CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Mozart - Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) / Keenlyside, Roschmann, Hartmann, Damrau, Selig, Allen, Sir Colin Davis, Covent Garden

starring: Mozart, Simon Keenlyside, Dorothea Roschmann, Diana Damrau, Thomas Allen
directed by: Sir Colin Davis, David McVicar

Release Date September 23, 2003
What an incredible portrayal of what is, in my opinion, Mozart's most beautiful opera. My love of this DVD began with the overture, with beautiful shots of the orchestra. Now, for the singing:

Everyone in this production is amazing. The show-stealer is Dorothea Roschmann, as Pamina, who plays this character as if the role was made just for her. She is innocent, yet knowing, and her search for truth gives her layering that not all singers playing Pamina can properly delineate. Brava to her and her beautiful, rich, emotional voice. Simon Keenlyside is just as marvelous, with an awkward yet strong presence as Papageno. He makes the audience laugh at him, pity him and root for him all within the same performance. Diana Damrau ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Gundula Janowitz: In Concert

starring: Gundula Janowitz, Handel, Mozart

Release Date August 12, 2008
What an incredible portrayal of what is, in my opinion, Mozart's most beautiful opera. My love of this DVD began with the overture, with beautiful shots of the orchestra. Now, for the singing:

Everyone in this production is amazing. The show-stealer is Dorothea Roschmann, as Pamina, who plays this character as if the role was made just for her. She is innocent, yet knowing, and her search for truth gives her layering that not all singers playing Pamina can properly delineate. Brava to her and her beautiful, rich, emotional voice. Simon Keenlyside is just as marvelous, with an awkward yet strong presence as Papageno. He makes the audience laugh at him, pity him and root for him all within the same performance. Diana Damrau ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Anne-Sophie Mutter - Mozart Violin Concertos, Sonatas, and Trios

starring: Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mozart

Release Date October 09, 2007
I have enjoyed listening Mutter world and learned a lot of techniques. I have listened her live recital of all Mozart sonatas. I was deeply impressed by her unique phasing, techniques and also cloths.
However, I was feeling dizzy during watching the DVDs because terrible camera work, which is changing scenes a lot and so quickly like HGTV.
Finally, I gave up to watch them, just listen them. We haven't seen a lot of scene changes for short time at any concert. Please calm down.
Anyhow, I don't like the camera works at all!! It is not like music concert at all!!
Someone, please let me know whether or not other Grammophon DVDs are all same for future purchase.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Herbert Von Karajan & Berliner Philharmoniker: Opening Concert Berlin 750 Years

starring: Karajan, Strauss, Mozart, Bpo

Release Date November 11, 2003
If this was a CD it would get 5 stars, although I am not happy that Maestro Karajan skipped a movement in the Mozart Divertomento. The other five movements are played beautifully by the great Berlin Philharmonic strings. And the Strauss is also exceptional. But here is the problem: this DVD was made at the end of the conductor's life. His conducting is so minimal that it becomes extremely boring after just a few minutes. And the camera work is also very dull. Finally, the picture has little clarity, let alone brilliance. Unless you are a Karajan collector, I would avoid this DVD.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Mozart: String Quartets

starring: Mozart, Hagen Quartet

Release Date June 24, 2008
These performances of Mozart's 'Haydn' String Quartets are by a Salzburg-born and -bred quartet, the Hagen Quartet, filmed in the Grosser Saal of the fabled Mozarteum. The setting, with its gilt and cream decor, looks almost like a chocolate box (or perhaps I should says a Mozartkugel box!). The appreciative audience is dressed to the nines. It's all part of the Mozartwoche Festival of 1998. The focus is, as it should be, on the music and the musicians, the highly talented and much praised Hagen Quartet, a group consisting of three siblings - Lukas, Veronika and Clemens Hagen, 1st violin, viola and cello respectively - and their Mozarteum-trained 2nd violinist, Rainer Schmidt. (The quartet started out with four Hagen sibs, but its original second violinist, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Vienna Boys Choir: Choral Works

