"Actor: Orchestra"

• Johann Strauss Gala | DVD | (05/04/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Not only did 1999 mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Johann Strauss Sr., but the centenary of the passing of his son, Johann Strauss, "The Waltz King". To commemorate, on the evening of May 29, 1999 in Vienna's grand Heldenplatz almost 8,000 people gathered for a gala concert. This Wiener Philharmoniker performance was conducted by Zubin Meta (who had previously conducted the The Three Tenors, one of whom, José Carreras is here joined by soprano Andrea Rost for two duets from Strauss operettas). At 103 minutes this DVD offers 19 selections, but either there was an interval after just six pieces, or considering how rapidly it gets dark between "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka" and the "Overture" from Die Fledermaus, there has been some cutting. Given such a great orchestra and the wonderful setting, it would have been nice to see people dancing to what is after all, real dance music. Despite the static nature of the event, the music is still uplifting, moving even the staid Vienna audience to clap along by the finale of the rousing "Radetzky March".On the DVD: Other than some useful booklet notes there are no special features, and unlike most other Arthaus titles the sound is offered only in stereo Dolby Digital and PCM stereo. This is presumably due to the difficulties associated with outdoor acoustics and live recording which nearly prevented the concert going ahead. The anamorphically enhanced picture generally makes the most of the spectacular location, having a clarity in the close-ups such that it is virtually possible to count the hairs on the musicians heads.--Gary S. Dalkin

• Mozart: Symphony No. 40 In G Minor KV 550 / Symphony No. 31 In D Major - Paris KV 297 | DVD | (22/12/2004) from £4.93   |  Saving you £10.06 (67.10%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A performance by the RSO Stuttgart and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg in 1991.

• Mahler: Symphony No. 5 | Blu Ray | (19/05/2014) from £25.75   |  Saving you £4.24 (16.47%)   |  RRP £29.99

  As Riccardo Chailly points out, 'The Fifth begins with a dark, gloomy, and tragic tone, but then is enlivened in the Scherzo and Adagietto, and eventually ends with a more positive character in the Finale - perhaps for the last time in Mahler's life. The Adagietto is a revelation, a spiritual oasis. It is not an expression of pain, but rather Mahler's declaration of love to Alma - a song without words.' With the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Chailly gives the piece an unsu.

• Berlin Philharmonic -- New Year's Gala 1996 | DVD | (14/11/2001) from £14.75   |  Saving you £8.23 (69.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The New Year's Gala Concert given by the Berlin Philharmonic is one of the fixtures of the German music scene, as much as the Vienna Philharmonic concerts are of the Austrian one. This concert from 1996 is typical of the genre, including a selection of highbrow lollipops, a brilliant internationally renowned soloist (Maxim Vengerov) and a generous helping of waltzes with which to swing in the new year. Claudio Abbado brings his usual unflashy savoir-faire to the job of conducting, and the orchestra responds with some gorgeously silky, perfectly executed, if not always electrifying, playing. Vengerov makes Ravel's Tzigane flash and thunder with gypsy passion and gives an equally fiery performances of Brahms' Hungarian Dances Nos. 7, 17 and 21. If the Swedish Radio Choir aren't quite as thrilling in Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes and Gypsy Songs they still do a fine job with a remarkably tight sense of ensemble and excellent phrasing. All in all, this is an attractive (if not earth-shattering) performance from one of the world's finest orchestras. On the DVD: there are no pleasant surprises here. The visual content includes concert shots of the orchestra, choir and soloist in the Philharmonie Hall. There are no subtitles in any language for the choral sections, and the special features comprise two trailers for Cecilia Bartoli's Vivaldi album and a recording of Penderecki's The Seven Gates of Jerusalem. --Warwick Thompson

• Madama Butterfly - Puccini | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £25.65   |  Saving you £4.34 (16.92%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Robert Wilson's pure and highly stylized 2003 production enhances the timeless beauty of Puccini's moving Japanese tragedy. Cheryl Barker and Martin Thompson lead an inspired cast in a highly charged recording from the Amsterdam Muziektheater with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by a masterful and passionate Edo de Waart.

• Mahler: Symphony No. 5 | DVD | (19/05/2014) from £27.29   |  Saving you £-7.30 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  ACCEN 20284; ACCENTUS MUSIC -; Classica Orchestrale

• The Nutcracker | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  A 1968 made for television version of The Nutcracker performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden choreographed and produced by as well as starring Rudolf Nureyev and the Royal Ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky.

• Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 1 / Symphony No. 7 / Overture To Coriolan | DVD | (18/12/2000) from £22.19   |  Saving you £-2.20 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The London Symphony Orchestra, Solti and Perahia in an all-Beethoven performance could hardly be anything but first class. This concert, which took place in 1987 to mark the fifth anniversary of the opening of the Barbican Arts Centre in London, also benefits from Solti's astute programming. Asked that his choice of music should reflect the policy of the venue in offering "variety in unity", the conductor selected the brief but thickly textured Coriolan Overture (splendidly un-ponderous under Solti's baton), the sprightly First Piano Concerto (here handled with kid gloves by Perahia) and the ebullient Seventh Symphony. The latter is marred at the outset by a spot-the-downbeat domino effect from the orchestra but this is swept away after a few bars to allow Solti's usual bravura to carry the concept off superbly, although his energised and convulsive old-school podium style is infuriatingly distracting when exposed to the merciless scrutiny of the cameras. Musically, however, the results are a delight, with some immaculate section playing, notably from the woodwinds. The disc includes a trailer for two other Arthaus releases. --Roger Thomas

• Verdi: La Traviata -- Sills | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £27.29   |  Saving you £-2.30 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Before live opera telecasts became regular television events The Grater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association ( WETA ) embarked on an ambitious project. In the summer of 1974 WETA began videotaping live operatic and concert performances at the Filene Center Auditorium in Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna Virginia for broadcast in a series entitled In Performance at Wolf Trap. The overwhelming success of the series proved to public television stations throughout the country that audiences were eager for this kind of programming.In 1976 In Performance at Wolf Trap presented Beverly Sills in one of her most celebrated portrayals that of Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata. Just months earlier Sills had performed the role at the Metropolitan Opera to great acclaim.

