DVD
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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. -
Boston Symphony Orchestra / Michael Tilson Thomas
MP4 Video Download:Less than one year after Michael Tilson Thomas’s first appointment with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a series of concerts were filmed for television that demonstrate an electric relationship with the orchestra’s newest assistant conductor. Featuring Three Places in New England by Charles Ives, a composer whom Tilson Thomas has long since championed, as well as two works that are completely new to his discography and videography, this DVD gives a valuable account of his early performances with the BSO. Exclusive bonus interviews with this dynamic Maestro provide a fascinating insight into the performances captured here on film. -
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 -
Margot Fonteyn / Michael Somes
SLEEPING BEAUTY (extracts)
STUDIO RECORDING, TRANSMITTED 20 DECEMBER 1959
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SWAN LAKE (extracts)
STUDIO RECORDING, TRANSMITTED 9 JUNE 1954
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THE NUTCRACKER (Act II)
STUDIO RECORDING, TRANSMITTED 21 DECEMBER 1958
Royal Opera House Orchestra, John Lanchbery
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Robert Irving
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hugo Rignold -
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. -
Michael Tilson Thomas
Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel / Ein Heldenleben
London Symphony Orchestra -
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.