Customer Reviews

The Story of the Symphony Vol. 1 - Haydn Symphony No. 87 and Mozart Symphony No. 39 [VHS]

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I use lots of video to try to "liven up" class lectures on Music Appreciation. I like the Previn series quite a lot, and this tape especially. Sometimes Previn's speech is directed at a younger audience than I'm teaching, but all in all his explanations of the instruments and the time period are good. Lots of close-ups let students see (and hear!) the individual instruments and how they are played. The performances of the two symphonies are excellent. These are pretty good tapes, at a much better price than "educational" tapes produced in small quantities.

Beautiful music beautifully performed. Mr. Previn's commentaries give us just the right amount of information needed and seem to me perfectly appropriate for this kind of medium. My only complaint is that, to my ears at least, the final syllable of MANY of his words remains INAUDIBLE. The more you get interested in a sentence you are hearing, the more it becomes frustrating to miss the meaning of the whole thing just because of one lousy little syllable here and there. I would suggest providing Mr. Previn with a separate microphone just for his talks.

Andre Previn is the ideal host for a series such as this, and this program on Haydn and Mozart is especially effective. Previn speaks clearly and quietly, but also with great eloquence, conviction, and authority. He seems to be speaking entirely spontaneously; it's possible, of course, that he has rehearsed every word or is reading from a teleprompter, but, if that is true, then he is a very good actor. His words prefacing the Mozart symphony are especially moving; one senses that Previn is a very decent and good man who truly loves the music he is introducing. His conducting, like his personality, is understated and subtle; he is not (like some conductors) a histrionic showman who needs all attention focused on himself. The music is played beautifully and gracefully (in all the senses of that word), and the camera work is excellent. The images are not as crisp as would be possible if this series were being filmed today, but they are clear enough. The sound is quite good on VHS and (for all I know) might be even better on DVD. Like the other programs in this series, this one satisfied me immensely, and I highly recommend it to others.