Product Details

• Actors: Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
• Format: AC-3, Classical, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC
• Language: Unknown (DTS 5.1), Unknown (PCM Stereo), Italian (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: French, 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: Deutsche Grammophon
• DVD Release Date: June 13, 2006
• Run Time: 153.00 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000E5KOIY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #167,753 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

MOZART:VIOLIN CTOS 1-5; SINFONIA CONC - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Mozart violin concertos from Gidon Kremer, June 16, 2006

By 

Mike Birman (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mozart Violin Concertos 1-5 & Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat / Harnoncourt, Kremer, Wiener Philharmoniker (DVD)

Gidon Kremer is a fine, understated violinist firmly in the great Russian tradition; a combination of Heifetz and Oistrakh in his approach to the instrument. His analytical technique is well suited to Mozart's Classical style concertos: all of the 5 concertos a product of 1775 when the composer was 19 and still finding his way. The first 2 concertos are workmanlike efforts, less memorable than the final 3. Mozart seems to have found his voice by the third concerto, which is as beautiful as anything the youthful composer ever composed early in his brief career.

This DVD features Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting a stripped-down Vienna Philharmonic. Though the sound is that of modern instruments, the so-called authentic style informs everything else about these performances. Harnoncourt extracts whatever Romantic era impulses the superb Vienna players may have, leaving behind a clean, swift, relatively vibrato-free performance that someone like John Eliot Gardiner might very well provide. These performances were filmed in the 1980's when the period performance movement was just beginning to tackle the Classical era composers. It is that zeitgeist that hangs over these recordings. I like this cleaner, fleeter style of Mozart: as long as the expressiveness and beauty peculiar to his music are not removed. I am happy to say that the Mozartian beauty and emotional expressiveness of these 5 violin concertos are left intact. They are superb performances, easy to recommend. Joining Kremer in a performance of the Sinfonia Concertante is Kim Kashkashian. She is splendid, playing with great fire and sensitivity. The Sinfonia is a masterpiece that deserves to be even better known than it is. These performances are only the second time the Vienna Philharmonic have recorded all of Mozart's violin concertos. The first were Itzhak Perlman's recordings under James Levine. Kremer uses newly scored cadenzas by the pianist and early music master Robert Levin. They are quite good.

These DVDs have an NTSC picture format shot full-screen with an aspect ratio of 4:3. The picture is crystal clear, digitally remastered. The region code is 0 worldwide. Sound formats are PCM stereo and DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound. The DTS provides greater spatial depth and rear speaker ambiance but both are superbly clear, well-focussed and live sounding. Menus are in English. Extras include DGG promos and catalogues. Total time of these discs is 153 minutes.

Excellent performances in the modern stripped-down style make these DVDs easy to recommend. Gidon Kremer performs beautifully, as do all hands. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great Music poor visual, July 21, 2006

By 

snerdly (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart Violin Concertos 1-5 & Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat / Harnoncourt, Kremer, Wiener Philharmoniker (DVD)

The sound is ahead of the picture, and while it is very slight, those of us (probably not too many) who are bothered by that will find this difficult to watch. Musically, in lyric sections, Kremer has a tendency to let the sound die in a very predictable and non-singing style. Lastly, since it is a dvd....seeing Gidon Kremer in so many closeups with his mouth hanging open (even if his teeth would be perfect) is not an experience I want to revisit very often.

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy entry.., July 23, 2007

By 

OperaOnline.us "OperaOnline.us" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mozart Violin Concertos 1-5 & Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat / Harnoncourt, Kremer, Wiener Philharmoniker (DVD)

This 2006 double DVD package is the first such offering of Mozart's complete violin concertos and is taken from a 1984 performance at Vienna's beautiful Grosser Mucikvereinssaal. The package contains eighteen titles under the conductorship of Nikolaus Harnoncourt, with violin soloist Gidon Kremer and viola soloist Kim Kashkashian. With the Weiner Philharmoniker scaled down to a trimmer chamber size, the orchestra never overshadows the soloist, yet remains full and resonant throughout. As a compilation, this is about as good as it gets. As a DVD it is filmed handsomely under the direction of Klaus Lindemann with ample glimpses of the interactivity between conductor and orchestra, something that I always find fascinating to observe, and an animated, intense violinist fully involved in the music. What I found even more interesting about this 2-DVD set is that I listened as much as watched - meaning, I found myself working at my desk with the DVD on in the background, only turning occasionally to see what was going on, without ever feeling I lost any of the spirit of the production. I mean, it is a recital performance and one can only stare so long when the camera goes in for a close-up. In that respect, I might have preferred to have observed the performance from afar and glimpsed the magnificent golds and reds of the hall, too, with only an occasional close-up. Still, this is a fine recording of superb sound and video quality, capturing the full panoply of Mozart's efforts in the concerto arena. It's thoroughly enjoyable and pleasing to the ear. This is a review from OPeraOnline.us.