Product Details

• Actors: Andre Previn, Rpo
• Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 21, 2000
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004Z4VR
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,080 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #20 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Performer > Previn, André
  #20 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > Educational
  #22 in	Movies & TV > Musicals & Performing Arts > Classical > By Composer > Shostakovich, Dmitri

• This is item 6 in The Story of the Symphony Series.

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this fascinating series of films, Sounds Magnificent: The Story of the Symphony, Andre Previn conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in some of the most popular works from the concert repertoire--symphonies by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Each program is introduced by Andre Previn, who discusses the piece to be performed and the lives of the composers who created these masterpieces by giving illustrations of aspects of their music with a variety of orchestral excerpts. Image Entertainment is proud to bring you another in this series: Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. 85 minutes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Also worth owning by fans of Vaughan Williams and Roy Harris, March 19, 2005

By	R. Evans (Montgomery AL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, as I have enjoyed other videos in this series. Previn is the ideal host: clear, calm, authoritative but not smug, witty but not overly clever, and obviously in love with music and the people who compose it. He does not dominate in the performance; anyone who wants to see the details of how the music is made (rather than merely watching a conductor) will value this film. A special treat is the inclusion of the entire 3rd movement of Vaughan Williams's fifth sympthony, as well as the inclusion of part of a movement of the Roy Harris symphony #3. Anyone who loves Previn's performances of Vaughan Williams (whose music needs on film much more than it is) will treasure this video. Anyone who appreciates music that is not of the "dropped silverware" variety will also appreciate some of Previn's slightly pointed comments in the first part of the film.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Master Shostakovich honored by Previn, October 6, 2000

By	Pablo Iglesias Alvarez "Glossu" (Mexico City, D.F. Mexico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Story of the Symphony Vol. 6 - Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is after all a tribute to Shotakovich through the guide of Previn, using the analysis of the master's 5th Symphony. Previn is convincing, and of course the music is superb.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Irregular performance, awful sound, September 13, 2005

By	Gonzalo Saavedra Vergara (SANTIAGO, Chile) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I couldn't agree more with the previous commenter (except for his generous rate of two stars): The tempi which Previn chooses are too slow (for a score that has precise metronome marks),and there are phrasing errors here and there, obnoxious glissandi in the violins that simply shouldn't be there and some messy passages one wouldn't expect from The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with such a conductor.

But the worst of all is the sound, which is normalized, so from mf to fff don't expect any dynamic change: it just won't sound louder but "pushed down". And the transfer from tape to DVD is very disappointing too. I think the tune problems Mr. VanStryland found are actually speed irregularities in the original tape which make listening a true torture.