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Rating: 
Summary: Salute To These Great Music Makers
Review: As one of the contributors says, "even though the 5 conductors may use the same brush, the same paints, the same canvass, when they play the same piece, we have 5 different things; it's the way they spread the paint making all kinds of shape and colours... " The analyses are very brief indeed. Furthermore, some contributotrs like the dancer on Mravinsky, or the violinist on Furtwangler, or the timpanist on Munch are hardly known to most viewers. But they are all very much to the point, sometimes as relevant as the other contributors such as Haitink or even Menuhin. Here Menuhin tells us how Mengelberg and Furtwangler breathe life into music. Some other contributors also point out how Mravinsky preserved the freshness of his playing and how Munch "twists and changes" a piece of music in performance from what he had rehearsed as if the piece has a life of it's own. In essence, nothing is, or should be mechanical. The other contributor, Barenboim, is of a different category, and he made some very good points on Celibache. Here we also have a chance to note the huge difference between Eric Klieber and his son Carlos...
Viewers trying to figure out the art of great conductors certainly know something about music, even if not the exact process of making music. Giving the viewers a headnote on the conductor to be followed by a passage or two, illustrating the characteristics of the respective conductor is as much as one would expect. Further elaboration would be unnecessary for those in the know and too boringly technical to the less involved. The passages selected are very illustrative to say the least. However, the analysis on Mravinsky is not quite forthcoming enough. On the whole, don't expect the picture or sound to be too good, but they are certainly good enough to make the point, or even enough to delight some viewers, if not all.
Rating:
Summary: Rare video documents
Review: This two-hours DVD is a continue to "The Art of Conducting - Great Conductors of the Past" issued by Teldec some years before. To be compared it contains less interviews and more long video excerpts including some full performances such as R.Strauss by Furtwangler, Weber by Mengelberg and J.Strauss by Kleiber.
Also Celibidache and Mravinsky excerpts are informative and interesting.
Karajan, Cluytens,Talich, Scherchen are presented by very small excerpts and it is more marketing for label than information.
Rating:
Summary: Rare video documents
Review: This two-hours DVD is a continue to "The Art of Conducting - Great Conductors of the Past" issued by Teldec some years before. To be compared it contains less interviews and more long video excerpts including some full performances such as R.Strauss by Furtwangler, Weber by Mengelberg and J.Strauss by Kleiber.
Also Celibidache and Mravinsky excerpts are informative and interesting.
Karajan, Cluytens,Talich, Scherchen are presented by very small excerpts and it is more marketing for label than information.
Rating: 
Summary: this is an extension to the first one in series
Review: with the intention to continue (the financial success of?) the first film on conductors this second one brings more conductors and conducting time and even less commentary. the rich written notes somewhat make up for the lack of commentary in the film itslef. yet, again, as is the case with the first film, it could be greatly improved by adequate analysis.
Rating:
Summary: Rare Celibidache footage.
Review: Worth the price if only for the rare footage of the great legendary Celibidache. Truly magnificent display of greatness and incite.
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