Product Details

• Actors: Andrew Davis, Hilary Hahn, Jane Eaglen
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC / Opus Arte
• DVD Release Date: November 19, 2002
• Run Time: 166 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00007CVSI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #142,931 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Proms have to say: thank you Hilary, March 7, 2006

By 

Zuccatti Simone "Zuc" (Rovereto, TN Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Night of the Proms (DVD)

Yes, everybody from Andrew Davis to the last person in Hyde Park listening to the concert has to say this words: thank you Hilary Hahn. Her performance, in my opinion, has been the most beautiful, touching, measured moment through all the event. While everybody screamed on any other piece, demonstrating that in this kind of events the most important thing is the SHOW (the "english" show...), during Hilary Hahn's performance (half an hour with Mozart violin concerto n.4 and Bach's presto from sonata n.1 as encore) nobody spoke. everybody stopped and stared at an angel playing the violin. only Hilary Hahn can do that in a Hall with more than 6000 people inside whatching her.
a religious silence covered the royal albert hall that night, when she started playing. the other pieces in the program are the symbol of english music, of UK's military power; but every orchestra plays this kind of music in the same way.
nothing to do with miss Hahn: no one plays like her.
conductor...2 stars (he's not precise...); orchestra 4 stars;5 stars to Hilary (is it possible to put 10 stars...?).

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Taste the Last Night excitement!, October 4, 2004

By 

Ajax Thomas (Bangalore, Karnataka India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Night of the Proms (DVD)

If you thought classical music lovers all over the world came neatly dressed and sat quietly during the concerts, here is a concert that will change all such impressions. This is the Last Night of the Proms concert conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

The music on this DVD is a bit British oriented, which is a norm for the Last Night, I guess. There is an orchestral arrangement of Bach's prelude by Elgar. And then there is Rule Britannia by Arne, Pomp and Circumstance March by Elgar, Fantasia on Sea Songs by Sir Henry Wood, Jerusalem etc accompanied by claps, baloon bursts, taxi horns and what not! The musical arrangment of Sir Andrew's farewel speech is a nice curiosity in addition to the "traditional" pieces performed in a Proms' finale.

I have two reservations about this DVD before recommending this disc to anyone:

1) The layer switch on this dual layer DVD happens towards the last note of the Shostakovich's Jazz Suite. On some DVD players like mine, this causes a momentary pause and drains all the excitement away from such a piece. I am sure the DVD specifications allow the data files on the disc to be organized in such a way to avoid the layer switch in the middle of a track.

2) The programme is interwoven with interviews and announcements, which is good for the first time, but boring on repeated listenings.

But I'd still recommend this disc to anyone who would like to sample the excitement of the Last Night, but could never be there yet.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hahn & The Best Mozart D Major and Bach G min Presto I've Ever Heard or Seen, August 13, 2005

By 

Scott68 (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Night of the Proms (DVD)

I didn't know about this dvd until a few months ago when I was browsing Hilary's website and I found a link to this dvd. The person who reviewed this dvd before me didn't even mention that Hilary Hahn plays on this. I was delighted when I finally bought this and went home to play it.

I've been a huge fan of Hilary Hahn ever since her debut Bach cd came out. Alot of people were arguing that the Chaconne was too slow but I loved it. When I heard the Brahms, I was totally blown away. Well this performance of Mozart Concerto 4 with the Bach G min Presto as an encore really blew me away again.

First of all, Hilary has the most perfect bow arm I've seen since Milstein, not alot of bow pressure but alot of speed and a deadly accurate sense of timing, she also plays clear articulate legatos and a spiccato that is always dead on. Like Milstein, her vibrato is very modest and never overstated but at times approaches the romanticness of Mr. Szeryng: always in good taste but never overly so.

I would have preferred a dvd of the Brahms because the cd really blew me away but this is equally impressive. According to her web journal she has been playing concertos by Paganini, Spohr, Vieuxtemps 4, Bruch and Korngold. I'm trying to imagine watching those concerts on video as well. Hey Hilary, please keep the videos coming!