Customer Reviews

Herbert von Karajan: Memorial Concert [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This celebratory concert(100th anniversary of Karajan's birth)recorded at the dazzling Golden hall of Vienna's Musikverein on 28 Jan 2008, is arguably the best concert disc on Blu ray that I've seen so far. Featuring Anne Sophie Mutter in stunning form musically, playing Beethoven's violin concerto, the work with which she has performed more times with her late mentor Karajan than any other work,and supported by the Berliners in sparkling form,with immaculate conducting from Seiji Ozawa, this is a must have for music lovers. Yes one may have heard the Beethoven a hundred times but when performed with such panache and virtuosity,one hears it again afresh. The picture quality is first class and the recorded audio in PCM 5.1 is brilliant with great dynamic range and a surround ambience that almost makes one feel one were in a concert hall. In the larghetto Mutter coaxed the most amazing tones from her instrument and with lucid accompaniment from the woodwinds particularly the bassoon this was a movement to cherish. This is a lush and romantic reading , the soloist relishing in the musical nuances of this Mount Everest of violin concertos. The final movement too is played with great aplomb. The solo violin Partita( Sarabande) by JS Bach was a refreshing sorbet before the next major work, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony, and here too one sees Ozawa urging the BPO in a dramatic account with exciting sonic dynamics very well recorded . How the audience responded. What a concert . If you buy just one music disc this year, buy this one!

I have watched this DVD several times now and have been overwhelmingly impressed by it. The Beethoven and Tchaikovsky are brilliantly played. The soloist, conductor,orchestra and setting could not be better. Each piece is a thrill to listen too. And watch the performers and the audience respond to one another. You will catch some of the enormous excitement of this performance. High emotion runs like a powerful undercurrent in the whole production.

I think the above reviewer has said most else of what needs to be said about this outstanding performance. I would only add that there is no better performance of either the Beethoven or Tchaikovsky on DVD of which I am aware.

Buy this. You will very pleased that you did and have many an enjoyable evening watching it.

When this disc came in I immediately played the Tchaikovsky 6th and found it very enjoyable. The sound is outstanding but one needs to manually select the 5.1 option each time it's played. The stereo version seems to leave much lacking but the 5.1 version provides an exciting ride.

The Beethoven is also well done which all together provides a fairly satisfying evening's listening.

I tried listening to the audio only, no picture, just to check my reaction on a comparative basis to some other recordings I have of the 6th. I have to say von Karajan's digital surround recording of the 6th on DTS is probably more exciting but the uncompressed audio on this disc does give it a distinct audio advantage.

I would say that anyone who enjoys a colorful performance will enjoy this one; I'm glad I've added it to my collection.

Let the concert come to you.

The quality of this Blu-Ray disc is impeccable. Filmed in Full HD 1080P and with a lossless 5.1 PCM or 2.0 PCM soundtrack, you may as well be a member of the audience. There is something incredibly invigorating seeing a premier orchestra in full flight, with excellent camera-work to match. The sound in the rear is more than just ambient and you truly feel surrounded.

Don't get me wrong - I would have killed to be in the Musikverein that evening, but this is definitely the next best thing.

This was a truly special concert, and Anne-Sophie Mutter gives a thrilling account of the Beethoven Concerto, magnificently supported by von Karajan protegee Seiji Ozawa and the Berliners. The Tchaikovsky 6th is no less transporting.

It is a great pity, that at time of writing this, you can count on one hand the number of Blu-Ray releases of orchestral performances - and still have a finger or two left over. I hope for more in the future, for all of us who cannot slip into the Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie or the Vienna Musikverein whenever we feel like it.

5 stars for the picture quality
5 stars for the photography
5 stars for the audio quality
5 stars for the performances

A must-buy for Blu-Ray and Classical lovers.

In my opinion, Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the best, if not the best, and most talented violinists alive today. And, like a fine wine, she simply gets better with age! She does not miss a single note in this playing of Beethoven's Violin Concerto. I believe this is the best version of her playing this piece I have ever heard. Simply magnificent.

