Another movie thread (documentaries/performances)

[jam8086]

Hey all, im new here 

I think it would be great if we could get another movie post going, just like the other one, with summaries and reviews on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the best), but this time it would be on piano documentaries and performances.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[steinwayguy]

Check out the videos of the Cliburn Competition as well as other famous competitions like the Tchaikovsky and Chopin...

[gorbee natcase]

I would like to know where you can get a good selection of DVDs of performances, so you can change the camera angle etc... even the big music chains neglect classical DVDs, (pitifull selection)

[bernhard]

I would like to know where you can get a good selection of DVDs of performances, so you can change the camera angle etc... even the big music chains neglect classical DVDs, (pitifull selection)

I will second that.

I will come back later with some reviews.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[thalbergmad]

My own teacher Richard Meyrick has just released a DVD called Piano Man released by ManGrop plc.

I will rate it 5 out of 5 just incase he ever reads this.

creep creep.

Some of my latest purchases

Emil Gilels-Tchaikovsky Concerto no 1     4/5
Richter-The Enigma 5/5
Michelangeli playing Beethoven-Schubert & Brahms 5/5
Schliessmann playing Godowsky/Strauss Waltzes 3/5
Kissin-The gift of music 4/5
Cziffra playing Chopn-Liszt and Franck 6/5

My Horowitz stuff was thrown away in error in a recent clearout.

I am taking counselling to get over this.

[Barbosa-piano]

 I have some movies around here...
Harvest of Sorrow- Life and Memories of Serge Rachmaninoff   5  (Documentary)
Andras Schiff- Chopin's 24 Preludes.                                          5
The Art of Piano- Great Composers of the 20th Century            4 (Documentary)

I'm going to see if I can find more movies around here.

Mario Barbosa.

[jam8086]

Haha, Thalberg...the Cziffra is a 6 out of 5...knowing Cziffra, I believe it.

Sorry to hear about your Horowitz, I hope your counseling goes well! 

Can't wait 'til Bernhard comes back with his list!!!

Thank you all for your reviews so far.

[bernhard]

I will start with the more famous ones:

1.   The art of the piano – A collection of clips of the most famous pianists of the 120th century. Unmissable – Rating 5 +

2.   The Golden age of the piano – more or less the same as above, but this one is narrated by David Dubal. I do not mind this in the least, but for some reason some people get very irritated with Mr. Dubal (Ok, he is a bit on the patronising side). Some of the clips in this video are repeated in The Art of the Piano video. Just as good. Rating : 5.

3.   32 shorts about Glenn Gould – This is a wonderful film (and I am not a Gould fanatic) that works both on the level of pianism, and on the level of superb movie making. It follows the structure of the Goldberg variations, presenting 32 “short movies”, each one exploring a different dimension of Gould’s complex persona. Highly recommended. Rating: 5+

4.   Nelson Freire – Brazil’s most famous concert pianist (where he has the status of a national hero) is followed by the cameras as he does the concerto tour, enjoys his dog and 1950s musicals with Fred Astaire at home, and is chums with Martha Argerich (who is in at least half of the scenes of the movie). Besides being an excellent documentary (as a movie), Freire’s modest and utterly endearing personality shines through. Highly recommended. Rating: 5+

5.   Kissin: The gift of music – Christopher Nupen famous documentary made when Kissin was in his early 20s and just after Kissin being the first pianist in history to be offered a solo piano recital at the Proms. Nupen is a generous documentary maker with his subjects and he offers us a most sympathetic portrait of  a erm… slighty weird guy. I keep wondering if Kissin’s manner of speaking is the same is Russian as it is in English (anyone can throw some light here?). One wonders what Michael Jackson’s documentary makes Bakshir would have made with the same material. Nevertheless, Kissin emerge from the documentary as one of  the piano legends of his time. (I particularly enjoyed his rendition of Beethoven’s Six Ecossaises and his compositions – done when he was seven years old). Recommended. Rating: 5.

6.   Alfred Brendel – A portrait – I must say that I am not overwhelmed by Brendel either as pianist or as a person (he seems to me a pompous solemn guy). Nevertheless, like Kissin, he happens to be perceived as a piano legend, so a documentary about him is bound to be interesting. Well, not really. We are shown around his house in London, he talks about his childhood, his musical education, his poetry (yes, he does write and occasionally recites poetry) etc. Nothing terribly exciting though. And not enough music. Then he plays Haydn and Schubert (a very beautiful rendition of the Impromptu in Gb). Throughout his fingers were bandaged. I kept wondering why. It didn’t seem to bothers him or to interfere with the music. Most for Brendel fans. Rating: 4.

7.   Richter: An enigma. Directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, this was a real gem. (and as is the case with Gould, I am not a Richter fanatic either). Throughout Richter comes across as a somewhat frightening guy. He is big, and he will not suffer fools gladly. He speaks his mind without fear for the consequences (one wonders, then why he kept quiet about his homosexuality). He is also complete forthright and does not fuss about anything. He sleeps on the floor if he needs to, and he plays on bad, out of tune pianos, if he has to. His love for the music is completely obvious, as is his obsession with the piano. Clearly that is all he cares about. I was totally captivated by his strong, no non-sense personality. Like Freire, he comes across as a supremely modest man, totally ruthless when it comes to self-criticism. There is a hilarious scene where he takes part in a movie biopic about Glinka, playing the part of Liszt with a most atrocious wig. Highly recommended – Rating 5+

More later.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[jam8086]

Is "Richter: The Enigma" out of print?! 

Amazon lists it, but they do not sell it (people can sell their used tapes on Amazon), Barnes & Noble doesn't even list it, and Borders says it is "unavailable."

I hate buying things used...does anyone know the status of this video?

[bernhard]

Is "Richter: The Enigma" out of print?! 

Amazon lists it, but they do not sell it (people can sell their used tapes on Amazon), Barnes & Noble doesn't even list it, and Borders says it is "unavailable."

I hate buying things used...does anyone know the status of this video?

 

Well, you can always buy the book on which the movie was based (it consists of extended interviews with Richter and Monsaingeon)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[thalbergmad]

Is "Richter: The Enigma" out of print?! 

Amazon lists it, but they do not sell it (people can sell their used tapes on Amazon), Barnes & Noble doesn't even list it, and Borders says it is "unavailable."

I hate buying things used...does anyone know the status of this video?

I looked on the UK amazon site and there were 22 DVD's available.

If you are in England a trip to the HMV shop in Oxford street might help.

The last time i went in there were lots of them for sale for £7.99.

[jam8086]

Yes, but even if i got it off of the UK Amazon site, the format would be different, and it would not work on my DVD player. There's is formatted to work in "Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt," and I live in the U.S. 

[jam8086]

Just found a new copy of Richter: The Enigma at the Juilliard Bookstore (https://www.bookstore.juilliard.edu/)