Customer Reviews

The Cliburn - Playing on the Edge

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

 

 

THIS DVD IS GREAT. IT GIVES A GOOD LOOK INTO THE LIVES OF THE CONTESTANTS DURING THE VAN CLIBURN PIANO COMPETITION. THE BONUS FEATURE PERFORMANCES ARE EXQUISITE. OLGA KERN IS MAGNIFICENT WITH RACHMANINOFF'S 3RD PIANO CONCERTO AND STANISLAV IOUDENICH IS GREAT WITH TCHAIKOVSKY'S 1ST PIANO CONCERTO.

This is a two-sided DVD, with interviews and performance excerpts of the 11th Van Cliburn finalists as they proceed to the finish on side one. The artists were brilliant; it seems impossible to pick the "best". The judges made an unprecedented decision to choose two Gold Medalists, Olga Kern from Russia, and Stanislav Ioudenitch from Uzbekistan.

Side two contains complete performances of the first Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, and the third Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto, by the two Gold Medalists. Side two alone is worth the price.

Strangely, the disc does not offer chapter selections.

I am a pianist (non professional) and feel well qualified to comment on this DVD. I have followed the Cliburn for years and find this tape absoutely excellent. One has a chance to get to "know" the lead competitors, the life of a competitor both away from the competition and during it, the feelings of tension and excitement, and excellent coverage of the music, which is itself most rewarding. I have seen other Cliburn tapes, and this one is superior. The best yet. The viewer is drawn into the procedings and develops feelings for the various performers. I would recommend "The Cliburn" to anyone with an interest in music, not at all necessarily just an interest in the piano.

The flavor of the quadrennial Cliburn competition, its tensions and triumphs, is followed by complete stunning performances of Tchaikovsky's First and Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concertos by the two top pianists. I won't give away the unprecedented outcome of that year's tight contest. There are behind-the-scenes glimpses of judges conferring and hosts encouraging. As always, James Conlon, who I've interviewed twice for public radio, is a thoughtful and compassionate guide for soloist and audience alike. One side of this DVD contains the contest feature; the other side, the full concert performances. Rating: 4.5

I enjoyed this DVD and especially the performances of Olga Kern. There must be something about going to a live performance of hers (as I've noticed other reviewers comment on) that captivates and somewhat provides us a bias towards her. My wife and I saw her perform the Schumann concerto a couple of years ago with the Utah Symphony and it was one of the highlights of the season - she was quite captivating, and emotive as always.

In the documentary, I especially liked the interaction between the good people of Fort Worth who open their homes to these (dare I say it) eccentric musicians. Worlds apart, they seem to have a common interest through the music and this competion which is of course world reknowned.

I also learned something of the structure of these events, never having competed in one myself (other than state band contest stuff). I especially liked the rehearsal sessions (for the competitors who made it that far) with the orchestra and Maestro Conlon - his patience and thoughtfulness deserved some kind of medal as well.

The Rachmaninoff 3rd on Side B was enjoyable to hear and watch, but for those unfamliar with Kerns 'theatrics' may be a bit much. The Tchaikovsky was also good, performed by Gold Co-medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch, but I just don't find it as interesting as the Rachmaninoff.

I suppose I agree with those who complained about the indexing issues on the documentary and on the liner notes, but I haven't really missed the deficiency of either.

W. Steven

"The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge" is a exquisite view of the Eleventh Van Cliburn piano Competition. The pianists are perfectionists and dedicated to hard work, beautiful music and devotion to the arts. It is a stunning behind-the scenes look at the preparation, idiosycrasies, and fine-tuned organization of a wonderful competition that brings out the best in each finalist.

The pure love of music's perfection and each individual's hopes and intense energy shows a spiritual side of the human condition that music connects. I was impressed by the amazing talent and dedication of these perfectionist pianists.

The competition brings all the talent to do their best.

A most interesting film.

Interesting in that all award winners here (and not just the gold medalists) are very good pianists. It is also interesting as it throws light into the very nature of the ordeal whereby most young pianists nowadays have to go through before they could really launch their career.

Here we could see how some contestents could take the contest with relative ease, and some just couldn't sleep for a number of consecutive nights. There was one who got so nervous that he burned his hands by accident. And the older a contestent gets, the bigger ordeal would the contest become as 30 is the usual limit. And then there is the question of different standards by different jurors and one juror could give a contestent the highest whereas the other could give him/her the lowest score. So, the outcome may not be as fair as it appears at all!

Furthermore, there are a number of practical tips from some of the contestests here as how to deal with such stress-- they could be used for, supposedly, for any kind of examination at all. There are also some suggestions as how to keep yourself in the best shape before you approach the stage, including the use of a hair-dryer! This film will also show you how a not so gigantic or bombastic pianist could appear so like John Wain before the camera...

A lot of interesting stuff particularly appealing to those who intend to or had the experience of taking part in some similar contests...

This is probably one of the best music video I ever owned. From the technical side, the video is well edited and compiled. It showed the pressure and the intensity of the competitors had to go through during the competition.
The playing and recording of the two concertos was absolutely super. I owned almost eight different recordings of Rachmaninoff Concertos No.3, Olga Kern is the best I ever heard. It literally brought tears to my eyes. The last five minutes of the music virtually exploded with emotion. The accompany orchestra and conductor were first rate and matched Olga seamlessly. I liked her interpretation compared even with Martha Argerich and Ashkenazy's recordings. The was the performance of a life time for Olga Kern. The title said all -- Playing on the Edge

This DVD was sent promptly, and in excellent condition. I bought it after I had viewed it and simply wanted to experience it over and over. The pianists in the competition become beautiful and complicated people; listening to them play and watching them so closely as this tape allows, is an awesome and transported experience for me. This is way up there on my favorites of all time. Thank you for it, all those who made it possible!

This is an excellent DVD. The documentary is almost like a feature film, very captivating, the interviews very impromptu and quite interesting, full of delightful human interest. The piano practice sessions do justice to documentary and are well spaced. It is the sort of documentary that you can watch time and again without boredom. The final two piano concertos are an absolute delight. As good as any off the top concert pianists of today or past years.