CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Grieg, Chopin & Saint Saens Piano Concertos / Previn, Rubinstein, London Symphony Orchestra

starring: Artur Rubinstein, London Symphony Orchestra, Andre Previn

Release Date September 12, 2006
There's not much to add to what others have said about this DVD -- it's superb.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

O Thou Transcendent: The Life of Ralph Vaughan Williams

starring: Thomas Allen, Jill Balcon, Barbara Dickson, English Chamber Orchestra, Brian Kay

Release Date February 26, 2008
A great fan of RVW's music, and excitedly looked forward to viewing this piece......sadly disappointed in the result.

Tony Palmer does an interesting take on RVW's creative motivation....namely that it was to express in his music the various sufferings and tragedies of his own life and of his times. That may be so, it may not be. After all it was RVW himself who responded (I paraphrase): "....a man wants to write a piece of music for the sake of the music itself" when critics and reviewers wanted to interpret first his 4th, then his 6th symphony as about WWII and the turmoils of that era. Undoubtedly every artist in any media is of his times and influenced by the pleasures and pains of his own experience, but that does not necessarily ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Gene Kelly - Anatomy of a Dancer

starring: Betsy Blair, Stanley Donen, Deborah Jowitt, Kerry Kelly, Fayard Nicholas
directed by: Robert Trachtenberg

Release Date September 24, 2002
"Gene Kelly Anatomy of a Dancer" is the DVD edition of an American Masters program narrated by Stanley Tucci.

For those that don't know, Gene Kelly (along with Fred Astaire) was the leading film musical star of the 1940s and 1950's. He is known for the films "An American in Paris" and "Singing in the Rain". In the latter film, Mr. Kelly's single greatest solo performance is dancing to the titled song.

This is a masterfully done retrospective of Mr. Kelly's career as actor, dancer, choreographer and director. As you probably know, Gene Kelly made enormously popular and classic movie musicals during the 1940s and `50s. This DVD covers his life and career using interviews with former associates (Cyd Charisse, Adolph Green, Betty ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Kiri Te Kanawa: A Celebration Live at the Royal Albert Hall

starring: Kiri Te Kanawa, Dennis O'Neill, Andre Previn, Stephen Barlow, Waihirere Maori Group

Release Date August 14, 2007
How wonderful to have this available on DVD again. Many of us saw the original production on PBS with numerous pledge breaks and heavily edited. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of recording it on VHS from that airing and so put off buying a copy. Then it was unavailable for quite a while. Nice to have it available again as it is very much worth owning and watching again and again.

For those who have not seen it, this is a wonderful concert, Kiri's celebration of her 50th birthday (and she is so very gorgeous!). She sings most songs solo (mix of opera and popular), a few songs (from La Boheme) with Dennis O'Neill, and a Maori group sings several songs. Kiri is in fine voice, the whole birthday bit at the end is very emotional, and all in ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Chuck Jones - Extremes and In-Betweens, a Life in Animation

starring: Mel Blanc, Bea Benaderet, Joe Dante, Glen Keane, Robin Williams
directed by: Chuck Jones, Margaret Selby

Release Date October 22, 2002
Chuck Jones is an amazing director, but unfortunately this documentary is more a "celebration" of Jones--the kind of thing you might see at an awards show, only longer and more repetitive--than an in-depth look at his life or work. This DVD isn't worthless. You do get a couple of great cartoons and some mildly-interesting pencil tests. But your time and money would be better spent with Jones' own book (Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist) or with the cartoons themselves.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Leonard Bernstein - Reaching for the Note

starring: Michael Wager, Arthur Laurents, Harris Yulin, John Guare, Stanley Drucker
directed by: Susan Lacy

Release Date November 24, 1998
Reviewer Hadrian12's spotlight review says perfectly everything to say about this film. Thanks for that.

I can think of no more compelling 20th c. musician. Everything about Reaching for the Note is about the living lamp that is Bernstein's work, about the music he became; always breathing life, whatever his job. The film spends generous time with West Side Story, with a remarkable stretch of essential comments by Sondheim, Carol Lawrence, &Arthur Larents interspersing a cache of unbelievable rehearsal and performance footage. It's a master class in filmmaking, and we believe again how great a work West Side Story is. His symphonies, greater than the world knows, confirm the film's heart. In generous performance passages of the Kaddish Sym., the voice ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Harold Arlen

starring: Ira Gershwin, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, André Previn, Mel Tormé
directed by: Don McGlynn

Release Date July 27, 1999
OVER THE RAINBOW is a beautifully put together tribute to one of America's greatest yet overlooked composers. Harold Arlen helped create American popluar song by creating melodies that are embedded in our subconscious. Working with the greatest lyricists of the day,the film beautifully depicts his glamorous Hollywood and Broadway life, as well as examines the deep sorrow that seemed to be so much a part of his character. With amazing clips of the greatest singers all time (including Judy, Barbra, Tony, Lena and Frank) singing his amazing songs, OVER THE RAINBOW is a wonderful journey down the yellow brick road to meet it's composer, Harold Arlen.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Ella Fitzgerald - Something to Live For

starring: Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown Jr., Norma Miller, Harry Edison, Tony Bennett
directed by: Charlotte Zwerin

Release Date January 25, 2000
"She could swing. She was a natural" She was the queen of swing. She liked lyrics because they could tell a story.

In her lifetime she won 13 Grammy awards, and sold over 40 million records. Her off-stage life was as interesting as her life as an artist singer. She loved her adopted son, and supported her extended family with what they needed. One secret about Ella was her deep concern for children, because of her difficult early years. She would give grants to children, without any publicity.

Ella Fitzgerald has been my introduction into the wonderful world of Jazz. The queen of swing, was so talented she could sing many times of genres (big band, bipbop) but she was primarily a vocalist, and a very talented one.

This documentary has ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Mozart: Piano Trios K. 502, 542, 548

starring: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Daniel Muller-Schott, Andre Previn

Release Date October 09, 2007
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer. The frequent cuts between camera angles is something that I find a little annoying. Too many close ups, not enough torso shots...
The picture is crystal clear and the sound is great.

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Sounds Magnificent (The Story of the Symphony) - Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique / Previn, RPO

starring: Andre Previn, RPO

Release Date October 31, 2000
Andre Previn surely must have outstanding talent, experience and musical knowledge to have been chosen conductor of the Royal Philharmonic. Unfortunately, very little of this comes through in this recording. His presentation of Berlioz's colorful life and music is bland, lifeless, affectless, and lacking expression. There is a long and over-detailed story of Berlioz's love affair with Harriet Smithson (which prompted the creation of the Symphonie Fantastique) but disappointingly little insight into the music itself. Previn's face and voice show almost no life as he tells his story. And unfortunately this carries through into his performance of the music itself. Here is a superb orchestra playing exciting music in a lifeless, passionless way. It becomes very frustrating and annoying to watch, ... Read More: