Product Details

• Actors: London Symphony Orchestra, Joaquin Achucarro
• Directors: Colin Davis, Robin Lough
• Format: Classical, Color, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Language: English (PCM)
• Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Bbc / Opus
• DVD Release Date: March 30, 2010
• Run Time: 131 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0033A9IPC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,305 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #81 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Performing Arts

Editorial Reviews

This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro's debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke's, London, with Britain's eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A treasured Brahms' performance with a heart of gold, April 1, 2010

By 

Warden Manford - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Achucarro: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Here is a pianist that makes Brahms' compositions look and sound effortless. Make no mistake, Achucarro's musicianship is dazzling: his technique is smooth and melodic; his pedaling superb; the orchestra passionate and responsive to Colin Davis' direction. Then there is the Blu-ray photography which is brilliantly choreographed in a beautiful setting, the cameras intimately focusing on the instruments shaping the orchestration. The picture is as clear as I have ever seen, and the audio is crisp and present. None of that recording buried somewhere in the audience. This is state of the art! The bonus features provide a biographical background of Achucarro, who has impressive credentials and then the surprise--a recital including Brahms', Chopin, Scriabin, and others--in a pianistic tour de force. The day I received this Opus Art's performance I watched it once and then turned around and watched it all over again. Absolutely amazing!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent brahms and fascinating pianist, May 30, 2011

By 

Jmam "reader" (green village, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Achucarro: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I had not heard of the pianist Achucarro before, and I thought, "Who is this guy with the tongue-twister name interpreting my Brahms second concerto?" But since it was the only Brahms second concerto I could find on Blu-ray I decided to get it.
Well, it turns out, that Achucarro is well-known and, I could tell right away, there is something unique and ingenious about how he interprets and plays piano works. He even made some Scriabin piano pieces sound scintillating and fascinating to me, which for me is an accomplishment considering that I usually find Scriabin boring. Some of the piano pieces he played on this recording revealed the pieces in ways I have not heard them before.

The Brahms Second concerto was excellently played, and the orchestration was excellent as well. All of the basic emotive nuances of he pieces were brought out, as well as the overall sense of "pleading" that Brahms' frustrated, perhaps somewhat psychotic, personality brings to his music.

One criticism is the overall visual settings in which the pieces were played. The Brahms was recorded in a colorful studio with a modern brick/steel/glass architecture that seemed a bit too light and airy a visual environment for a "heavy" Brahms piece replete with exasperation and suffering, which seems better recorded in an ornate concert hall. Achucarro also played some solo piano pieces in other parts of the disc while the piano was seated next to, of all things, the violent Goya painting "The Third of May," so you could see blood-spattered Spaniards being executed by Napoleon's soldiers in the background. This also contrasted in a somewhat tacky way with the quiet, contemplative music being played next to it. In general, these visual settings were a bit of a distraction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!, April 7, 2011

By 

VMeister (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Achucarro: Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2 [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Let me start off by saying this is now my reference blu-ray. Every "bit" generated aurally and visually from this disc is stunning. The performances are without an audience. It feels as if the concert is personally performed for you, the viewer. The "rough" hall space, casual dress of the orchestra, and importantly, the consistent and focussed camera work (many of today's music discs are filmed in an "ADD" manner) give the film a relaxed feel.
Archucarro's playing? Well, Magnificent!

Included on the disc are a whole host of extras, including additional solo performances in the Prado Museum (Madrid)and a 40min film about Achucarro and his career.

This disc is what all live music performances should strive for.