CD-Charts Position 1

Jules Massenet: Manon

starring: Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Daniel Barenboim, Alfredo Daza, Christof Fischesser
directed by: Vincent Paterson

Release Date September 23, 2008

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Wagner - Tristan und Isolde

starring: Daniel Barenboim, Johanna Meier, Rene Kollo, Matti Salminen, Hanna Schwarz
directed by: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Release Date August 14, 2007
Having heard and read so much praise I expected much more from the Ponnelle/Barenboim "Tristan und Isolde" from the Bayreuth Festival of 1981. For one thing, the DVD's video quality is extremely disappointing. Darkness is extremely grainy. Even bleeding most of the color out the video, the quality is that of early VHS which is not good.

Ponnelle's direction and designs are overly quirky and the sets are extremely ugly looking. The opening scene with Isolde on the floor with a cape spreading out covering most of the stage and wearing a ridiculous looking crown (which she rips up after the Narration and Curse) set the tone for most of the balance of the performance, which is a series of misfires better known as opera singers behaving ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Barenboim on Beethoven - The Complete Piano Sonatas Live from Berlin

starring: Daniel Barenboim

Release Date February 06, 2007
This is what barenboim was born to do,its amazing how much better he is on the piano than conducting,from the first sonata to the last he masters them all,my favorite is the waldstein.I think hes always had a great understanding of beethoven even his conducting some of his symphonys, but this set is among the finest on disc.

CD-Charts Position 4
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The Ramallah Concert - Knowledge Is the Beginning/West-Eastern Divan Orchestra/Barenboim

starring: Daniel Barenboim

Release Date February 07, 2006
When a one human being sets an example of the highest quality of human endeavor and consciousness, each one of us learns how to become like-minded in such expression and action.Daniel Barenboim's film is true inspiration and guidance. This film should be viewed and shared among all those who strive to create a more harmonic, intelligently creative world.

CD-Charts Position 5
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Jacqueline Du Pre: A Celebration of Her Unique Enduring Gift

starring: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Zubin Mehta

Release Date September 25, 2007
For me this is the best Nupen's film about Jackie. It has "Who was Jacqueline du Pré?", "Interlude with Johannes Brahms" a previously unpublished interview and "Remembering Jacqueline du Pré". It's more than 3 hours of music and words of people who knew her best to enjoy and remember the best cello player of all times.
"Heart-Stopping arcchive footage" The Times

CD-Charts Position 6
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Maxim Vengerov: Playing By Heart/Masterclass

starring: Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Barenboim
directed by: Simon Broughton

Release Date May 27, 2008
I watched clips of Playing by Heart and Master Class first in youtube and wished there will be the DVD one day soon. Watching this DVD was far more exciting and I feel lucky because I will never have the opportunity to watch him playing live not because he is focussing to other things right now but because the opportunity of his concert in my country is very very small. We could see the real Maxim Vengerov and his thoughts too. The way he played and interpreted the repertoires were wonderful. The way he told the students of MasterClass how to play was the important thing a violinists and music' players need to know that you are allowed to play and must plays with your imagination. He could change the common perceptions that violin and classical music are not ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
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Daniel Barenboim: 50 Years On Stage

starring: Daniel Barenboim

Release Date February 22, 2005
I had enjoyed Daniel Barenboim, both as a pianist and conductor. It was interesting to see both the Buenos Aires Concert, and his interaction with various Orchestras. I had known of his marriage to Jacqueline DuPrez, but not his Argentine birth ot brave stands in Israel.

CD-Charts Position 8
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Schubert - Winterreise / Thomas Quasthoff, Daniel Barenboim

starring: Thomas Quasthoff, Daniel Barenboim

Release Date November 08, 2005
The utmost praise is due the great Thomas Quasthoff in this live Winterreise from the Berlin Philharmonie in March, 2005. Watching his rapt, expressive face as he sings is justification enough for this DVD. Quasthoff's early Winterreise on CD came out in 1998 on RCA/BMG. In every way his interpretation has gained since then in pathos, technical assurance, and emotional authority -- he really is unsurpassed among current accounts.

But normally his artistry is complemented by the pianism of Justus Zeyen, Quasthoff's remarkable accompanist. The two are a soul match; it's rare for someone of Zeyen's talents to confine himself to a secondary role. Here we have the far more celebrated Barenboim, and for me he is a problem. His habit, especially in the first handful ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
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Tangos Among Friends / Daniel Barenboim, Carlos Gardel

starring: Tangos Among Friends-Daniel Barenboim

Release Date March 27, 2007
Daniel Baremboim is one of the most dazzling figures in music today. Not only is he a superb classical pianist, with works of the stature of the video recording of all the Beethoven's piano sonatas, but an orchestra conductor at the title role in the Berlin Sttatsoper, which at anytime can be found conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker, Teatro Alla Scala, or the Wiener Philharmoniker.

He took some time to come to his birthplace, Buenos Aires (although he is an Israel citizen) to have his guests in a session of tango.

With a beautiful selection of old and modern tango, including Gardel, Piazzola and Argentinean classical composer Alberto Ginastera, Mr. Baremboim in the piano with Rodolfo Mederos in the bandoneon and Hector Console in the bass, give us a delightful ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
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Sibelius - Violin Concerto /De Falla - Nights in the Gardens of Spain

starring: Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Barenboim, Placido Domingo, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Release Date August 01, 2000
Sibelius was a failed virtuoso violinist. He poured his love for the violin into this concerto, which is full of difficulties beyond his own ability as a performer. It is a virtuoso concerto in the Romantic tradition, and in Vengerov it has found the ideal interpreter. Whether or not you find the visuals off-putting is a matter of personal taste (I don't mind them, while I can't stand Joshua Bell's affectations). For me what makes this an outstanding performance is Vengerov's uncanny ability to play the music like he owns it, like he means every single note in every single phrase, and thereby honoring Sibelius's idea of what a violin can do better than Sibelius himself could manage. Personal taste aside, that's *compelling*.

AND... as if that weren't enough, he throws in not one but two ... Read More: