Product Details

• Format: Classical, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kultur Video
• VHS Release Date: April 20, 1993
• Run Time: 87 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 6302744458
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #162,335 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ups and Downs, but mostly ups,high energy,and elegance, July 22, 2001

By 

scarecrow "scarecrow" (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: In Paris / Ravel Concerts [VHS] (VHS Tape)

the National Orchestra of France with Lenny do remarkable work. The highlights here are La Valse,Ravel's conceptual challenge of utilizing the genre,a Waltz about a Waltz. The darkness of World War One is hovering, clouding the pseudo gaity, the high energy, and passion of the ghost of Johann Strauss. No doubt Ravel was the greatest orchestrator of the 20th Century, equal with anyone. Lenny knows what this work needs to be truly convincing, holding back,and simply allowing the darkness, the fragmentations of the waltz melos to work, to render its own charms,or questions as the case may be. Then pouring all that lush string sound, something Hollywood would exploit to the hilt. Bolero as well,is a tour de force, all the solos played admirably. Lenny is less convincing when the music needs a little more vision as in the Scherazade, and the exquisite voice of Marilyn Horne didn't help matters. This is a difficult work to get oof the ground, lots a passages that simply lay flat on the page. More mystical charm, and a greter sense of the global direction of this work was needed. Equally problematical but garnering greater impetus was the Tzigane with the young Boris Belkin. The work begins, focused on the violinist,like a commentary, he begins the dialogue with rich,elegant amounts of violin colours, All of them, canary sounding harmonics, gypsy-like melodies on the dark G string, all tossed off well. Lenny deploys his accompanimental skills a little more here, as when the orchestra joins the impassioned embattled soloist to summon mists of high register timbres,like the piccolo,flute trills, and violin harmonics from the mists of the orchestra. The Piano Concerto in G major is also a difficult work far in the shadow conceptually,musically,in all respects to the Left Hand Concerto. This one suits Lenny's jazzy demeanor,lots of high energy and syncopations. In retrospect I think Ravel utilized this as an etude, an exercise in the genre, and to practice his beloved art of orchestration. Alborada del gracioso is here as well, and its remarkable how genre doesn't impart its own tyranny for Ravel either the piano solo or its orchestration sound equally convincing.