DVD
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Paul Tortelier at the BBC
To mark the centenary of the celebrated French cellist Paul Tortelier (born 21st March 1914), the BBC drew from their archives a selection of films and documents that spanned his whole career and testified to the exceptional rapport he enjoyed with Britain. The programme “Paul Tortelier at the BBC” is here reproduced as a DVD and offers a portrait of one of the truly great cellists. -
The Dream of Gerontius
Filmed in colour from Canterbury Cathedral in 1968, this DVD represents the only existing film of Sir Adrian Boult conducting The Dream of Gerontius. Sir Adrian Boult championed Elgar’s music throughout his life, following the composer’s prophetic words in a letter to the conductor: ‘I feel that my reputation in the future is safe in your hands’. Featuring a stellar cast of soloists including Dame Janet Baker, this performance is redolent of Sir Adrian Boult’s ‘commendable energy and typical humanity’ (The Gramophone Guide review of Boult’s 1975 studio recording of The Dream of Gerontius). This DVD also features a 60-minute documentary on Sir Adrian Boult produced by the BBC in 1989 to celebrate the centenary of his birth. -
Claudio Arrau / Van Cliburn
CHOPIN
Ballade No.3 op.47 in A flat major
Scherzo No.3 in C sharp minor
Fantasy in F minor
Van Cliburn
BBC TELEVISION STUDIOS, 9 JUNE 1959
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BEETHOVEN
Sonata No.23 in F minor op.57 ‘Appassionata’
Claudio Arrau
BBC TELEVISION STUDIOS, 13 OCTOBER 1959 -
Yuri Temirkanov at the BBC Proms
Berlioz
Le Corsaire – Overture
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Tchaikovsky
Manfred Symphony
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St Petersburg
Philharmonic Orchestra -
Borodin Quartet
MP4 Video Download:Described as ‘the quartet world’s most distinguished ensemble’, the Borodin Quartet celebrated its 65th anniversary with a sold out concert at the Wigmore Hall, London, a week before this live recording from the Cité de la Musique in Paris. Following the performance the Financial Times wrote that ‘today’s Borodin Quartet has lost nothing of its old authority.’ The quartet plays with warmth, commitment and obvious enjoyment. -
André Previn
Rachmaninov – The Bells
Sheila Armstrong, Robert Tear, John Shirley-Quirk
London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra
ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON, 26 JULY 1973
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Prokofiev – Lieutenant Kijé
LONDON, 24 APRIL 1977
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Bernstein – Candide – Overture
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON, 25 NOVEMBER 1971
London Symphony Orchestra -
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky at the BBC Proms
Mikhail Glinka: Ruslan and Lyudmila / Three Dances from A Life for the Tsar
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Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker: Act II
BBC Symphony -
Hartmut Haenchen
MP4 Video Download:This outstanding performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony formed part of Hartmut Haenchen’s Mahler Cycle with the La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra. Haenchen is renowned and respected for his interpretations of Mahler and Wagner and has had a significant presence in many of the world’s leading opera houses. An expressive and dramatic rendition of the Tragische, Haenchen’s high intellect and musical integrity are apparent. The recording also benefits from DTS 5.1 surround sound.