Alexis Weissenberg - Bach/Brahms/Chopin/Prokofiev/Rachmaninov/Sciabin/Stravinsky DVD

Advantages: Wonderful performance of the Korngold Violin Concerto
Disadvantages: Content repetition, speech over music, disappointing extras, etc

...working with a raft of world class orchestras and performing in all the top concert halls. She has won a Grammy for her recordings of the violin concerti of Brahms and Stravinsky, along with a host of other awards during her highly productive recording activities. After an initial contract with Sony Classical she is currently contracted to Deutsche Grammophon and her recent unusual album combination of the Schoenberg and Sibelius Violin concerti was the first recording of a piece by gritty 20th century composer Schoenberg to ever hit the top of the classical charts - quite an achievement. Hilary Hahn has pursued an original approach to her highly informative website at www.hilaryhahn.com where she maintains a travel blog giving a fascinating insight into her touring musical life around the world and a further indication of her interest... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Animation , the classic music
Disadvantages: None

...Made in the 1940's "Fantasia" is nothing short of a monument as a sign of great Filmmaking. As the movie cover says, "This extraordinary blend of magnificent music and animation is an exhilarating sight and sound experience". I couldn't describe it better myself. The movie starts out as an elegant musical performance that is lead by Conductor Leopold Stokowski and The Philadelphia Orchestra. He explains every piece you hear will hear in this fantastic animated feature. There are works by John Sebastian Bach, a great German composer such as Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, The Nutcracker Waltz by Pyotr Tchaikovsky , famous Russian composer that is recognized all over the world, all accompanied by great Disney Animation. There is also a segment featuring Mickey Mouse... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Extremely well acted, beautiful soundtrack, everything spot on
Disadvantages: Some people will never see this because of preconceived notions

...or record players,so how was this accomplished? This was a vocal orchestra, pure harmony of sung voices. Two prisoners were instrumental in this morale booster - Norah Chambers, who had been trained at London's Royal Academy of Music, and Margaret Dryburgh, a Presbyterian missionary. It was thanks to them that at Christmas in 1943, the camp echoed to the beautiful sounds of an angelic choir. They had Chopin, Debussy,and Brahms, Mendelssohn and Dvorak, all transcribed from memory and taught to the other women, who sang the instrumental parts. Beresford tracked down survivors all over the world to learn first-hand accounts of their ordeal, and then turned out a film which is both historical and inspirational. Although he changed the names, Norah becoming Adrienne Pargiter (played by Glenn Close) and Margaret portrayed as "Daisy" Drummond (by... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful