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Classic Archive: Murray Perahia - Beethoven, the Complete Piano Concertos

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Description

Sir Neville Marriner conducts the Academy of St. Martin in the fields in this 2 DVD set.


Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.331


MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)


Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.75 x 5.75 x 0.53 inches; 2.93 Ounces


Director ‏ : ‎ --


Media Format ‏ : ‎ Multiple Formats, Color, Full Screen, NTSC


Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 56 minutes


Release date ‏ : ‎ January 27, 2009


Actors ‏ : ‎ Murray Perahia


Subtitles: ‏ ‎ German, English


Studio ‏ : ‎ EuroArts


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Wonderful, but note a few production flaws
This review is primarily to call attention to an error in labeling, which is not Amazon's error, but a misleading indication on the product itself. These claim to be PCM Stereo recordings; but they are in fact 2-channel mono, which is to say that both channels are identical. I give five stars for the performances and for the fact that BBC & Medici Arts made these available, but only one or two stars for the production values. I am not weighing the latter too heavily because these are indeed fine performances. For anyone who may be interested, I will enumerate the deficiencies I found in the production of these DVDs. They are TV programs transferred to DVD, and I found a bit of a labeling problem associated with this: the source is referred to as "film," rather than videotape, while by the looks of things it is almost certainly the latter. Had these concerts been recorded on film, they could have been made into better DVDs; but as it is, these are no better than standard-definition TV. The picture problem doesn't stop here, however; the package indicates the aspect ratio as 4:3, the old TV standard; but for those of us who like our circles to show as circles rather than ellipses, we are not happy that the aspect ratio must actually be somewhere between 4:3 and wide-screen 16:9, meaning that we have to live with either a pinched or stretched image, depending upon whether we adjust our sets for standard or wide-screen, respectively. I wonder if this is a product of converting from the European/British TV system to NTSC, or just some sort of weird compromise to get the entire picture on to a standard TV without letterboxing. I was not surprised to find that there was no 5.1 surround, and I agree with the decision not to attempt to simulate it for the benefit of modern home theaters; but two-channel mono seems a bit backward even for 1988 TV; and the lack of aural ambience that results is unfortunate, although by no means a show stopper for me. The live recording itself is a little substandard in addition to the lack of stereo, exhibiting slight distortion in loud passages, with an overall sonic congestion at times. In addition, an unnecessarily poor decision was made regarding layer shifts on these DVDs. First, it is not clear why the decision was made to make the DVDs dual-layer: the programs are less than two hours, the video quality is not otherwise good enough that the slight amount of compression required to put the entire program on one layer would have been noticed, and there is only one 2-channel soundtrack. Next, compounding the error, on DVD 1 the layer shift occurs toward the end of the finale of the Concerto No. 2; surely the tiny amount of compression that would have been required to fit slightly over one hour of content onto the first layer would have been preferable to the picture & audio pause that occurs near the end of the concerto. On DVD 2, either by accident or design, the layer shift occurs during the transition to the last movement of Concerto No. 5 and thus is not quite so intrusive. Before making this criticism, I have taken care to play the discs in three different DVD players; and while it should be technically possible to produce players that read and buffer far enough ahead to compensate for layer shifts, it appears that this is not usually the case; and DVD producers should take this into account. Well, I guess I should be grateful that a visual record of these performances exists at all. Once I got past the shortcomings of the production (which, along with a lack of program notes, perhaps account for the budget price), I found this to be a satisfying set of performances and valuable documentation of an earlier year in the career of one of the world's very top pianists. I do not intend this review to dissuade serious music lovers from acquiring this set; but I think some of these minor issues should be noted; for one thing, subsequent issues of these DVDs could correct the misleading "stereo" indication and do something about the dual-layer shifts. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2009 by D. DEGEORGE

  • Classic Archive Murray Perahia--Beethoven
Murray Perahia and Neville Marriner go together like a hand in a glove. Both the conductor, pianist and the St. Martins In the Fields Orchestra all blend beautifully together. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 is a delight to hear. I like the way Murray Perahia executes this piece of composition. One of my parent's favorite pieces on this compact disc is the Beethoven Concerto No.3. The second movement or Largo movement is especially heart-wrenching for me to play because of the beautiful piano and string instruments. The last movement of this piece is quite dynamic. The Emperor Concerto is dynamic all the way through it. Murray Perahia does this piece well in that there are a lot of cadenzas and other difficult piano passages. A great couple of DVD's for the Beethoven piano enthusiast. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2015 by James D. Weinberg

  • The performance was incredible. The recording had several flaws ...
The performance was incredible. The recording had several flaws including parts where there's no sound, within a movement, of course. Is there a way to receive a replacement?
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2015 by wdw

  • Five Stars
Excellent tonality and dexterously implemented
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2015 by Dr. Fayez Jad Suidan

  • Classic performances appropriately fitting within the 'Classic Archive' series to which this DVD belongs
This series of discs, available on blu-ray as here, and also on DVD, is intended to bring revered classic recordings into the modern age of replay on either Blu-ray or DVD format. It is not intended to offer modern technology in terms of HD recording and playback expertise. This has been confirmed as the intention of the series by a representative of Euroarts. The title 'Classic Archive' is a clear statement of intent that potential purchasers need to note. It is best, therefore for reviewers to consider them as offering more convenient playback formats for modern systems but judged within the context of archive material. It will be on that basis that this disc will be considered. These recordings were made from 'live' broadcasts made by the BBC using videotape, as opposed to film, as the signal carrier. Indeed the first commercial issue of these recordings was on VHS. The quality of both sound and image are therefore of about the level of standard definition television broadcasts of 1988. This falls considerably below the audio quality of CD discs of the time. Imaging is not very sharp and the stereo sound is more of general spread, possibly two track mono, rather than being specifically stereo. Both sound and image quality fall well below the 1967 studio recording made by Backhaus and the VPO for example and also available on a Euroarts DVD. However, those considerations are not the main point of the issue. What we have here is a renowned Classical period pianist caught fully engaged in a series of 'live' concerts and playing concertos with which he had achieved considerable international recognition. In this he is expertly and attentively supported by Neville Marriner and his Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra. The scale of the performances is correctly kept within Classical period boundaries and this applies to both the pacing and phrasing of all the players as well as the size of the orchestra. Without exception these performances are lively and vibrant and the last movements of each concerto in particular have a great sense of rhythmical flair and sheer 'joie de vivre.' Slow movements are played with all the poetry and delicacy that Perahia is famed for. Although falling far below the recorded quality of the Perahia/Haitink combination of these five concertos, they succeed in making those seem rather dull and heavy-footed by comparison. These may lack the recorded sophistication of those alternatives but they more than make up for that in being really alive 'live' performances. There are now rival sets of these concertos on Blu-ray and with the added advantage of HD resolution. Barenboim and Buchbinder are two main contenders here. Perahia offers a more sparkling account than Buchbinder and a less driven account than Barenboim. Those two discs deserve their high rating as modern performances with all the advantages of modern recording technologies. Perahia offers an alternative and more genteel view but with a clear classical strength. His recording does not compete, but as the opening paragraph to this review explains, that is not the intention of the release. I would suggest that this disc will be of great interest to those with a particular interest in this pianist and for whom compromises in sound and vision will not weigh heavily. Those who want fine performances in the best HD technology would be best advised to look elsewhere. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2014 by I. Giles

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