If you like superb video and audio and appreciate classical music genius, this is the ultimate disc for you. If you own 1080p video and at least moderately good multichannel audio equipment, you are in for a treat. The performance is flawless and the vediophile and audiophile experience is without peer. Even the camerawork and the shots of the hall are breathtaking. This disc sets the bar at a new high level for those of us who are looking not only for the best performances from the best of the best but stunning video and audio technology This disc is a must have. My only regret is that it makes the rest of my library a little disappointing. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

First, I agree with all those superlatives other reviewers have been lavishing on the performance and the wonderful sense of presence in the Musikverein. The video, all the more so in Blu-ray, adds immeasurably to the overall experience, musical and otherwise. Not only does one have a seat better than anyone in the house, even in that superb concert hall, but a student can get the benefit of a closeup view of Ms. Mutter's marvelous technique. Also, seeing the fervor with which the musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker delved into the music sent chills up my spine--the kind of commitment on display here, by musicians who could play this stuff in their sleep but chose instead to play with the enthusiasm of people playing it for the first time in their lives, was truly exciting.

I did find some unfortunate flaws in the engineering of this Blu-ray, however--at least in the copy I received; and I have carefully checked my setup, comparing with other nominally identically encoded Blu-rays; and I have discovered that there are no sub-woofer channels active. It's not PCM 2.1 or PCM 5.1, but rather PCM 2.0 and PCM 5.0. For those of us who depend upon a standard satellite-speaker/sub-woofer setup, this can be a problem, although there are various workarounds, depending upon the configuration of one's A/V system. In my case, for example, it is necessary to select the PCM Stereo track on the Blu-ray and then let my receiver simulate the surround, synthesizing a woofer track in the process. Those who use full-range stereo speakers, and not a sub-woofer, or those whose sub-woofer connects by speaker wires (rather than, or in addition to, a .1 [LFE] line-level connection) should have no problem, however.

The engineering problems do not end there, though. I found that, first, there is no access to a "Top Menu." When using the Pop-up menu as an alternative, I discovered that once in the Audio setup portion, I could not move to another function such as "Chapters" or "Subtitles," UNLESS I navigated back through the audio choices, thus being forced into PCM Stereo (not surround) whether I wanted it or not. Once one leaves the pop-up menu, (s)he can then push the "audio" button on the remote and then set the audio to surround mode.

Except for the lack of bass ("other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"), I thought the audio was quite spectacular. When playing the surround tracks, there is not much difference in the sound of the orchestra; and I don't notice a great deal of extra hall ambience; and perhaps that is as it should be. The surround mostly comes into play during the applause or during quiet passages, when one becomes aware of the "air" around him or herself; but that's a nice touch.

The poor technical "authoring" of the Blu-ray is almost enough to make me suggest getting the DVD instead, assuming it does not suffer from the same problems; however, if you have a large-screen TV--one on which you can see a dramatic difference between Blu-ray and DVD--I still recommend the Blu-ray because, even though the technical glitches are inexcusable, they are also surmountable.

This Blu-ray is 1080i, not 1080p. It is specified in the box.

Although the specification says 1080i, the image quality in my opinion is very good. The scenes are beautiful.
The audio quality is very good and the performance is amazing.

I recommend.

Video quality: Excellent - 10/10 . Camera work is great, with beautiful close-ups where you get to see ASM fingers playing the violin, BPO members playing their instruments and SJ's expressive conducting.
Audio quality: Excellent - 10/10
Performances: Excellent - 10/10
I've viewed this BD several times in the past year and I enjoy it more amnd more with each new viewing! What more could one ask for? I'm so glad to have bought this BD. It's a MUST have for all fans and anyone with even a minimal interest in classical music.

The surround sound encoding is PCM 5.1 rather than the more common DTS or Dolby. PCM 2.0 is also offered. Some receivers will not decode PCM 5.1 and you'll have to settle for stereo.