Customer Reviews

Beethoven 5.Piano Concerto

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is truly an excellent dvd. I have long been a fan of Gulda, both his classical and jazz playing, perhaps best highlighted in his collaborations with Chick Corea. But here Gulds shines as a performer/ conductor.

To conduct from the piano is difficult, especially in such a demanding work so kudos go to the orchestra. They must have been very well reherased for they follow Guld'a minimalist conducting perfectly.

Gulda is great to watch. In close=ups we see his expressions and how the music moves him. In some ways his conducting from the piano and mouthings are reminscent of Glenn Gould.

The Emperor is a difficult work in that the piano and orchestra are more separated than in previuous concertos, thereby making it more difficult to conduct from the piano. The tempi seem relaxed, but the overall time is shorter than may other performances. The interplay between the piano and orchestra, coupled with Gulda's conducting while playing, are great. THis emperor reigns.

As for the Mozart the performances are excellent and his witticisms between works are great. Mozart really swings is my favorite.

All in all a great dvd.

Listening to Mozart's music fill the soul with such hope and passion! This recording captures the essence and the magic of this brilliant composer.
Beethoven also excellent.

This is a LIVE recording, so a memeber of the audience coughed. What could be done about it? Show him the door and start all over again? A full orchestra for Mozart?? This is not Mahler! I got a feeling that quite a proportion of the DVD viewers aren't serious music lovers, caring more about visual or other things than music per se without due respect to the natural overall effect. So, new comers have better excercise care reading such reviews.

I find the wood winds of Munich Orchestra most appealing, particularly the clarinet, which compares favourably with the present Berlin Philharmonic. Needless to say, the strings as well as the other sections are all upfront. Here you can see that Gulda the solist/conductor competes well, had he chosen to be a conductor, with his masterclass pupil, Abbado and note their striking similarirties. And as a painist, he had even better control over the piano than his pupil, Martha Argerich and his understanding of music as well as his sense of structure and rhythm is so much stronger. Again, note the similarities between these two pianists.

Horowitz once said none of the US orchestra is any good. When people say something bad about Berlin Philharmonic, they say it's got the Philadelphia sound... Well, get ready your pipe and smoke it.

Friedrich Gulda is probably best know for his sensitive Mozart renditions, having dedicated great parts of his life's work to "the divine master" as he calls him. But on this superbly produced DVD the Beethoven Emperor concerto is the real stunner - a wonderful recording in which Gulda conducts as well as he plays. He is in total harmony and synch with a superb Munich Philharmonic, and the spirit of the whole performance is very moving. The audio and video of the great production are outstanding, another quality production from the House of Panasonic. These are the kinds of productions one buys a DVD player for!
The second part of the DVD has Gulda playing Mozart sonatas and those are pretty much the icing on the cake of an absolutely outstanding disc! Buy it for your collection and never regret it.

If you love the works of the Master, i.e. Beethoven, and you love piano concertos, then you must have this DVD. The unconventional Gulda, a child prodigy, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra; how can you go wrong? With the brilliance of the Allegro and the Rondo, plus the tenderness of the 2nd movement, this is a must-have to any classical music lover's collection.

imho mr guilda is a real entertainer and an artist. i have never witnessed one of his performances before. there is little doubt in my mind you will love the way he throws himself into the music. he plays extravagantly but i did not think his ego was too much on display-he simply makes you respond to the music the way he pours out the way he feels. what an entertainer! i loved it. it would be impossible not to play beethoven no. 5 again.