Recorded 2016 at the Opernhaus Zürich. Choreography and stage direction by Christian Spuck. Fabio Luisi conducts the Philharmonia Zürich, the Chor, und Zusatzchor (Supplementary Choir) of the Zürich Opera (Chorus Master Marcovalerio Marletta). Soloists are Krassimira Soyanova (soprano), Veronica Simeoni (mezzo-soprano), Francesco Meli (tenor), and Georg Zeppenfeld (bass). Star dancers are Yen Han, Alexander Jones, Anna Khamzina, Matthew Knight, William Moore, Filipe Portugal, Manuel Renard, Giulia Tonelli, and Katja Wünsche supported by corps dancers Nozomi Iijima, Tars Vandebeek, Francesca Dell’Aria, Jesse Fraser, Michelle Willems, Mark Geilings, Wei Chen, Andrei Cozlac, Jan Casier, Constanza Perotta Altube, Cristian Alex Assis, Irmina Kopaczynska, Danien Mulligan, Galina Mihaylova, Christopher Parker, Alba Sempere Torres, Dmitry Khamzin, Elizabeth Wisenberg, Dominik Slavkovsky, Mélanie Borel, Pornpim Karchai, Chinatsu Sugishima, Meiri Maeda, and Benoît Favre. Set design by Christian Schmidt; costume design by Emma Ryott; lighting design by Martin Gebhardt; dramaturgy by Michael Küster and Claus Spahn. There is also an excellent documentary on this disc called Stepping into the unknown—Christian Spuck's production of Verdi's Requiem. Ballet directed for TV by Michael Beyer; produced by Paul Smaczny. Sung in Latin. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Verdi gets his “operatic” Mass produced here as grand theater with the introduction of 33 dancers performing modern abstract ballet in soft shoes.

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Woodlands and Beyond…

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Woodlands and Beyond… multimedia concert. Performed 2017 at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Hélène Grimaud is piano soloist accompanied by images from Mat Hennek’s photo series “Woodlands and Beyond... “ shown on a large LED screen. All the music is about water. Inclusdes 8 short piano solos by Luciano Berio, Tōru Takemitsu, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Isaac Albéniz, Franz Liszt, Leoš Janáček, and Claude Debussy stitched together by 7 “Water Transition” chamber music pieces composed by Nitin Sawhney for this concert. The photographs from Hennek depict forests, water, and other nature images. Directed for TV by François-René Martin. Released 2020, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D+

The Artists

Hélène Grimaud is a French A-list concert pianist who has performed classical music with top orchestras all over the world. Her partner in life is Mat Hennek, a German fine-art photographer. The couple live in upstate New York. Nitin Sawhney is a prodigious musician and composer . . .

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Juan Diego Flórez - Mozart Arias

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Juan Diego Flórez - Mozart Arias concert. Performed 2019 at the Cuvilliés Theatre, Munich. Riccardo Minasi conducts the Orchestra la Scintilla. Directed for TV by Hans Hadulla; produced by Bernhard Fleischer. Sung in German and Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

Here is the all Mozart program:

  • “Un’aura amorosa” from Così fan tutte.

  • “Si spande al sole in faccia” from Il re pastore.

  • “Overture” from Don Giovanni.

  • “Dalla sua pace” from Don Giovanni.

  • “Il mio tesoro” from Don Giovanni.

  • “Overture” from Le nozze di Figaro.

  • Ich baue ganz auf deine Stärke” from Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

  • “Misero! O sogno . . . Aura, che intorno spiri,” a concert aria.

  • “Overture” from La clemenza di Tito.

  • “Se all’impero” from La clemenza di Tito.

  • Overture” from Idomeneo.

  • Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön” from Die Zaumberflöte.

  • “Fuor del mar” from Idomeneo.

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Missa Solemnis

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Beethoven Missa solemnis concert. Performed 2018 at Alpirsbach Abbey in Baden-Württemberg. Frieder Bernius conducts the Kammerchor Stuttgart and the Hofkapelle Stuttgart. Soloists are Johanna Winkel (soprano), Sophie Harmsen (alto), Sebastian Kohlhepp (tenor), and Arttu Kataja (bass). Also includes the hour-long documentary Von Herzen - Moge es Wieder - Zu Herzen Gehn! (From the Heart - May it Go - To the Heart!) by Uli Aumüller about the preparation for the performance. Released 2020, disc has stereo sound. Grade: NA

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Dances & Dreams

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Berliner Philharmoniker Dances & Dreams 2012 New Year's concert (performed December 31, 2011.) Sir Simon Rattle conducts. Here is the program:

  • Dvořák - Slavonic Dance No. 1

  • Grieg - Symphonic Dance No. 2

  • Grieg - Piano Concerto in A minor (Evgeny Kissin on piano)

  • Ravel - Alborada del gacioso

  • Strauss - "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Salome

  • Stravinsky - The Firebird (Danse infernale, Berceuse, and Finale)

  • Brahms - Hungarian Dance No. 1

  • Dvořák - Slavonic Dance No. 7

Directed for TV by Henning Kasten; Executive Producer was Bernd Hellthaler. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+

We exclude most of the New Year's galas for having trivial (waltzes and polkas) content. But Dances and Dreams is an exception with 7 masterpieces by famous composers, Evgeny Kissin on piano, and our favorite Chancellor, Frau Merkel, in the audience. We start with maybe the prettiest image of the Brandenburger Gate we’ve seen

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Jonas Kaufmann - Du bist die Welt für mich

