"Actor: Gil Shaham"

• European Concert 2002 - Berliner Philharmoniker - Claddio Abbado | DVD | (15/12/2003) from £23.88   |  Saving you £-3.89 (-19.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A concert performance by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Palermo in 2002. Works include: Brahams Violin Concerto and Dvorak Symphony No. 9. Conducted by Claudio Abbado.

• Berlin Philharmonic - New Year's Gala 1997 - A Tribute To Carmen | DVD | (15/05/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Not to be confused with the more famous Vienna New Year's Day concerts, this is a recording of the Berlin Philharmonic's New Year's Gala from 31st December 1997. The concert was billed as "Dances of Life, Love and Death", a homage to Carmen. Beginning with six of the most famous selections from Bizet's opera, the all-star cast features mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie Von Otter, baritone Bryn Terfel and tenor Robert Alagna. Other than being passionately romantic there is no direct link between Carmen and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, but a warm-hearted performance by pianist Mikhail Pletnev requires no excuse. Delivered with fiery virtuosity by violinist Gil Shaham, Pablo de Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy then transforms Bizet's melodies into a concentrated instrumental extravaganza. The mood continues with Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole and De Falla's Ritual Fire Dance, with the closing Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms maintaining the theme by gypsy association. This is a wonderfully sultry concert for a cold winter's day, conductor Claudio Abbado delivering pure romance, winning uplifting performances from his fabulous gallery of musicians and stellar soloists. On the DVD: The packaging mistakenly states a picture format of 4:3. The DVD is actually presented at 16:9, anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. There is no option for standard 4:3 viewing. When viewed on a "standard" television the programme is squeezed and distorted, making everyone too tall and thin. On a widescreen TV the picture, while vastly superior to VHS, shows grain and is not always well focused. The sound, in both PCM and Dolby Digital stereo, is excellent. Unless one counts the well-appointed booklet there are no bonus features. However, the disc is Region 0, and should work in any DVD player. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Mozart: Violin Sonatas | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £32.37   |  Saving you £-9.38 (-40.80%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Mozart: Violin Sonatas (Shaham)

• Dan Ettinger Meets Fil Shaham | DVD | (01/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Newly appointed Chief Guest Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (2002-2003) Dan Ettinger is designated to become the Kapellmeister and Assistant to the GMD at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin as of September 2003. Since the 1999-2000 season he has been Conductor in Residence of the New Israeli Opera. As a Baritone Dan Ettinger made his major debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in April 1993. In addition to his singing and conducting Mr. Ettinger is an accomplished pianist accompanist and coach and was a faculty member of the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv University. At age 32 violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognized by noted critics and leaders of the world's most celebrated symphonic ensembles as a veteran virtuoso of the instrument. At the age of 7 he began violin studies. In 1981 while studying in Jerusalem he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic. In 1982 he became a scholarship student at Juilliard and was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990. The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 and since then has hosted most of the world's greatest conductors and soloists. As special feature the DVD offers artist biographies and a film documentary about life and times of Joseph Haydn. Programme: 1.Haydn Violin Concerto No.1 2.Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 3.Beethoven Symphony No.3