This Achúcarro title includes:
Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 recorded in studio on May 26, 27, and 28, 2009 at the Jerwood Hall in London.
There is also a recital of about 36 minutes with the following shorter pieces recorded in Room 64 of the Prado Museum in Madrid at an unidentified time:
1. Brahms Intermezzo No. 2 (Three Intermezzi Op. 117)
2. Brahms Intermezzo No. 2 (Three Intermezzi Op. 117)
3. Brahms Intermezzo No. 3 (Three Intermezzi Op. 117)
4. Chopin Prelude No. 15
5. Chopin Prelude No. 16
6. Scriabin No. 1 Prelude (Op. 9 for Left Hand)
7. Scriabin No. 2 Nocturne (Op. 9 for Left Hand)
8. Albéniz Suite Iberia Op. 47 Book 1 No. 2 El Puerto
Colin Davis conducts the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 with the London Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Achúcarro's debut with the LSO. Directed for TV by Robin Lough. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 PCM sound. Grade: C-
Read MoreMartha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim Piano Duos. Recorded 2014 at the Philharmonie Berlin. Argerich and Barenboim perform the following pieces:
1. Mozart Sonata for Two Pianos in D major
2. Schubert Variations on an Original Theme in A flat major
3. Stravinsky Le Sacre du printemps (Rite of Spring) in piano version for 4 hands
Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreShostakovich Complete Symphonies and Concertos box set. Recorded 2013 and 2014 at the Salle Pleyel, Paris.Valery Gergiev conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Mariinsky Theatre. This set has introductions to compositions by Gergiev. And for those who don't want to listen to Gergiev, there is a "Play Music Only Function" that gives you just the music. Directed for TV by Don Kent. Released 2015, set has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreFlute Concertos at Sanssouci: A Tribute to Frederick the Great. This is a concert film celebrating the 300th birthday of Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia. Emmanuel Pahud (principal chair of the Berliner Philharmoniker) is the flautist. Trevor Pinnock plays harpsichord and conducts the Kammerakademie Potsdam at the Royal Theater of the Neues Palais, Schloss Sanssouci, Potsdam.
The program:
1. Frederick the Great - Flute Concerto No. 3 in C major.
2. Johann Joachim Quantz - Capriccio in G major; Capriccio in B major; Flute Concerto in G major; and Preludio in D major.
3. Franz Benda - Flute Concerto in E minor.
4. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach - Flute Sonata in A minor.
Video direction by Beatrix Conrad. Released 2012, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C
Read MoreDie 12 Cellisten 40 Years Anniversary Concert. Performed 2012 by the cello section of the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Philharmonie Berlin.
Cellists for the concert are (in order of seniority): Ludwig Quandt, Martin Löhr, Olaf Maninger, Richard Duven, Rachel Helleur, Christoph Igelbrink, Solène Kermarrec, Stephan Koncz, Martin Menking, David Riniker, Nikolaus Römisch, Dietmar Schwalke, and Knut Weber. If you're sharp, you'll note there are 13 names in the preceding sentence. In 2012, the cello section had been expanded to 13 members, but the repertoire of the group was still written for 12 instruments. (As I write this in February 2015, the cello section has been further expanded to 14.) So somebody normally gets a day off. In the concert filmed for this HDVD, 12 members play the main program, and all 13 play the 4 encores.
For the concert--- Director: Michael Beyer; Director of Photography: Günter Euringer; Sound: Christian Feldgen; Editor: Cetin Tutak; Producer: Grete Liffers; Producer: Grete Liffers; Line Producer: Claudia Krüger.
Title also includes a 59 minute documentary, The 12 Cellists. For the documentary--- Director: Enrique Sánchez Lansch; Directors of Photography: Isabelle Casez and Henning Brümmer; Sound by Andreas Köppen; Editor: Julia Oehrig; Sound Editor: Sven Piesker.
Concert music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sampling for both stereo and surround. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: B+
Read MoreMendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1 and Sommernachtstraum or Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream. Seiji Ozawa conducts a 20th-year anniversary concert of his Japanese Mito Chamber Orchestra in 2009 at the Mito Art Tower. Yu Kosuge is the piano soloist. For A Midsummer Night's Dream, the orchestra is joined by soprano Akiko Nakajima, mezzo Katherine Rohrer, ladies of the Tokyo Opera Singers (Chorus master: Masanori Mikawa), and narrator Yukiyoshi Ozawa (Seiji's son, an actor). There is also an 8-minute bonus of the Bach Air on the G String from the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major. The information in the collector's booklet is 99+% in Japanese, but there are nice subtitles in English on the disc. This title was recorded with 96kHz/24 bit sound sampling on all tracks. The disc has 5.0 PCM sound output. Grade: A+ for both performances.
Read MoreRichard Strauss Gala. Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden with sopranos Christine Goerke, Anja Harteros, and Camilla Nylund. Also features a documentary by Andreas Morell: Christian Thielemann - My Strauss. The program is as follows:
1. Waltz Sequences No. 1 and No. 2 (from Der Rosenkavalier)
2. "Allein! Weh, ganz allein"(from Elektra)
3. Liebesszene (from Feuersnot)
4. "Ah! Du wolltest mich nicht deinen Mund küssen lassen" (from Salome)
5. "Mein Elemer! Das hat so einen sonderbaren" (from Arabella)
6. Symphonic Interlude from Intermezzo
7. "Zweite Brautnacht!" (from Die Ägyptische Helena)
8. Overture (from Die schweigsame Frau)
9. "Ich komme, grünende Brüder" (from Daphne)
Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 1 ("Titan") and Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection"). Paavo Järvi conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the NDR Chor. Features Camilla Tilling (soprano) and Lilli Paasikivi (mezzo-soprano). Directed for TV by Michael Ciniselli. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D+ for Symphony No. 1 / F- for Symphony No. 2
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 3 and Symphony No. 4. Paavo Järvi conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Limburger Domsingknaben, and the MDR-Rundfunkchor Leipzig. Features Waltraud Meier (mezzo-soprano) and Genia Kühmeier (soprano). Directed for TV by Michael Ciniselli. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F-
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 5 and Symphony No. 6. Paavo Järvi conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Directed for TV by Michael Ciniselli. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F-
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 9 and Symphony No. 10 ("Adagio"). Paavo Järvi conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Directed for TV by Michael Ciniselli. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F-
Read MoreSchubert Symphony No. 9 from the opening concert at the 2009 Salzburg Festival. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Features the following pieces:
1. Schubert Sechs Deutsche Tänze, piano pieces arranged by Anton Webern for orchestra
2. Josef Strauss Frauenherz – Polka-mazurka
3. Josef Strauss Delirien – Waltz
4. Josef Strauss Pêle-mêle – Fast Polka
5. Franz Schubert Symphony No. 9
Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBartók Piano Concerto No. 1 concert. This performance was the opening concert at the 2008 Salzburg Festival. Pierre Boulez conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim plays piano.
Features the following pieces:
1. Maurice Ravel - Valses nobles et sentimentales
2. Béla Bartók - Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
3. Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird
Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Beethoven Symphony No. 3 concert includes:
1. Brahms Tragic Overture
2. Schoenberg Interlude and Song of the Wood Dove from Gurre-Lieder (with alto Mihoko Fujimura)
3. Beethoven Symphony No. 3, the "Sinfonia Eroica" or "Heroic Symphony"
Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in opening the summer festival in 2013. Directed for TV by Uti Feudel; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2014, music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling, and the disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreBruckner Symphony No. 9 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 Enrique Sánchez Lansch; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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