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BEETHOIVEN: Piano Concerto No. 1 in C, Op. 15. SCHUBERT: Symphony
No. 5 in B flat. MOZART; Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat, K. 482. TATIANA - A Ballet by John Neumeier Lera Auerbach. Hollywood in Vienna - The World of James Horner" Pianist Andras Schiff is one of today's most respected artists, demonstrated on this fine new video of a concert recorded January 24 - 25, 2015 in the Great Hall of the Salzurg Mozarteum Foundation. Although Schiff's technique is top notch, as evidenced by his recordings of Tchaikovsky and Dohnanyi, he concentrates on classical repertory heard on this concert. He has conducted chamber ensembles and formed his own group Cappella Andrea Barca, heard on this video. He recorded all five Beethoven concertos with Bernard Haitink in Dresden, and Mozart 22 with conductor Sandor Vegh. Elegant playing here in these sparkling performances, with the charming Schubert symphony in between. Beautiful video and audio. Excellent issue! Tatiana is a new ballet by John Neumeier after Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, the same work that inspired Tchaikovsky's opera. The ballet was commission by the Hamburg Ballet, the Hamburg State Opera and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Music Theatre. It was premiered at the Hamburg Ballet in June 2014; this film was made that same year. The score is by Lera Auerbach. In choreographic episodes, combining dream, memory, premonition and reality the story is told of the tragic love life of Tattiana. After a Prologue we enter the world of dreams and illusions, ending with the last meeting. Surely lovers of ballet should investigate this although I doubt very much it will become standard repertory; you can be sure there will be no concert suites drawn from the score. Surely the performance is excellent in every way with Hélene Bouchet as Tatian, Tatiana Bevazof as Onegin Leslie Haymann as Olga, and Alexandr Trusch as Vladimir. Excellent video and audio. American composer James Horner has had a remarkable career in the musical world, particularly for his imaginative scores for many films including Star Track II: The Wrath of Khan, and Tiantic. His music is always perfect for the movies he wrote for, and he often uses choral and electronic effects to recreate an outer space atmosphere. This superb DVD showcases Horner's work, with excerpts from his most famous scores, all given dazzling performances. The brass players really get a workout and produce beautiful strong sound throughout. The concert was recorded in Vienna's Musikverein on an unspecified date in 2013 before an enthusiastic audience. This is a memorial issue; the remarkable artist tragically was killed in an airplane crash in California in June 2015. This is top-notch film music at its best, beautifully photographed in Hollywood style, and recorded with uncommon clarity and impact. This is a terrific DVD.
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