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Jonas Kaufmann - Du bist die Welt für mich concert. Features guest star Julia Kleiter (Soprano). In 2014, Jochen Rieder conducts the Rundfunksinfonieorchester Berlin (The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra). Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by Bernhard Fleischer. Sung in German. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Here is the program for the live performance in Berlin called Du bist die Welt für mich:

  • Franz Lehár - Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert! from Giuditta

  • Emmerich Kálmán - Grüß mir mein Wien from Gräfin Mariza

  • Robert Stolz - Frag nicht, warum ich gehe from Das Lied ist aus

  • Hans May - Ein Lied geht um die Welt

  • Robert Stolz - Im Traum hast du mir alles erlaubt from Liebeskommando

  • Ralph Benatzky Es muss was Wunderbares sein from Im weißen Rössl

  • Richard Tauber - Du bist die Welt für mich from Der singende Traum

  • Mischa Spoliansky - Heute Nacht oder nie from Das Lied einer Nacht

  • Werner Richard Heymann - Irgendwo auf der Welt from Ein Blonder Traum

  • Franz Lehár - Hab' ein blaues Himmelbett from Frasquita

  • Franz Lehár - Gern hab' ich die Frau'n geküsst from Paganini

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Pierre Boulez Saal Opening Concert

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The Pierre Boulez Saal Opening Concert. On March 4, 2017 the Pierre Boulez Saal opened with a festive concert of classical and modern music at the Barenboim-Said Akademie building in Berlin. About 600 notable (mostly German) musicians, politicians, and intellectuals attended. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Boulez Ensemble. Features Karim Said (Piano), Michael Barenboim (Violin), Yulia Deyneka (Viola), Kian Soltani (Violoncello), Jörg Widmann (Clarinet), Anna Prohaska (Soprano), and Daniel Barenboim (Piano). Here’s the program:

  1. Boulez Initiale

  2. Schubert Der Hirt auf dem Felsen

  3. Mozart Piano Quartet K493

  4. Alban Berg Chamber Concerto for Piano and Violin with 13 Wind Instruments

  5. Jörg Widmann Fantasie for Clarinet

  6. Boulez sur Incises

Directed for TV by Hennig Kasten. Released 2020, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+

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Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 and Symphony No. 3

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Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 and Symphony No. 3 concert. Performed 2019 at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern as part of the Lucerne Festival. Riccardo Chailly conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Features pianist Denis Matsuev. The full program, all by Rachmaninoff, is as follows:

  • Piano Concerto No. 3

  • Études-Tableaux

  • Vocalise (Orchestral Version)

  • Symphony No. 3

Directed for TV by Ute Feudel; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Mozart y Mambo (Sarah Willis)

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Mozart y Mambo concert with classical music, Latin jazz, and high-jinks by Sarah Willis. Maybe the most famous french horn player since Dennis Brain, Willis is a member of the Berlin Philharmoniker. She is not the principal horn player there, nor does she claim to be a horn concert soloist. So why is Sarah famous? Well, she is an exponent of the quantum theory of existence, which allow her to be many different places at the same time. Her true mission appears to be an ambassador for classical music to all peoples in all countries, and she does this with truly world-class use of jet airplanes and Internet social media. (We love her especially because she was a supporter of the Saito Kinen and the Mito Chamber Orchestras, which made some of our treasured recordings from NHK.)

In 2020, it was Cuba that got the Sarah Willis treatment when she recorded a 55 minute CD of classical music and Latin dance tunes at the Oratorio San Felipe Neri in Havana. Here’s the program . . .

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Mahler Symphonies 1-2 and 4-9

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Mahler Symphonies 1-2 and 4-9 Box Set. All of Mahler’s symphonies (except No. 3) performed at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig by the Gewandhausorchester conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Grade for the box: D.

The musical performances of these symphonies are excellent as is the sound. If the price drops enough, this becomes competitive with CD boxes of these symphonies. Then the video aspects of the box would become irrelevant—just play the discs in pure audio mode.

But if you are interested in good video of classical music, all the titles in this box comprise a colossal disaster and utter waste of the human spirit.

Why such a harsh opinion? Well, to start, the box is missing Symphony No. 3. We did extensive reviews of 6 of the titles in this box. Two titles got a C+, and the rest graded lower. We found evidence of DVDitis in every title we reviewed . . .

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Mahler Symphony No. 2

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Mahler Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” concert. Performed 2019 with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Münchner Philharmoniker, Orfeó Català, and Cor de Cambra del Palau de la Música Catalana (Artistic Director Simon Halsey; Chorus Masters Pablo Larraz and Xavier Puig). Features soprano Chen Reiss and mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford. Directed for TV by Corentin Leconte. Sung in German. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 30-32

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Sunwook Kim plays a recital consisting of Beethoven piano sonatas No. 30, No. 31, and No. 32. Recorded 2020 at the Kunstkraftwerk, Leipzig. Directed for TV by Ute Feudel; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

This seems to be a pricey offering for 74 minutes of music. It better be good!

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Bruckner Symphonies 1-9

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Bruckner Symphonies 1-9 Box Set. All of Bruckner’s symphonies performed at 4 different venues by the famous Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by the famous Christian Thielemann. Grade for the box: D+.

The musical performances of these symphonies are excellent as is the sound. If the price drops below, say, $80, this becomes competitive with CD boxes of these symphonies, which can be had for $40 to $60. The video aspects of the box would become irrelevant—just play the discs in pure audio mode.

But if you are interested in good video of classical music, all the titles in this box comprise a colossal disaster and utter waste of the human spirit. No one has even begun the task of making high-quality Blu-ray recordings by one orchestra of all the Bruckner symphonies.

We found evidence of DVDitis for all of the titles in this box. We did extensive reviews with screenshots

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