Product Details

• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Manhattan Records
• DVD Release Date: June 5, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000PDZIZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #110,272 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

PBS darlings the 12 Girls Band captivates fans all over again in their dazzling concert DVD Live from Shanghai. The band actually consists of 13 (a baker's dozen?) comely virtuoso young Chinese women, who play both traditional Chinese melodies and Western classical and pop tunes on their classic East Asian instruments, the erhu, pipa, yanguin, dizi, and guzheng. The spectacle is just as entertaining as the tightly delivered musical offerings, and this concert, which also showcases the gorgeous setting and skyline of Shanghai, is about as close to a trip to China as you can get without a passport.

Highlights include the band's renditions of Handel, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach--the last an especially accomplished, memorable version of the Concerto for Violin in A Minor. Traditional Chinese melodies are striking on pieces like "High Mountain and Floating Water." The band is joined by the talented singer Lila Downs for such vocals as "La Habanera" from Carmen--for which goosebumps are the order of the evening. Even a hoary jazz standard like "Take Five" sounds fresh in the hands of these enthusiastic musicians. (Tip: Skip over the theme from Titanic, or that refrain may haunt the rest of the concert.) Music fans from across the globe should be dazzled by the talent contained on this single stage. --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 12 or 13, that is the question, June 9, 2007

By 

Herb Schulsinger "Bach Because!" (Valinda, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 12 Girls Band: Live from Shanghai (DVD)

Brian Kohler wrote: "how can there be 13 girls in the 12 girls band? Thats craaazzzy!!!!"

Not so craaazzzy. There are 13 doughnuts in a baker's dozen and the Three Musketeers had four members, Porthos, Athos, Aramis, and d'Artagnon. Gotta learn to think outside the box.

But, more to the point, the Twelve Girls Band is outstanding, especially, I think, for their masterful renditions of Bach and Beethoven. I had my doubts that European classical and baroque music could be played appropriately on Eastern instruments, but they quickly disabused me of that idea. I felt the same way about Bela Fleck playing Bach on the banjo, but he proved that good music could be played by talented musicians on any instrument and made to sound as though it had been written for that instrument. Terrific DVD...highly recommended!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Audio-Visual Delight!, June 8, 2007

By 

Dr. Glenn W. Briggs "MusicDr" (KSC, Florida & Chengdu, China) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 12 Girls Band: Live from Shanghai (DVD)

Having enjoyed considerable time in Shanghai, and listening to and watching the Twelve Girls Band's performances on CD and DVD for several years, I confidently invite you to an audio-visual delight! This DVD provides not only an unforgetable late-evening visual tour of the Shanghai-Pudong area, but also a lasting exposure to some of the finest music available in the world today. These very attractive young ladies are incredibly competent musicians who employ ancient, traditional Chinese musical instruments to turn their renditions of contemporary songs into glorious listening experiences.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relaxing, amusing and interesting..., August 12, 2007

By 

Joe Anthony "Joe Anthony" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanghai (Audio CD)

Since returning from a trip a trip to China, I have become somewhat fascinated with Chinese culture and history. Of course, as a Westerner, my understanding is hopelessly superficial. I have built a small collection of CDs of Far Eastern Music; some sound more traditional than others.

Upon my first listening to this, my first CD of the 12 Girls, I was unimpressed as it seemed like a mushy "new age" treatment, but as I gave it a few more hearings, the CD started to grow on me. It 's actually a fusion of traditional Chinese music, jazz, rock, classical and a bit of new age. The musicians, I guess, are quite phenominal. According to the liner notes, these women are the best in all China.

I found this CD, relaxing, amusing and interesting. I may be looking for more of the 12 Girls.

Believe it or not, if you like Celtic music (i.e. Celtic Women's Band) you may like the 12 Girls from China. As different as the Chinese are from the Irish, it seems that traditional music of Ireland and China have similarities (I guess it stems from the use of the pentatonic scale).