Product Details

• Actors: Michael Tilson Thomas
• Directors: David Kennard
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish
• 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: San Francisco Symphony
• DVD Release Date: November 14, 2006
• Run Time: 116 minutes
• ASIN: B000JBWWTW

Editorial Reviews

DVD, featuring Michael Tilson Thomas (Actor), David Kennard (Director).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful presentation on every front!, December 27, 2006

By 

JOHN MCGANN "jmcgann" (Boston MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (DVD)

Michael Tilson Thomas does a fantastic job presenting the musical and social elements that went into this masterpiece of composition. The program is pithy enough for musicians, and accessible enough for music lovers. A very intelligent and entertaining piece of work; beautifully filmed and edited.

As a bonus, we get full performance versions of excerpts from "The Firebird" (beautifully played!) as well as the complete "Rite of Spring". The performance is very exciting; I am familiar with at least 4 other recordings of this piece, and sections here are taken faster than I've heard before-but never sound too fast. The energy and joy of the the conducting brings out the best of this incredible piece. This performance has become my favorite. Highly recommended.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The work - and this DVD - stand alone, May 23, 2007

By 

Wesley Clark (Springfield, Virginia) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (DVD)

To my knowledge, this DVD is unique. Michael Tilson Thomas does an excellent job of dissecting this music for those of us who can't read a score. I've been listening to Le Sacre ever since I was sixteen (1972), and there are many, many things I've learned from watching and listening to this DVD. (Not the least of which is the fact that the famous upper register bassoon opening is, in fact, quoting a Russian peasant song.)

The audio mix is especially good for hearing the various orchestral textures in this piece. (I heard details I've never heard before.) Also helpful is the actual footage of the instrumentalists playing the pieces - and discussing their parts in the work.

One note, however: A DANCED PERFORMANCE OF LE SACRE IS NOT A PART OF THIS DVD. What you get is an orchestral performance. (Some footage of danced scenes are in Thomas' commentary, however.) This concert performance is excellent - but it is just not complete. I suppose it's too much to ask for both...

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Presentation, April 18, 2007

By 

David C. Hunter "Kovida" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeping Score: Revolutions in Music - Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (DVD)

This DVD is fantastic, especially if you are not familiar with the Rite of Spring. The DVD goes through some of the background of Russian ballet and Russian composers from the late Romantic period, then briefly discusses Rimsky-Korsakov (Stravinsky's teacher) and his ballet Mlada. This leads up to to Stravinsky and the Firebird, then covers the radical departure to Rite of Spring. Michael Tilson-Thomas does a superb job in breaking down the musical material and orchestration of the Rite, and there are interviews with some of the musicians from the SF orchestra who describe and demonstrate their parts, although this can sometimes be a bit redundant in conjunction with the narrative. What is also remarkable about the DVD is that the viewer gets to see the conductor from the front, as opposed to the back of the conductor in a concert hall situation. Michael Tilson-Thomas is a very expressive conductor, and his face demonstrates this as well as his baton. I recommend this DVD for music teachers, as I use it in my classrooms. It is a very fine presentation of one Western music history's greatest pieces!