• Cecilia And Bryn At Glyndebourne - Arias And Duets | HD DVD | (31/12/2007) from £11.53   |  Saving you £18.46 (61.60%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Cecilia And Bryn At Glyndebourne.Arias And Duets.

• Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg -- Australian Opera / Mackerras | DVD | (20/02/2004) from £32.38   |  Saving you £-2.39 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is Wagner's most life-affirming opera, a romantic comedy about life and love in 16th century Nürnberg with none of the mythological characters and settings of the composer's other operas. The story concerns a knight, Walther Von Stolzing (here sung by Paul Frey) who must win the hand of the woman he loves, Eva (Helena Doese) by competing in a competition to become the Master Singer of the city. Against him are various romantic rivals, while in the role of his eventual mentor is the shoemaker Hans Sachs (Donald McIntyre). Doese brings just the right innocent femininity to one of only two important female roles--the other is filled by Rosemary Gunn as her governess, Magdalene. Paul Frey is fine as the romantic young knight, but the opera belongs to the great New Zealand Wagnerian bass-baritone, Donald McIntyre. His performance is richly insightful as only one so steeped in the world of the composer could be. The staging is deliberately unspectacular, the colours muted to the natural earth tones of the Middle Ages, focusing all attention on the characters, drama and exhilarating music. Though running three-and-a-half hours, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an excellent introduction to Wagner's art; especially as presented in this 1990 performance in an engagingly direct and unpretentious style, one that draws the audience in and makes for highly effective small-screen viewing. On the DVD: Die Meistersinger is presented on two DVDs to maximise picture quality over the 227-minute playing time. The image is 4:3 and is typical of a 1990 live opera performance recorded on video, being perfectly acceptable while revealing all the faults of the medium. The stereo sound is very good without being exceptional. There are optional subtitles in English, German, French and Spanish but no extras. --Gary S Dalkin

• Various: David Oistrakh (Concerto For Two Violins/ Sinfonia Concertante/ Violin Concerto) | DVD | (09/02/2011) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tracklist: 1. Bach - Concerto For Two Violins In D Minor BWV 1043 2. Mozart - Sinfonia Concertante K 364 3. Brahms - Violin Concerto In D Major Op.77

• Puccini: Madama Butterfly | Blu Ray | (13/06/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Werther - Massenet | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £33.73   |  Saving you £-8.74 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A 2005 production of Massenet's opera which tells the tragic story of Werther's intense passion for Charlotte who has married his best friend Albert fulfilling a pledge to her now deceased mother. But Werther's letters of love bring Charlotte to his side when he promises to take his own life. Philippe Jordan conducts the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

• Berlin Philharmoniker - Staatsoper Unter Den Linden 1998 | DVD | (05/06/2000) from £16.16   |  Saving you £-6.17 (-61.80%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Includes the music of Beethoven Robert Schumann Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner.

• Charles Munch Conducts Berlioz L'enfance Du Christ | DVD | (28/02/2005) from £20.56   |  Saving you £2.43 (10.60%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Various Composers - Works (Reiner, Chicago So) | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £9.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (150.15%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Various Composers - Works (Reiner Chicago SO)

• Verdi: Macbeth | DVD | (29/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  One of the best of Verdi's earlier operas, Macbeth has a distinctive energy to which, in this performance, conductor Sinopoli gives full rein. His excellent chorus--terrifyingly skittish witches, mournful exiles, sinister-facetious murderers, outraged and vengeful courtiers in the aftermath of Duncan's murder--is as much a participant as the principals, and the orchestral accompaniment reminds us that what the young Verdi lacked of his later subtlety he made up in sheer vigour. Renato Bruson is an extraordinary Macbeth, caught in a nightmare of his own making and unable to find release save through further killings and eventually self-destruction; Maria Zampieri has the sort of voice Verdi specified and which many productions avoid, a voice prepared to give its all, not to any sort of lyric beauty but to a harshness that is dramatically appropriate--this is a fine characterisation. Dennis O'Neill has comparatively little to do, but makes his vengeance aria a memorable reminder that guilt and shame are not all that this opera is about. --Roz Kaveney

• Waldbuhne 1994 Dance And Rhapsodies | DVD | (02/04/2002) from £12.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (54.01%)   |  RRP £19.99

  At the Waldbuhne concert in 1994 the Berlin Philharmonic put a programme together under the heading' A night of Dances and Rhapsodies' which is presented the works of central European composers. The dance and folk pieces of music from the 19th century which the orchestra performed under the baton of Mariss Jansons emphasised the different styles and trends from this musically significant era.

• Roberta Flack - Golden Voice | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £8.98   |  Saving you £4.01 (30.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Roberta Flack recorded live in Edmonton Canada this performance features 'Killing Me Softly With His Song' 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' 'Jesse' 'Suzanne' and many more.