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Waldbuhne / Fleming, Bronfman, Chailly, Marin, Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic [blu-ray]

Stravinsky / Rachmaninov / Tchaikowski / Wagner Release Date: 07/29/2014
Label: Euroarts Catalog #: 59984
Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky ,  Sergei Rachmaninov ,  Igor Stravinsky ,  Antonín Dvorák  ...  Performer:  Yefim Bronfman ,  Renée Fleming Conductor:  Simon Rattle ,  Ion Marin ,  Riccardo Chailly Orchestra/Ensemble:  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Number of Discs: 3

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

The Waldbühne in Berlin is one of Europe’s ideal outdoor amphitheatres. It is home to the Berlin Philharmonic’s summer concerts, which are among the most popular classical events in the world, attracting audiences of 20,000 or more people. This luxury Box released on occasion of annual Waldbühne concert presents three outstanding performances by Berliner Philharmoniker: Rattle conducts Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky & Rachmaninov (2009), An Evening with Renée Fleming (2010) and Read more Fellini, Jazz & Co (2011). In 2009 the theme of the evening was “Russian themes” the Philharmoniker and pianist Yefim Bronfman presented thrilling excerpts from Tchaikovsky´s Nutcracker, Rachmaninov´s Third Piano Concert and finally Stravinksy´s legendary Le Sacre du printemps. The appearance of charismatic American soprano Renée Fleming was a highlight of Waldbühne evening in 2010. Her soft-toned voice was completed by the baton of conductor Ion Marin and works of Dvorak, Wagner, Straus, Puccini and Mussorgsky. In 2011, under baton of Ricardo Chailly, the orchestra presented favorites by Shostakovich, Rota und Respigh. Since the advert of cinema there have been many collaborations between film directors and composers, but few can have been so rewarding as those between the two Italians: Federico Fellini and Nino Rota.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 5 hrs 34 mins
No. of DVDs: 3 (DVD 9)

R E V I E W S:

"...the elfin touch he brings to the musically pedantic and often dark Rachmaninoff Third completely transforms this concerto. Neither for him nor pianist Bronfman the darkly brooding, almost menacing quality that Vladimir Horowitz brought out in what is surely one of his few truly great recordings (the 1930 performance with Albert Coates); even the descending chromatics in the first movement are handled with a sense of momentary shadow that dissolves into the shards of a brightly lit rainbow. Bronfman, sensing the feel of Rattle’s interpretation, likewise shades the music with melancholy but does not dwell on it. In the end, a fairly mundane piece is thus transformed into a play of light and dark that congeals into a remarkably pleasing whole. I must also disagree with those German critics who, trying to be cute, dub the pianist “Bronfman the Brontosaurus” and suggest that he crushes the keyboard. As powerful as several passages are, Bronfman has an offsetting delicacy of touch. I’m not sure if other critics hear his closer affinity to Gilels (and, to my ears, Lipatti, who could play more powerfully than we choose to remember) than to real keyboard-crushers like Horowitz or Richter at their most excessive. I for one hear it as a breath of fresh air. The last movement practically explodes in a riot of colors, like a piñata at Cinco de Mayo." -- Lynn René Bayley, FANFARE reviewing disc 1

"For this end of season concert the conductor was the Romanian-born Ion Marin, now a naturalised Austrian, whilst the guest artist was the American lyric soprano Renée Fleming. Looking stunningly glamorous and seemingly ageless in her series of couture gowns by Angel Sanchez, the fifty-year-old diva did not stint on her contribution in either timing, quality of singing or interpretive insight. Following Marin’s brisk reading of Mussorgsky’s Night on a Bare Mountain (CH 2) Fleming started with her signature Song to the Moon from Dvo?ák’s water sprite opera, Rusalka (CH 3). Her smooth legato followed the immaculate harp and woodwind introduction as Marin drew soft gentle phrases from the orchestra. Fleming was as secure as ever as was the power of the voice at the conclusion." -- Robert J Farr, MusicWeb International reviewing disc 2

"Berlin’s Waldbühne, the summer home of the Philharmonic, is a charming setting for an outdoor evening pops concert, and when you factor in the orchestra’s polished, impeccable playing, conductor Riccardo Chailly’s infectious leadership, and a program of popular, innocuous fare, you’ve got the equivalent of a chilled Riesling on a warm, carefree night—a pleasant, if not quite memorable, way to pass the time. What’s most remarkable about this concert is the commitment Chailly brings to such lightweight music. His facial expressions and animated gestures inspire the orchestra and amuse the listeners, so we have violins and audience alike swaying to a Shostakovich waltz and bouncing along to the circusy dances—he even turns and conducts the audience, cueing their whistles in the hometown encore, Berliner Luft . Chailly milks the Respighi scores for all they’ve got; you’d think “The Pines of the Appian Way” were the closing pages of Götterdämmerung , and the dance from the ballet Belkis, Queen of Sheba makes an agreeable racket. Actually, the most interesting music comes from Nino Rota’s score for the Fellini film La Strada (as reworked for the ballet). There’s more swing and big-band brass writing here than in Shostakovich’s so-called Jazz Suite, and Chailly really digs into the Stravinskyan drama and Barber-like pathos. Still, it’s probably not the kind of video concert you’ll return to often for the music; think of it as a touristy home movie to revisit on those stormy winter nights." -- Art Lange, FANFARE reviewing disc 3 Read less