Customer Reviews

Classical Destinations

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being a music teacher, and having travel numerious times in Europe, I was fascinated by these DVDs. The presentation and photography was excellent, and the history and background of the various composers was engaging and compelling. I have used these as teaching aides in both my middle school and high school music classes with good results. Highly recommended!

A friend told me about this DVD set. It is an outstanding history of the major composers set in their European cities with an accomplished violinist playing their music. As a classical pianist, I feel it is a must have for any who appreciate the composers of that era.

We saw one episode late one night on our PBS HD channel and loved it. The DVD set is marvelous and we'll enjoy it for years. The sound and picture quality are magnificent.

I have been waiting several months for this DVD to become available and was ready to pay several times the Amazon price (get it, it's a steal). It is a wonderful journey of sound and sight. If you love classical music you will absolutely adore this DVD. Guaranteed.

I saw this on the Create PBS Channel, but I missed about 2/3 of the episodes. Hungry for more, I purchased this and loved it. I ran it through an up-convert DVD to my big 61" Sony HDTV and it blew me away. Trouble is, I want even more episodes. i would like to see them carry on with this concept in other locations with other composers. Good, educational narrative by the hosts, OK choices of the music selections and spectacular scenery.

Folks looking to learn a little European history with a strong emphasis on the composer's lives while enjoying their wonderful classical music will be happy with this video. It is interesting to learn what inspired the great composers to create their music. Many of them socialized together (and sometimes competed with each other). The video brings their lives into perspective and one will learn that the great composers were just ordinary people trying to make a living doing what they knew best. Anyone who has traveled in Europe will be familiar with many of the locations and enjoy it as a bit of a travelog. The theme song created for the video is quite nice, but one gets a bit tired of hearing it multiple times in every episode. I am hoping Part 2 of this series becomes available in the United States sometime soon. Simon Callow is very knowledgeable, articulate, witty and worth the price of admission.

My Tivo just happened to record this program one day on it's own and I decided to watch it, not expecting much. I expected it to be another one of those dry documentaries that I'd watch about 2 minutes of and then delete off my Tivo. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the narration, the interesting storyline, and most notably, the spectacular photography. The camera work is gorgeous and was one of the main reasons I got hooked on watching this series. I was also very impressed at how musically talented Niki Vasilakis was, especially for someone so young. I hope they decide to eventually extend this series and produce more episodes in the future.

This is helping me to plan a musical tour of Europe. Wonderful to see the landscapes, landmarks, buildings, gardens, etc. alongside the music. My husband gets irked because they don't always play the pieces they are discussing, but I'm perfectly happy with the presentation. A very pleasant, relaxing viewing experience - and I'd say you are likely to learn something.

I recommend this DVD to all classical music lovers, and armchair travelers as well.
My only regret is having visited some of the cities/countries featured here, and not having watched this DVD before! The photography, commentary, and music selection are wonderful!
I hope they'll soon put out Vol. 2, etc.
Thanks.

For those of you who love classical music and travel this series should be required viewing. Host Simon Callow and his team take us on a whirlwind tour of the great cities of Europe where great composers such as J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi lived and worked. Classical Destinations is beautifully filmed and, although each episode is less than 30 minutes, includes an impressive amount of information on each locale while keeping the focus on the lives of the composers. I have a good knowledge of classical music and felt that I still learned something new. More than that, I want to visit each and every one of these glorious destinations for myself!

As much as I enjoyed this program, there are a few minor reasons why I did not give it five stars. First of all, it would be even more informative if the music playing in the background were identified. And as much as I enjoyed the theme, it did become something of a mind worm after a while, and I would prefer hearing more music by the composers themselves.

Having traveled to Leipzig last year, I was also surprised that the Classical Destinations crew did not film the stunning pink and green interior of the St. Nicholas Church, or include the famous Magnus portrait of Mendelssohn that hangs in the composer's home. But this is just me being picky.

All nitpicking aside, this is a wonderful program worth every dollar. I eagerly look forward to seeing Classical Destinations II!