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Frédéric Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboims stage début, and as a pianist he has decided to devote this year to the great Romantic master of the keyboard. Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in a small village near Warsaw, and on the eve of the 200th anniversary of this date Barenboim gave this wildly acclaimed Warsaw recital as part of an extensive European tour. The program comprised some of the composers best-known works, including the great B flat minor Sonata with its famous Funeral March, which sounded to many as the composer may well have imagined it. While Chopin used to advise his piano scholars to take singing lessons, Barenboim, as an experienced conductor of operas is most familiar with the human voice as well. With his brilliant virtuosity, he lead the audience through a most colorful program, once again proving his talent for this composer.
Review
After almost six decades of experience on stage, Daniel Barenboim continues to need and to seek out contact with an audience. [] Musically speaking, those contacts have always been particularly intense when Barenboim has been able to display his ability to play quietly, an ability that continues to amaze, with its feeling for a velvet touch that is neither brittle nor saccharine but always characterized by a serious, substantial beauty. --www.klassikinfo.de
Barenboim is-a towering musician who is worth hearing here. Performance,Picture & Sound **** --BBC Music Magazine,Jan'11
Just as i did while viewing and listening to this DVD, the Warsaw audience loved every minute of the recital,as is clear in the numerous camera shots of its reactions. --IRR,May'11
Barenboim is-a towering musician who is worth hearing here. Performance,Picture & Sound **** --BBC Music Magazine,Jan'11
Just as i did while viewing and listening to this DVD, the Warsaw audience loved every minute of the recital,as is clear in the numerous camera shots of its reactions. --IRR,May'11
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Recital: 3/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Video: 4/5
The liner notes quote Barenboim as saying he played a lot of Chopin in his teens and began again a few years ago. In this recital presented by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth Barenboim is still finding his way with Chopin. The Fantasy sounds rather nervous and unsettled. The B-flat minor Sonata is jerky in the first movement and the last movement unfortunately does not convey any clear direction. The A-flat Polonaise has quite a few untidy moments but there is plenty of weight. In these pieces he seems rather hesitant in the more difficult passages and leaps and the agogic accents are generally overdone. He can make a very big sound when it is called for. As with Beethoven, some of the passage works aren't very clean-fingered. The smaller and quieter pieces come off better and show Barenboim's delicate touch effectively. The liner notes speak of spontaneity and 'as the composer may well have imagined it' in Barenboim's playing but compared to other contemporary pianists, his Chopin is not as refined as Perahia, precise as Pollini, incisive as Zimerman, unrelenting as Argerich or touching as Kissin.
For a while Barenboim has appeared in concerts without wearing a tie as some artists do but they at least have suitable alternatives. Leaving the top shirt button undone isn't the most elegant solution for a formal concert.
The recorded Steinway sound has a rich tone with plenty of bass and dynamics. Video (1080i60 AVC) shots are mostly directed at the keyboard. The back cover has Dolby Digital and dts logos but the disc only has 24-bit 48 kHz PCM stereo and dts-HD MA 5.1 and this reflects some production carelessness. The disc is region free and is one of the first batch from Accentus, whose producer is ex-EuroArts.
The Warsaw audience did give Barenboim a warm applause at the end, a standing ovation and demanded encores. There were smiles on some faces; overall it isn't in the same league as his Beethoven by a long shot. Students would find something to learn from but this is not for the connoisseur.
Audio: 4.5/5
Video: 4/5
The liner notes quote Barenboim as saying he played a lot of Chopin in his teens and began again a few years ago. In this recital presented by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth Barenboim is still finding his way with Chopin. The Fantasy sounds rather nervous and unsettled. The B-flat minor Sonata is jerky in the first movement and the last movement unfortunately does not convey any clear direction. The A-flat Polonaise has quite a few untidy moments but there is plenty of weight. In these pieces he seems rather hesitant in the more difficult passages and leaps and the agogic accents are generally overdone. He can make a very big sound when it is called for. As with Beethoven, some of the passage works aren't very clean-fingered. The smaller and quieter pieces come off better and show Barenboim's delicate touch effectively. The liner notes speak of spontaneity and 'as the composer may well have imagined it' in Barenboim's playing but compared to other contemporary pianists, his Chopin is not as refined as Perahia, precise as Pollini, incisive as Zimerman, unrelenting as Argerich or touching as Kissin.
For a while Barenboim has appeared in concerts without wearing a tie as some artists do but they at least have suitable alternatives. Leaving the top shirt button undone isn't the most elegant solution for a formal concert.
The recorded Steinway sound has a rich tone with plenty of bass and dynamics. Video (1080i60 AVC) shots are mostly directed at the keyboard. The back cover has Dolby Digital and dts logos but the disc only has 24-bit 48 kHz PCM stereo and dts-HD MA 5.1 and this reflects some production carelessness. The disc is region free and is one of the first batch from Accentus, whose producer is ex-EuroArts.
The Warsaw audience did give Barenboim a warm applause at the end, a standing ovation and demanded encores. There were smiles on some faces; overall it isn't in the same league as his Beethoven by a long shot. Students would find something to learn from but this is not for the connoisseur.
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful
I'm writing to correct Springer's review rating, which is just not fair to anyone, incl. Mr Springer, who I am sure is capable of being more objective. He awards this disc 1 star because it "doesnt take off". No further detail is provided.
Now a 1 star review, given there's no provision for 0, means that a disc is utterly unacceptable and unlistenable. That is quite untrue in this case. Barenboim sounds a bit "samey" throughout the recital but is never less than competent.
Also untrue are Mr Springer's remarks about lack of interest among the audience. The audience is appreciative and loudly so througout the concert.
If people are going to review on amazon then they have an obligation to provide detail of their complaints and to consider where a disc falls along the judging scale from 1 to 5. Mr Springer has failed to do that and in so doing has failed the amazon audience as well as Mr Barenboim. His assessment should be disregarded.
Now a 1 star review, given there's no provision for 0, means that a disc is utterly unacceptable and unlistenable. That is quite untrue in this case. Barenboim sounds a bit "samey" throughout the recital but is never less than competent.
Also untrue are Mr Springer's remarks about lack of interest among the audience. The audience is appreciative and loudly so througout the concert.
If people are going to review on amazon then they have an obligation to provide detail of their complaints and to consider where a disc falls along the judging scale from 1 to 5. Mr Springer has failed to do that and in so doing has failed the amazon audience as well as Mr Barenboim. His assessment should be disregarded.
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