Jansons Conducts Beethoven & Strauss [Blu-ray]

A totally memorable concert with two fine peformances well recorded
This concert, very well recorded by the ever-reliable Brian Large team in 2011, can be considered a considerable success. The actual recording offers high quality visuals with crisp imaging, true colours and sympathetic camera work that provides detailed close-ups as appropriate combined with more distant views. The sound is also of high quality and is offered in DTS 5.0 and stereo options. The lack of a separate sub-woofer channel seems strange given the sonic nature of the Strauss but in reality there is no lack of bass definition or range.

Mitsuko Uchida has an enviable reputation as a Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert pianist so it is no surprise to find that her performance of Beethoven's third piano concerto is deeply rewarding. The largo is delivered with a concentration that leaves the first two concertos far behind and clearly leads forward to the last two concertos. The outer movements are crisply articulated at a comfortable speed that allows all detail to register...

Three works
Mitsuko Uchida's performances (Beethoven PC 3 and an encore performance of the Sarabande from Bach French Suite in G) are by far the stars of this recording. Her clarity and careful phrasing are amazing. That is not to say that the performance of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben is substandard. Jansons' accompanying of Uchida is expert. His Ein Heldenleben is a bit underplayed but the broad expanses he obtains from the Bavarian orchestra makes up for it. The video and sound are high quality throughout with intelligent video direction.



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Pergolesi: Lo frate 'nnamorato [Blu-ray]

Sublime and ridiculous
Up until only a couple of years ago, Pergolesi reputation as an opera composer rested mainly on a few comedies and Intermezzi, most notably La Serva Padrona and Lo frate 'nnamorato. Historically, these are important works that took opera away from the rigid formalism of traditional classical subjects, but they don't stand up as well now as some of the other works revived by Pergolesi-Spontini Foundation (most notably the composer's incomparable L'Olimpiade). Lo frate 'nnamorato, one of Pergolesi's earliest works, now seems quite typical of the genre that he helped create.

There's a complicated web of romantic entanglements in the opera where everyone is in love with someone who doesn't love them, only for the situation to be resolved by late revelations about lost relatives, secret identities and unexplained mysterious backgrounds. The difference here is of course is the humour and the social...

Charming !
Lo Frate 'Nnamorato is Pergolesi's first comic opera. The music is fresh and enchanting throughout and the use of Neapolitan dialect adds pleasure. In particular, the aria with flute obbligato that opens the third act is stunning beautiful.

The musical performance is superb. The orchestra conducted by Fabio Biondi, plays with energy and enthusiasm. All the singers are wonderful.

The opera's plot was transferred to the 20th century, but it was done in a very graceful and effective way and looks completely natural.

Highly recommended !



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Songs of the Wanderers

breathtaking DVD
This video is one of the finest examples of pure beauty. I have never seen a video like this one before. And it's not only the dance itself, there's also excellent lighting and camerawork. All in a perfect harmony. The music is quite repetitive, but also in perfect harmony with the dance. Of course this is modern dance. People expecting to see classical dance won't get what they were thinking to pay for. But by modern dance standards, this is the best. Cloud Gate Dance Theatre has won lots of prices for their performances all over the world, if you'll see this video, you'll know why.

IMpressive dance performance
Great dance performance merging elements from East and West, Georgian folk music with chinese Tai-Chi and meditative themes.
NOt for trigger ready remote control freaks or people who do not know the difference between rice and corn, or between Georgia and Romania.

Heavenly!
I was absolutely delighted to see the performance of the Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan last November in Brazil and have lost track of how many times I have watched the DVD... It is a marvellous dance show that may raise deep questions about one's purpose in life. If you're a wanderer, you just can't miss it!

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Lo Frate Nnamorato

Charming !
Lo Frate 'Nnamorato is Pergolesi's first comic opera. The music is fresh and enchanting throughout and the use of Neapolitan dialect adds pleasure. In particular, the aria with flute obbligato that opens the third act is stunning beautiful.

The musical performance is superb. The orchestra conducted by Fabio Biondi, plays with energy and enthusiasm. All the singers are wonderful.

The opera's plot was transferred to the 20th century, but it was done in a very graceful and effective way and looks completely natural.

Highly recommended !





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