Symphonies

Fantasia (Special 60th Anniversary Edition)

Groundbreaking on several counts, not the least of which was an innovative use of animation and stereophonic sound, this ambitious Disney feature has lost nothing to time since its release in 1940. Classical music was interpreted by Disney animators, resulting in surreal fantasy and playful escapism. Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra provided the music for eight segments by the composers Tchaikovsky, Moussorgsky, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponchielli, Bach, Dukas, and Schubert. Not all the sequences were created equally, but a few are simply glorious, such as "Night on Bald Mountain," "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and "The Nutcracker Suite." The animation ranges from subtly delicate to fiercely bold. The screen bursts with color and action as creatures transmute and convention is thrust aside. The painstaking detail and saturated hues are unique to this film, unmatched even by more advanced technology. --Rochelle O'Gorman

The Opera Gala: Live from Baden-Baden

The Festival Theatre at the German spa town of Baden-Baden is a spanking modern concert hall behind the façade of a handsome 19th-century railroad station. In July 2007, it hosted an evening of wonderful singing by a quartet of leading operatic stars in a program that could have been titled "Opera's Greatest Hits." After a brief orchestral piece from Bellini's Norma the fireworks begin with the duet Mira, o Norma featuring soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo Elina Garanca, their voices blending beautifully. From then on, it's one familiar, well-loved operatic chestnut after another, all done with spirited fervor and admirable vocalism. Tenor Ramón Vargas is a positive presence, giving us the bel canto gem Una furtive lagrima from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in a flawlessly idiomatic interpretation that includes stunning diminuendos and a melting mezza-voce. Ludovic Tézier's rich baritone scores with a subtle rendition of Riccardo's death scene from Verdi's Don Carlo and, in yet another highlight in an evening full of them, joins Vargas in the great duet Dio, che nell'alma infondere from that opera.

Garanca's Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix from Saint-Saën's Samson et Dalila is undersung but her showpiece aria from Rossini's La Cenerentola sparkles, with impressive coloratura fireworks. Netrebko is among the most brilliant stars of today's operatic firmament and while overparted in Norma's Casta Diva, she's effective elsewhere. She brings the house down with the first of the concert's many encores, a performance of Lehar's Meine Lippen from the operetta, Giuditta, that includes seductive singing and acting, sexual flirtations, and energetic dancing. Her enthusiasm is infectious, sparking her colleagues as well as the audience. All four singers join in the quartet from Rigoletto that ends the formal portion of the concert, and in the final encore, they trade verses in an arrangement of the Drinking Song from La Traviata. Conductor Marco Armiliato, whose supportive accompaniments help make the concert a rousing success, directs the capable orchestra.

So this two-hour singfest provides joys for vocal buffs despite the hectic video direction that keeps the cameras moving endlessly, unnecessarily swooping around the auditorium, zooming from balconies to the stage and back, and otherwise distracting from the main event. --Dan Davis

Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents the new faces of the opera world in a glamorous new live concert DVD: Anna Netrebko, Elı - na Garancˇa, Ramón Vargas and the highly acclaimed young French baritone Ludovic Tézier sing a wide range of Italian and French opera favorites. This recording features highlights from concerts at Baden- Baden's Festspielhaus, where tickets to this extraordinary event sold out in record time. The DVD features the four young stars performing duets and the popular quartet "Bella figlia dell'amore" from Rigoletto. Other highlights include Delibes' famous flower duet from Lakmé performed sumptuously by Anna and Elı-na. Total Playing Time: 139 min.

Beethoven: The Piano Concertos [DVD Video]

Leonard Bernstein - Young People's Concerts / New York Philharmonic

Leonard Bernstein earned glory as a composer, conductor, and pianist (classical and jazz), but nothing gave him more pleasure than the joy of teaching. He presented the unique blend of spoken words and music known as the "Young People's Concerts" throughout his tenure as music director of the New York Philharmonic and for several years after. His enjoyment, and his audience's, can be seen vividly captured by the video cameras. He is an intensely interactive teacher, getting his audience to sing, springing a quiz full of trick questions, and singing a Beatles song to demonstrate a point.

Bernstein is completely at ease talking to his audience. He can take the most abstruse subject - the meaning and function of intervals, tonality and atonality, the links between Gustav Mahler's troubled life and his music - and present them to a young audience with clarity, without condescension, and with a clear sense of the material's value. His subject-matter is enormously varied. For Igor Stravinsky's 80th birthday, he simply tells his audience the story of Petrouchka while conducting a dazzling performance of the colorful ballet. For a program on "Folk Music in the Concert Hall," he plays some of Canteloube's folk song arrangements and the boisterous finale of Ives's Symphony No. 2, full of borrowed pop and folk melodies. The influence of folk music is shown in folk song imitations by Mozart and Carlos Chavez.

