New Year's Concert In Vienna DVD

The television broadcast from Vienna of the New Years Day concert has attracted to the podium across the past 40 years or so a number of starry conductors, but none more so than Carlos Kleiber, that elusive maestro who in some respects represents the antithesis of the late-20th century model (consider his slim discography). In this 1989 concert he brings to life the music of the Strauss family in an extraordinarily vital manner. Caught on film under the vigilant eye of director Brian Large, Kleiber, with an economical set of gestures including a seemingly extended... left arm that sends the music winging on its way, has the Vienna Philharmonic strings giving off a lustrous shine unique even by their standards, while the brass (trumpets and horns) ring out with an Alpine freshness that sends a tingle down the spine of the listener. The programme blends firm favourites such as the waltzes--Accelerations, The Blue Danube and Artists Life--with less-often played pieces such as the The Dragonfly polka where Kleibers arm at one moment seems to be drawing the insects flight-path. Theres one break from tradition in that there is no dancing in this film. Brian Large knows the music inside out, providing close-ups at key moments such as the lovingly shaped introduction to the Artists Life waltz, which begins with a breathtakingly played account of the opening tune on oboe. The orchestra, in morning dress, join in with song during At Home with Us. Play this at the end of a weary day and be transported to another world of unadulterated musical luxury. On the DVD: there are no extra features, just a set of advertisements for current Deutsche Grammophon DVDs including Kleibers own Der Rosenkavalier. --Adrian Edwards [show more]

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