Brahms Symphony No. 2 and Janáček Glagolitic Mass concert. Mariss Jansons conducts the Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Symphonie Orchestra and Choir) in 2012 at the KKL Concert Hall in Lucerne. Soloists are Tatiana Monogarova (soprano), Marina Prudenskaja (mezzo-soprano), Ludovit Ludha (tenor), and Peter Mikuláš (bass). Iveta Apkalna plays organ; Peter Dijkstra was Chorus Master; video directed by Michael Beyer. Released 2013, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Mozart Early Sacred Music from Salzburg 2012 concert consists of 2 works written by Mozart when he was 20:
1. Litaniae de venerabili altaris sacramento K. 243 (Litany of the sacrament of the venerable alter)
2. Missa longa K. 262
Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenburg Chor. Soloists are Sylvia Schwartz (soprano), Elizabeth Von Magnus (mezzo-soprano), Jeremy Ovendon (tenor), Florian Boesch (baritone). This is the first in what is planned to be a new series of sacred music concerts at the Salzburg Festival, called "Ouverture Spirituelle." The venue is the Salzburg Cathedral. Released 2013, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe 2012 Opening Concert for the Salzburg Festival consists of:
1. Stravinskiy Symphony of Psalms, for Chorus and Orchestra
2. Mussorgsky Songs and Dances of Death
3. Prokofiev Symphony No. 5
Valery Gergiev conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concert Chorus of the Vienna State Opera. Sergei Semishkur is tenor soloist for the Songs and Dances of Death. Released 2012, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Symphony No. 35 & Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1. In 2012 Seiji Ozawa conducted the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Mito, Japan at the Art Tower Mito (ATM). The program was:
1. Mozart Divertimento in D major K.136
2. Haydn Cello Concerto No.1 withsoloist Dai Miyata
3. Mozart Symphony No. 35 "Haffner"
Released 2012, disc has for all tracks: (1) Stereo 2.0 PCM 96kHz/24bit (2) 5.0 PCM 96kHz/24bit and (3) 5.0 Dolby Digital 48kHz sound (thanks to Zoltan Glied for a tip on this). Video Directors were Goro Kobayashi and Masami Utsimi; Technical Directors were Kiyotaka Aoki and Satoru Fukuda; Switcher was Hiroshi Minegishi; Camera by Fumio Saito; Sound by Ryota Ono; Video Engineer was Shoichiro Ogawa. Grade: A+
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection." Also includes a performance of Ich bin der Welt Abhanden Gekommen for 16 voices arranged by Clytus Gottwald. Mariss Jansons conducts the Symphonieorchester and Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Barvarian Radio Orchestra and Choir) (Chorus Master Michael Gläser). Anja Harteros (soprano) and Bernarda Fink (alto) are soloists. Directed for TV by Brian Large. Released 2013, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBBruckner Symphony No. 7 & Wolf Lieder concert. In 2012 Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden at the Semperoper in Dresden. Renée Flemming is soprano soloist. The program includes:
Hugo Wolf songs: "Verborgenheit", "Er ist's", "Elfenlied", "Anakreon's Grab", and "Mignon" (Second Version)
Richard Strauss "Befreit"
Bruckner Symphony No. 7
Directed for TV by Henning Kasten. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBruckner Symphony No. 5 concert. Part of the Bruckner Mature Symphonies series by Accentus. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin at the Philharmonie Berlin in 2010. Directed for TV by Tilo Krause; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Opera Gala recital concert. Anna Netrebko (soprano), Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano), Ramón Vargas (tenor), and Lodovic Tézier (baritone) sing opera favorites for the 2007 Gala Concert at the Baden-Baden Festival. Here's the program:
1. Bellini "Sinfonia" from Norma
2. Bellini "Mira, o Norma" from Norma
3. Donizetti "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'elisir d'amore
4. Bellini "Or dove fuggo io mai?--Ah! per sempre io ti perdei--Bel sogno beato" from I Puritani
5. Bellini "Casta Diva--Ah, bello a me ritorna" from Norma
6. Rossini "Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto" from La Cenerentola
7. Verdi "È lui!...Desso!...L'Infante! from Don Carlo
8. Saint-Saëns "Bacchanale" from Samson et Dalila
9. Delibes "Viens, Mallika--Dôme epais, le jasmin" from Lakmé
19. Bizet "Au fond du temple saint" from Les Pêcheurs de perles
11. Saint-Saëns "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila
12. Verdi "Oh! fede nocgar potessi-Quanda le sere al placido" from Luisa Miller
13. Verdi "Felice ancor io son" (Morte di Rodrigo) from Don Carlo
14. Puccini "O soave fanciulla" from La Bohème
15. Verdi "Un di, se ben rammentomi" from Rigoletto
16. Lehár "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß" from Giuditta
17. Rossini "La danza"
18. Ruperto Chapí "Al pensar en el dueño de mis amores" from Las hijas del Zebedeo
19. Bizet "Toreador Song" from Carmen
20. Verdi "Brindisi" or "The Toast" from La Traviata
Marco Armiliato conducts the SWR (Südwestrundfunk) Sinfonieorchester of Baden-Baden und Freiburg. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 PCM and 5.1 dts-HD sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreStravinsky Firebird & Rite of Spring and Debussy L'Apres-midi d'un faune concert. Paavo Järvi conducts the Orchestra of Paris (Concert Master Philippe Aïche) in 2012 at Salle Playel in Paris. TV directors were Sébastian Glas and Corentin Leconte; produced by Sabrina Iwanski. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMahler Symphonies 1-10 box set. This box has all the Mahler symphonies plus Totenfeier and Das Lied von der Erde. The concerts were performed 2009 - 2011 by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons and several guest conductors. The discs in this box are not sold separately.
Grade for the box as a whole: D.
Read MoreBruckner Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic") and Symphony No. 7 concert. Christian Thielemann conducts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra at Baden-Baden (No. 4 in 2009 and No. 7 in 2007). Directed for TV by Agnes Méth. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHere is the program for this BBC Symphony Orchestra concert conducted 2010 by Lionel Bringuier at the Royal Albert Hall:
1. Berlioz Le Corsaire Overture
2. Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with Nelson Freire as piano soloist
3. Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice - Dance of the Blessed Spirits in piano transcription played by Giovanni Sgambati
4. Roussel Symphony No. 3
5. Ravel Daphnis et Chloé - Suite No. 2
Produced by Xavier Dubois and Francois Duplat; directed for TV by Andy Sommer. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreStravinsky Rite of Spring and music from The Firebird by Stravinsky. Michael Tilson Thomas directs the San Francisco Symphony in a recent performance of Stravinsky classics as part of the "Keeping Score" outreach program of the San Francisco Symphony. In addition, Thomas narrates an educational program about Stravinsky and Rite of Spring. The concert is in HD; the documentary is in SD. The concert was directed by Gary Halvorson. Otherwise, title was directed and produced by David Kennard, Joan Saffa, and Michael Bronson. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound. You should not be especially impressed with the claim that has "up-sampled 96kHz24 bit sound." See our discussion of this gimmick at our review of San Francisco Symphony at 100. Grade: NA
Read MoreBach St. Matthew Passion (St. Matthäus Passion) oratorio. Features singers Mark Padmore (tenor), Peter Harvey (bass), Maria Espada and Renate Arends (sopranos), Ingeborg Danz and Barbara Kozelj (mezzo-sopranos), Peter Gijsbertsen (tenor), and Henk Neven (bass). Iván Fischer conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Netherlands Radio Choir, and the National Children’s Choir (Chorus Master Gijs Leenaars). Directed for TV by Dick Kuijs. Released 2013, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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