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. -
Leonard Bernstein
STRAVINSKY
The Rite of Spring
Capriccio for piano and orchestra
Symphony of Psalms
Michel Béroff PIANO
The English Bach Festival Chorus
London Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein
8 APRIL 1972, ROYAL ALBERT HALL, LONDON -
Leonard Bernstein
ELGAR
Enigma Variations
14 APRIL 1982, ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
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Rehearsal of the ‘Enigma’ variations and interview with Leonard Bernstein
BBC OMNIBUS STUDIO, LONDON, APRIL 1982 -
Leonard Bernstein
STRAVINSKY
The Rite of Spring
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SIBELIUS
Symphony No.5
London Symphony Orchestra
FAIRFIELD HALLS, CROYDON, LONDON, 27 NOVEMBER 1966
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Humphrey Burton interviews Leonard Bernstein (BONUS)
LONDON, NOVEMBER 1966 -
Klaus Tennstedt / Boston Symphony Orchestra
MP4 Video Download:This rare audiovisual footage presents Klaus Tennstedt at the height of his very special relationship with the Boston Symphony Orchestra during his prime recording period. Joyous Mozart is combined with evocative Mahler, both performed with the greatest sensitivity and conviction. The ICA Classics Legacy series represents an historic account of performances by some of the world’s greatest artists. This DVD features only the second public release of a full-length symphonic work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Klaus Tennstedt and the third DVD available with this mighty conductor. While the material has been restored using the greatest care and state-of-the-art techniques, certain visual artefacts and distortions remain in some instances due to the age of the film. Despite this, it remains of exceptional musical interest and historic value and is released here for the first time on DVD. -
William Steinberg / Boston Symphony Orchestra
MP4 Video Download:Steinberg was much admired for his sterling musicianship; the breadth of his repertory, which included much contemporary music; the clarity and precision of his technique; his wit and pipe-smoking geniality; and the collegial relationships he established and maintained with his musicians. -
Klaus Tennstedt / Boston Symphony Orchestra
MP4 Video Download:Tennstedt duly made his US debut in December 1974, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra in an all-Brahms programme and then in Bruckner's Symphony No.8. A legend was born and a career was made. One headline the next day ran: "Bruckner – Tennstedt – BSO – Once in a Lifetime." -
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 -
Nadia Nerina / Robert Helpmann / Margot Fonteyn / Rudolf Nureyev
Les Sylphides
BBC STUDIO RECORDING, BROADCAST 6 APRIL 1956
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Coppélia (ADAPTED FOR TELEVISION BY MARGARET DALE)
BBC STUDIO RECORDING, BROADCAST 27 OCTOBER 1957
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Giselle (PAS DE DEUX FROM ACT II)
BBC STUDIO RECORDING, RECORDED 2 JUNE 1962
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Philharmonia Orchestra/Robert Irving
London Symphony Orchestra/John Lanchbery
Pro Arte Orchestra/Marcus Dods -
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.