{"product_id":"5060244550988-enigma-variationen-german-import","title":"ELGAR: Enigma Variations (BBC Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein, 1982)","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN \u003cbr\u003e PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNG \u003cbr\u003e I now want to build up a library of actual performances on film for television. I like recording very much because there are so many ways you can direct attention to aspects of the music that is just not possible in an everyday concert. LEONARD BERNSTEIN GRAMOPHONE, 1970 Bernstein s only engagement with the BBC Symphony Orchestra took place in April 1982. Founded in 1930 by Sir Adrian Boult, the orchestra was admired for its interpretations of contemporary music, and had played host to distinguished conductors such as Arturo Toscanini and Bruno Walter. Bernstein and the orchestra got off to a rocky start Bernstein was spectacularly late for the first rehearsal and made no apology for this. But out of this rough beginning grew a partnership between orchestra and conductor that resulted in perhaps the most controversial and infamous and perhaps the most beautifully intense interpretation of Elgar s Engima Variations. Most famously, under Bernstein s baton, Nimrod (Variation IX) lasts five minutes and fifteen seconds nearly twice as long as most versions. But, as Humphrey Burton quotes in the liner notes for this release; when you can see the music as well as hearing it, when you watch on camera the intensity of Bernstein s beat and body language (particularly in the studio rehearsal where he implores the orchestra to keep it as pure and noble as you can ) you are caught up in this wonderfully spiritual music. Humphrey Burton s booklet note is informative and enlightening, and provides a unique perspective on the conductor and the DVD programme in particular the rehearsal, which he directed. As an eminent broadcaster, biographer and director, he had a 20-year association with Bernstein, during which he directed over 170 concerts and documentaries. The DVD also contains the rehearsal of the Enigma Variations at the BBC studios, and an interview with Leonard Bernstein by Barry Norman about the themes relating to the variations, with Japanese, German and French subtitles. ICA Classics previous DVD release featuring Leonard Bernstein (ICAD5082) has received great critical acclaim and was awarded Diapason d Or by magazine Diapason. This is the first release of this material on DVD. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e REZENSION \u003cbr\u003e The DVD, more than most of its kind, feels like a personal encounter with the magnetic unguarded Bernstein. --Gramophone, Nov'13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLeonard Bernstein s DG recording of Elgar's Enigma ruffled a few feathers when it appeared in the early 1980s. This ICA Classics DVD is a much better option the accompanying live performance recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall in April 1982 with good sound and a decent image, and the rehearsal footage which was shown on BBC Two a few days later. Director Humphrey Burton points out in his booklet note that Bernstein in his final decade tended towards extremes of tempi. Elgar's theme, and the slower variations, are far weightier than usual. Nimrod is astonishingly protracted, but works beautifully. Watching Bernstein conduct was always entertaining, and the physical contortions and facial expressions are mesmerising here. And he draws a wonderfully rich, dark sound from the BBC players. The faster variations are thrilling, and you ll forgive the over-ripe, extended final note. Even more entertaining is Humphrey Burton's rehearsal documentary. The orchestral players were already annoyed by Bernstein's late arrival, and you can sense the irritation through watching their facial expressions and body language. Witness a tense confrontation with the orchestral trumpets, and you wonder how the partnership survived past the first hour. It just feels impossible! moans leader Rodney Friend at one point. As a bonus, there's a clunky interview between Bernstein and Barry Norman. Norman looks distinctly overwhelmed, perhaps worried that the precarious column of ash forming at the end of Bernstein's smouldering cigarette will topple onto his piano keyboard. Fans of early 1980s hairstyles and fashion design will also find much to entertain. Compulsive viewing. --Artdesk, 28\/09\/13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow we get a chance to experience the live Festival hall performance, as well as some of the rehearsals that preceded it, with the orchestra in a stroppy mood -unwilling to be told by Bernstein how Elgar should go. --IRR, Dec'13\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40942605893729,"sku":"5060244550988","price":22.74,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/fae1675ced08d477c8bc88753a1dad8a_5cfa8376-627c-4253-8bff-ae2855759c25.jpg?v=1695686387","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/5060244550988-enigma-variationen-german-import","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}