The sound and images, taped over a 15-year span when the art of recording was rapidly advancing, are varied in quality; the series begins in black-and-white and ends in vivid color. Not all of the programs are equally compelling, but all are worth close and repeated attention. --Joe McLellan

Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic stand among his greatest achievements. These televised programs introduced an entire generation to the joys of classical music. Bernstein conducted his first Young People's Concert on January 18, 1958, just two weeks after becoming Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. Such programs were already a Philharmonic tradition when Bernstein arrived, but he made them a centerpiece of his work, part of what he described as his "educational mission." Looking back on the concerts years later, he referred to them as being "among my favorite, most highly prized activities of my life." When he took a sabbatical season from the orchestra in 1964-65, he still came back to lead the Young People's Concerts. He continued to lead these programs until 1972, even though he had stepped down as director of the Philharmonic in 1969. Bernstein led a total of fifty-three Young People's Concerts during those fourteen years, and covered a broad range of subjects. The works of the great composers were explored, including tributes to modern masters such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Paul Hindemith, Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland and Charles Ives. Bernstein discussed "Jazz in the Concert Hall," "Folk Music in the Concert Hall," and "The Latin-American Spirit." He explained the intricacies of Music Theory in programs such as "Musical Atoms: A Study of Intervals" and "What is a Mode?" He broached complex aesthetic issues such as "What Does Music Mean?" (his first program) with clarity and without condescension. Bernstein also used the Young People's Concerts to introduce young performers to the musical world. The sixteen year-old pianist André Watts made his debut in the concert of January 15, 1963. Originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, the programs were considered so important that for three glorious years CBS presented them at 7:30 p.m. (prime time for television viewing). Eventually the programs were moved to Sunday afternoons. The concerts were translated into other languages and syndicated to forty countries.

Andre Rieu - Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Track List: 1) Ballade 2) My Heart Will Go On - Theme to "Titanic" 3) Sous les ciel de Paris (The Sky of Paris) 4) Autumn in Venice 5) Granada 6) Marino Waltz 7) Kirmesliebe 8) Yeux Noires 9) Send in the Clowns 10) True Love 11) Moon River from "Breakfast at Tiffany's" 12) Edelweiss from "The Sound of Music" 13) Lost Heroes 14) The Blue Danube Waltz 15) Greensleeves 16) Adagio (Albinoni) 17) Internezz (mascagni) 18) Lullaby (Brahms)

The Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould Plays Bach

Andre Rieu - Live in Dublin

Filmed in Dublin's famous downtown train terminal which has been converted into one of the most delightful concert halls in Europe, LIVE IN DUBLIN features Andre and the orchestra performing a collection of old favorites and exciting new selections. Already a smash PBS program LIVE IN DUBLIN captures Andre Rieu and his magical live performances at their most elegant best!

Artur Rubinstein in Concert

First DVD release of this legendary performance by a legendary artist. "Rubinstein's superb form is matched by the incredible musical sensitivity of Haitink and the orchestra...Sounds and images are expertly cued to the split second... Rubinstein's face, body and hands are captured in a smooth flow of shots and reflections...The Beethoven takes on an almost Mozartean delicacy, the Brahms is infused with all the power it requires." --The New York Times A vibrant and revealing interview, "Rubinstein at 90" conducted by Robert MacNeil, is included as a bonus. Filmed in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, August 1973 (concert) and at Rubinstein's home in Paris, 1977 (interview) Artur Rubinstein, piano Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Bernard Haitink, conductor Directed by Hugo Käch

Grieg - Piano Concerto / Symphonic Dances / In Autumn - Acoustic Reality Experience [Blu-ray]

THIS BLU-RAY SURROUND MUSIC DISC DELIVERS AN AMAZING ACOUSTIC REALITY EXPERIENCE THROUGH ANY BLU-RAY (PS3) PLAYER WITH AN HDMI OR OPTICAL (core only 5.1 and 6.1) OUTPUT CONNECTED OR ASSEMBLED WITH DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO OR DTS (core only 5.1 and 6.1) CAPABLE PLAYBACK SYSTEM THE FULL RANGE 7.1 (6.1;5.1) SURROUND SPEAKER SET-UP IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR FULL PERCEPTION OF ACOUSTIC REALITY AND LOW FREQUENCY CHANNEL (LFE) THAT IS VERY CRITICAL FOR THIS RECORD. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS RECORD WAS ORIGINALLY PRODUCED FOR 5.1 AND PRESENTED FOR 7.1 SURROUND SOUND REPRODUCTION TO PROVIDE YOU WITH UNIQUE ACOUSTIC REALITY EXPERIENCE.

Lang Lang: Live at Carnegie Hall