Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 & Mozart Sonatas / Gulda, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

Rating:
Summary: wonderful in every regard
Review: Friedrich Gulda is probably best know for his sensitive Mozart renditions, having dedicated great parts of his life's work to "the divine master" as he calls him. But on this superbly produced DVD the Beethoven Emperor concerto is the real stunner - a wonderful recording in which Gulda conducts as well as he plays. He is in total harmony and synch with a superb Munich Philharmonic, and the spirit of the whole performance is very moving. The audio and video of the great production are outstanding, another quality production from the House of Panasonic. These are the kinds of productions one buys a DVD player for!
The second part of the DVD has Gulda playing Mozart sonatas and those are pretty much the icing on the cake of an absolutely outstanding disc! Buy it for your collection and never regret it.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful in every regard
Review: Friedrich Gulda is probably best know for his sensitive Mozart renditions, having dedicated great parts of his life's work to "the divine master" as he calls him. But on this superbly produced DVD the Beethoven Emperor concerto is the real stunner - a wonderful recording in which Gulda conducts as well as he plays. He is in total harmony and synch with a superb Munich Philharmonic, and the spirit of the whole performance is very moving. The audio and video of the great production are outstanding, another quality production from the House of Panasonic. These are the kinds of productions one buys a DVD player for!
The second part of the DVD has Gulda playing Mozart sonatas and those are pretty much the icing on the cake of an absolutely outstanding disc! Buy it for your collection and never regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A good DVD to add to your collection
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the 5th Concerto. The 2nd movement I personally thought was played unusally "fast", but it gives it another dimension otherwise not often heard. His interpretation of the music is brilliant. A vibrant performance!


Rating:
Summary: Add this to your collection
Review: If you love the works of the Master, i.e. Beethoven, and you love piano concertos, then you must have this DVD. The unconventional Gulda, a child prodigy, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra; how can you go wrong? With the brilliance of the Allegro and the Rondo, plus the tenderness of the 2nd movement, this is a must-have to any classical music lover's collection.

Rating:
Summary: Add this to your collection
Review: If you love the works of the Master, i.e. Beethoven, and you love piano concertos, then you must have this DVD. The unconventional Gulda, a child prodigy, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra; how can you go wrong? With the brilliance of the Allegro and the Rondo, plus the tenderness of the 2nd movement, this is a must-have to any classical music lover's collection.

Rating:
Summary: the reason one purchases a dvd player
Review: imho mr guilda is a real entertainer and an artist. i have never witnessed one of his performances before. there is little doubt in my mind you will love the way he throws himself into the music. he plays extravagantly but i did not think his ego was too much on display-he simply makes you respond to the music the way he pours out the way he feels. what an entertainer! i loved it. it would be impossible not to play beethoven no. 5 again.

Rating:
Summary: the reason one purchases a dvd player
Review: imho mr guilda is a real entertainer and an artist. i have never witnessed one of his performances before. there is little doubt in my mind you will love the way he throws himself into the music. he plays extravagantly but i did not think his ego was too much on display-he simply makes you respond to the music the way he pours out the way he feels. what an entertainer! i loved it. it would be impossible not to play beethoven no. 5 again.

Rating:
Summary: Hope and Passion
Review: Listening to Mozart's music fill the soul with such hope and passion! This recording captures the essence and the magic of this brilliant composer.
Beethoven also excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Hope and Passion
Review: Listening to Mozart's music fill the soul with such hope and passion! This recording captures the essence and the magic of this brilliant composer.
Beethoven also excellent.

Rating:
Summary: Gulda compares favourably with Argerich and Abbado
Review: This is a LIVE recording, but the Beethoven and Mozart were recorded at different times with a lapse of 10 years or so.
Moreover, when the Mozart pieces were recorded, Gulda's was far from his top form, and when the camera changed one is rather shocked seeing how old he had become-- he could hardly stand on his feet firm enough albeit his fingers were still going and his wizardry was still amazing. However, viewers would easily notice that this time round, and for obviuos reasons, it's Mozart's pathos that has got the upper hand.

I find the wood winds of Munich Orchestra most appealing, particularly the clarinet, which compares favourably with the present Berlin Philharmonic. Needless to say, the strings as well as the other sections are all upfront. Here you can see that Gulda the solist/conductor competes well, had he chosen to be a conductor, with his masterclass pupil, Abbado and note their striking similarirties. And as a painist, he had even better control over the piano than his pupil, Martha Argerich and his understanding of music as well as his sense of structure and rhythm is so much stronger. Again, note the similarities between these two pianists, their touch or even their hands.

The recording may not be as good as some of the best labels, but photography pianistically is very good and would be able to satisfy the most fastidious viewers. The music Gulda made is a rarity and anyway there are only a few such films available. For those who find the Viennese School fascinating, they couldn't afford to miss it.