starring: Vienna Choir Boys, Mozart, Harrer

Release Date January 10, 2006
Music, cameras, audio, performers, director, settings ... everything put perfectly together here like one of Mozart's compositions!!
I enjoy so much Max Emanuel Cencic's performance especially in the 'Gloria'. He has such a beautiful soprano voice! Also the two angels that sing in a duet the 'Sub tuum Praesidium, K 198'. And in general all the children in the choir!! Thanks to Mr Harrer for such a fine job. I just can hope that there will be more of this kind of productions in the future with the Vienna Boys' Choir... another miracle!

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Mozart Piano Concerto 17 & Symphony 39 / Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker

starring: Mozart, Wiener Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein

Release Date November 21, 2006
it's nice that many of the vhs tapes of Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic from the 80's are being transfered to DVD - here the sound and video quality are quite good (occasionally the sound is a little brittle in the forte passages) -

amazing how Bernstein could suddenly appear as a soloist and play so well - his tone is beautiful - his technique is polished (perhaps a very few 16th-note passages are slightly uneven) - surprisingly, Bernstein's approach to the concerto is poetic and graceful, as opposed to muscular - the ensemble playing between the soloist and orchestra is right-on and natural, with exceptional woodwind playing (especially flute) - my only gripe is the tempo of the second movement - a bit on the slow side, with an occasional sluggishness ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Piano Concertos 22 23 & 24 (Ac3 Dol Dts)

starring: Mozart, Buchbinder, Wiener Philharmonic

Release Date February 27, 2007
Isn't it great to have your virtual concert at home, especially your favourite Mozart piano concertos played by Rudolf Buchbinder with VPO (the Mozart orchestra). The experience you could merely enjoy from attending a real concert.

Before you really enjoy the virtual concert you would always have your concerns, and pre-conception of the nearly perfect interpretation from the great recordings of the Mozart piano concertos in the past. You wouldn't expect Buchbinder's interpretation could surpass those CDs you use as reference (my reference are: Ashkenazy for K482, Curzon for K488, Haskil for K491). In fact the only expectation would be, at least, it reaches a high level of artistic achievement and performance.

I have watched this DVD for three times ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Mozart: Great Piano Concertos, Vol. IV: 5, 8, 17 & 27

starring: Mozart, Eco, Rpo, Previn, Gelmetti

Release Date November 15, 2005
This DVD contains two of Mozart's greatest piano concertos (Nos. 17 and 27) and two quite early concerti, all filmed in 1989 and 1990. The latter might not be so interesting in themselves, perhaps, except that the earliest is played by a great pianist, Malcolm Frager, who died only a year later. This is possibly the last time he was filmed. He plays Concerto No. 5 in D Major, K. 175 with the Orchestra of the Italian Radio of Switzerland under the direction of Marc Andreae. As a longtime follower of Frager's career it was bittersweet to see him smiling serenely to himself at the felicities of this rather simple concerto, written when Mozart was only seventeen. It's a magical performance filmed in the Bibiena Theatre in Mantua. The next concerto presented here, No. 8 in C Major, K. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

New Year's Concert 2006 / Mariss Jansons, Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopern Ballet

starring: Vienna Philharmonic, Johann Josef Strauss, Mozart Figaro Overture, John Neumeier Lanner Mozartisten

Release Date March 14, 2006
I could sense a special chemistry between conductor Mariss Jansons and the Wiener Philharmoniker when he led them on their 2005 North American tour - which visited only New York City - during three special concerts I heard back in early March, 2005 at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium. The orchestra's performances were as vibrant and warm as those I had heard a few years earlier under the batons of Bernard Haitink and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. So I was surprised and delighted to hear that Maestro Jansons would make his New Year's Concert debut for the 2005-2006 season. And of course, I eagerly watched the live telecast of the concert, seeing again the same chemistry I noticed back in March, 2005. Now here on this DVD I have the grand opportunity of seeing this concert often since the ... Read More: