"Actor: BBC Symphony Orchestra"

• Last Night of the Proms 2011 | DVD | (09/07/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tradition met high jinks as Edward Gardner conducted his first Last Night of the Proms. For this grandest of grand finales there were two very special guests. Since her first Proms appearance in 1995, Susan Bullock has emerged as Britain's leading dramatic soprano, specialising in what she calls 'the large ladies' of the repertoire. Also featured is a classical music superstar as popular in the West as in his native China. On his sixth visit to the Proms, Lang Lang plays Liszt; Bartok's thrilling suite provides a blast of exotic orchestral colour; and Arne, Parry and Elgar bring down the curtain in traditional fashion.

• Strauss/ Dvorak: Kempe (Ein Heldenleben/ Symphony No.9) | DVD | (09/02/2011) from £21.75   |  Saving you £-1.76 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tracklist: 1. Strauss - Ein Heldenleben 2. Dvorak - Symphony No.9 'From the New World'

• Elgar: Enigma Variations | DVD | (29/03/2005) from £13.47   |  Saving you £6.52 (48.40%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Includes BBC drama documentary A Hidden Portrait presented by Sir Andrew Davis plus a complete performance of The Enigma Variations given in Elgar's home town of Worcester by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

• Great Composers - Vol. 3 - Mahler / Tchaikovsky / Puccini | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This three-hour compilation surveying the life and works of Tchaikovsky, Puccini and Mahler completes the BBC Great Composers series (the two previous releases contain the pairings of Bach/Mozart and Beethoven/Wagner). It's a splendid series, full of judiciously collected biographical information, lively and telling visuals, colourful anecdotes and excellent excerpted performances of the composers' best works. The directors' styles are very different, from Kriss Rusmanis' impressionistic approach (with an early chamber piece of Mahler's accompanied by shots of rippling brooks and dappled sunlight) to Chris Hunt's more forthright take on Puccini, but each is well tailored to the subject matter. There is a certain amount of psychological speculation in each case (Mahler may have inherited his sense of irony from watching nine of his siblings die while the jolly life of his father's tavern continued unabated, for example) but there's nothing outrageous. If you haven't hooked up your TV to some decent speakers the performances may sound a little pinched, but they are so good the quality shines through nonetheless; particularly noteworthy is Thomas Hampson's glorious reading of excerpts from Kindertotenlieder, and Georg Solti is on top form. On the DVD: Great Composers on disc comes with subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, but no other special features. --Warwick Thompson

• Elgar: Enigma Variations | DVD | (02/09/2013) from £17.09   |  Saving you £2.90 (16.97%)   |  RRP £19.99

  BBC Symphony Orchestra - Leonard Bernstein, direction

• Dream Of Gerontius | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Edward Elgar's choral masterpiece telling of an ordinary man on the point of death and facing his judgement before God is considered one of the greatest spiritual adventures in the Romantic repertoire. This monumental performance was broadcast live on BBC television from St Paul's Cathedral in London as part of the celebrations for the Cathedral's 300th anniversary on November 26 1997. Conducted by Andrew Davis and featuring Philip Langridge Catherine Wyn Rogers and Alastair Miles.

• Last Night Of The Proms 2000 | DVD | (03/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Numerous compilations of The Last Night of the Proms have been available in the past. Yet it makes sense to see and hear the event whole, and the 2000 Last Night was among the best of recent years. The range of music is excellent: Bach bizarrely orchestrated by Elgar, Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto given with classical poise by Hilary Hahn, and Jane Eaglen thrilling in the closing scene from Richard Strauss' opera Salome. In the second half, a scintillating and newly discovered jazz suite by Shostakovich, Percy Grainger's affectionate Tribute to Stephen Foster, and Delius' heartfelt Walk to the Paradise Garden. That it all works so well is a tribute to Sir Andrew Davis, who conducts with conviction and is clearly enjoying himself in the standard items by Elgar, Wood, Arne and Parry. As his last concert at the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, it's fitting that he received a special presentation--following on from his typically enthusiastic Last Night speech.On the DVD: Presentation is excellent, with profiles of the main works and interviews with the artists performing them. Picture quality reproduces the colourful array of flags and festivities with admirable definition and naturalness. Sound quality is good, though recorded levels vary between music and interviews, and may need some volume adjustment during playback. There are 23 access points, and an introduction to the Last Night that sets the scene without pre-empting the occasion. Whether or not you've attended the event in person, you won't get a better sense of the fun, frivolity, and also the musical quality of the Last Night than here. --Richard Whitehouse

• Various: Garrick Ohlsson (Piano Concerto No.2/ Scherzo/ Polonaise/ Funerailles) | DVD | (04/02/2011) from £12.05   |  Saving you £7.94 (39.70%)   |  RRP £19.99