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WALDBÜHREN CONCERT June 23, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY AT 100 BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. DVORÁK: Symphony No. 9 in
E minor, Op. 95 "From the New World." NIELSEN: Symphony No. 3, Op. 27
"Sinfonia Espansiva." SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E flat, Op.
82. Euroarts has resurrected a performance from Berlin's
famous Waldbühren that took place a decade ago (June 23, 2002),
a concert of what Sir Thomas Beecham called "lollipops." Violinist
Vadim Repin is soloist in short pieces of Wieniawski, Tchaikovsky, Kreisler
and John Williams
topping them off with a truly spectacular performance of Paganini's Carnival
of Venice during which he does the impossible and totally captivated
the capacity audience (and conductor Jansons)to the extent he had
to add another set of variations
as
an encore.
High
spirits
prevail
throughout the concert and it ends with the customary Berliner Luft—lots
of fun for all. Video is excellent, but audio is only adequate, surely
not surround. This must have been a delightful evening in Berlin's magnificent
outdoor theater. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra, formed in 1925, is a vital part of the country's cultural scene. Collaborating with the Beckett Foundation, they are presenting a series of concerts called the Symphonic Summer project for the purpose of attracting new audiences. Four performances from this series can be seen on this fine new DVD taped in 2009, all receive sterling readings from the excellent orchestra. Thomas Dausgaard was chief conductor of the DNSO 2004-2011 and has made many superlative recordings issued on SACD, particularly works of Langaard including the symphonies and the opera Antikrist, the latter on DVD as well (REVIEW). A bonus feature has Dausgaard briefly discussing each symphony. Excellent audio, presenting a rich orchestral sound—which is not particularly surround. Video directors follow the norm today for camera work giving us extreme close-ups most of the time in which we can notice that 99% of the players (many of whom are women) have blue eyes. This is a fine issue. R.E.B. (June 2012)
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