Bernstein in Rehearsal & Performance: Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 [DVD Video]
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DVD Cover Information
Brand: Naxos OF America INCComposer: Shostakovich
Conductor: Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra: Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Subtitled); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; German (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-04-29
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Euroarts
Movie Reviews of Bernstein in Rehearsal & Performance: Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 [DVD Video]
Movie Review: Do Not Hesitate!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a stunning documentary showing how a truly distinguished conductor (one of the greatest of last Century) could communicate complicated musical ideas to a group of enthusiastic young musicians to produce a very good performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's first symphony. I have listened to almost every interpretation of this youthful masterpiece and I am here to confess that this one gave me a couple more goose bumps than the previous ones! Part of this could be attributed to the top quality of filming by the camera crew. The ailing conductor in this 1988 rendition acts like there is nothing that could stop him from lighting up yet another musical candle! The enthusiasm he demonstrates on the podium reminds me of Gustavo Dudamel (when he conducts Bernstein's music!) I first heard Leonard Bernstein in concert when I was a student in Iowa. From what I remember thousands of people had gathered in a big stadium to hear him conduct Shostakovich's Symphony Number 5 and Schumann's "Spring" Symphony. He seemed to be so excited by the music then and he shows no sign of having been changed in this late life documentary. Leonard Bernstein passed away in October of 1990.
The rehearsals on this DVD were recorded at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in Salzau in July 1988. The performance was recorded live at the Holsten-Halle, Neumuenster, on July 16, 1988. Those of you who have been around long enough, or have had the curiosity to musically educate yourself, and others, already know about Bernstein's "Young People's Concerts." That same enthusiasm that was shown by Lenny in the "Young People's Concerts" series is apparent in his dealing with the youth of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra. The ovation after the performance lasts for some minutes before it is cut down by the engineers. During the ovation, Bernstein walks to a clarinet player in the orchestra and kisses her hand. The player had had difficulty following LB's instructions at the rehearsals. Finally, she had gotten it just right and this is one moment that makes you think about how great an educator Lenny was. He loved the music he performed, he loved the musicians, and he respected the audiences to whom he so honestly and efficiently conveyed composers' messages. Please note that Lenny was an accomplished composer, pianist, author, and lecturer himself. He had the ability to decode minuscule details of composer's intentions and present them to audiences with grace and humility.
The total running time of this DVD is 85 minutes. The audio options are: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1. I watched this DVD with the audio set to PCM Stereo. The sound in this mode was very good with extraordinary dynamic range. I could hear a great deal more details than I had ever heard from all the performances of this symphony on the LPs or CDs. The available subtitles are: English, German, French, and Spanish. During the rehearsals, Bernstein speaks in English for the most part except when the German speaking musicians have difficulty understanding his points. The subtitles delineate what Bernstein says when he switches to German. Therefore, even if you don't speak English or German, you should have no problem understanding what is going on. The filming and picture quality are exemplary.
Bernstein's overall approach to this symphony (unlike his approach to DSCH's fifth symphony) did not change significantly from his first available rendition (December, 1971,) now on Sony Classical, with the New York Philharmonic to his DG recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (June, 1988). The following table compares the timing for individual movements in the mentioned recordings:
Mvnt;12/1971(Sony,CD);6/1988(DG,CD set);7/1988(This DVD).
1; 8'23; 8'54; 9'06.
2; 4'35; 4'46; 5'10.
3; 9'42; 10'19; 10'00.
4; 10'37; 10'37; 10'17.
The DG recording has very good stereo sound and is very well played. For those of you who have not heard his recordings of the fifth symphony, all I can say is that you owe it to yourself to seek them out and treasure them in your collection. The 1959 performance is very special due to its overall coherency and historical value despite the fact that the tempo deviates from composer's markings toward the end of the last movement. Dmitri Shostakovich thought highly of Leonard Bernstein and did not object to Lenny's interpretation of the symphony. Apparently, times had changed slightly from the late 1930s (when Shostakovich composed the fifth symphony) to the late 1950s (when LB presented his performance to the audiences in the USSR, including DSCH). Dmitri Shostakovich was a humanist much like Beethoven. Once you learn his language, you get hooked to his music because it speaks to you in ways that only geniuses like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, et al., could.
Highest recommendations.
Summary of Bernstein in Rehearsal & Performance: Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 [DVD Video]
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