Sounds Magnificent (The Story of the Symphony) - Haydn Symphony No. 87 and Mozart Symphony No. 39 / Previn, RPO

Rating:
Summary: Lovely music - Commentary could use clearer enunciation
Review: Beautiful music beautifully performed. Mr. Previn's commentaries give us just the right amount of information needed and seem to me perfectly appropriate for this kind of medium. My only complaint is that, to my ears at least, the final syllable of MANY of his words remains INAUDIBLE. The more you get interested in a sentence you are hearing, the more it becomes frustrating to miss the meaning of the whole thing just because of one lousy little syllable here and there. I would suggest providing Mr. Previn with a separate microphone just for his talks.

Rating:
Summary: Good for Music Appreciation classes
Review: I use lots of video to try to "liven up" class lectures on Music Appreciation. I like the Previn series quite a lot, and this tape especially. Sometimes Previn's speech is directed at a younger audience than I'm teaching, but all in all his explanations of the instruments and the time period are good. Lots of close-ups let students see (and hear!) the individual instruments and how they are played. The performances of the two symphonies are excellent. These are pretty good tapes, at a much better price than "educational" tapes produced in small quantities.