Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition & Borodin: Symphony No. 2 [Blu-ray]

This is a recording of a live concert gala for New Year's Eve, 2007, in the Philharmonie Berlin.Blu-ray productions such as this have every advantage over attending a live performance except for the thrill of actually occupying the same space and time as the great orchestra and its conductor. I know of no concert hall in which one can hear each instrument with perfect clarity and at the same time see each member of the orchestra; and it is such a pleasure to see the total commitment of each member of the orchestra that results in readings of great precision, color, and intensity.The visual element (beautifully sharp and immediate in Blu-ray) helps to call attention to the particulars of the composers' decisions regarding orchestration and to reinforce one's knowledge that this orchestra is not only a great ensemble but also a collection of individual soloists with world-wide careers of their own. Witness for example the contribution of flutist Emmanuel Pahud, following in the footsteps perhaps of the Berliner Philharmoniker's most famous flutist alumnus, James Galway. I think that it is unfortunate that the credits, both on-screen, and in the booklet, fail to list the individual members of the orchestra; and while one can look up the personnel on the Internet, it takes some matching up of faces to figure out who is the leader of each section for a particular performance. The Berlin Phil has, for example, three concertmasters, any one of which may occupy the principal chair for a given concert. In this case it is Guy Braunstein.I came to buy this disc and several others by the Berliner Philharmoniker as a result of enjoying their "Digital Concert Hall" for the past two years (since early 2009). There, both live and archived Berlin performances are delivered in HD and high-quality stereo over the Internet for a fee. "Attending" Berlin's concerts in this way has increased my respect for the orchestra and given me a heightened appreciation for the ways in which home viewing of concerts can be in some respects a superior experience to being physically present in the hall. I bring this up because for those readers familiar with the Digital Concert Hall this disc is even better! Camera work involving cranes and other intrusive devices can only be justified for special occasions like this one, but they do provide a somewhat more dynamic experience than the permanently installed robotic cameras used for the Digital Concert Hall. Similarly, the 5.1 surround sound goes beyond the Digital Concert Hall's current restriction to 2 channels (as of this writing, but 5.1 is ready to go once the Adobe Flash player acquires that ability).DVDs and Blu-rays of the past decade or so have treated us to sonics beyond anything I dared hope for before: 5.1 surround with near-perfect frequency response, great dynamics, and negligible distortion. Recording engineers have mastered the feat of letting us hear each instrument individually while at the same time melding it all into an integrated whole. This is one such disc that benefits from the expert use of modern technology. In this case, I'd characterize the sound as just slightly on the bright side, with the massed violins sometimes sounding ever so slightly hard-edged; but then the Berliner's string section is indeed a muscular one.Of the two soundtracks my own preference is for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, but PCM stereo is provided, too. (Many concert DVDs are available that provide a choice among PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1. In such cases DTS usually provides a more bass-heavy and spacious sound compared with Dolby Digital. On the Blu-ray disc at hand, the DTS-HD MA makes no difference in the bass versus the PCM 2.0, as far as I can hear; and the surround effect is subtle. No Dolby Digital track is provided, which is OK unless that should happen to be the only surround mode available in your hardware.) Be sure to turn up the volume so that you hear the timbres of each individual instrument; the tuttis will then blow you away, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your tolerance of, or enjoyment of, realistic dynamic range. Although there was a brief period several years back in which surround sound was used to place the listener aurally so that (s)he was surrounded by the instruments, sound engineers today almost always use surround sound sparingly, only to provide some hall ambience; and that is the case here.Interpretations are non-idiosyncratic, which is to say that the music is allowed to speak for itself. (And indeed, as is Simon Rattle's wont, the orchestra is often left to play on its own while Rattle simply watches benignly and gives the occasional cue.) These performances deliver both poetry and excitement through the careful judging of pacing, which includes taking time for pastoral and romantic moods and providing a sense of anticipation before adopting brisker tempi for the more exuberant and climactic sections of the score -- but all kept within tasteful bounds. The only drawback for me in these performances is that I do not care much for the European (especially German) way of playing double-reed instruments--too slow a vibrato for my taste; and on this occasion the Berlin Phil had as its solo oboist Jonathan Kelly, who exemplifies this style somewhat more than others in spite of his being British. But that is just my taste; Kelly is a great oboist who plays with sensitivity and vigor.For me the highlight of the evening was the Borodin Symphony No. 2, whose endearing lyrical melodies and rhythmic and incisive outbursts especially benefit from the virtuosity of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Although all choirs of the orchestra performed superbly, the woodwinds were a particular delight in this piece; and that definitely includes the French horns, which, though brass, are sort of honorary woodwinds (as the chamber-music ensemble known as a woodwind quintet includes a French horn as standard equipment).Highly recommended.

I'd give it 5 stars except for an uninspired reading of the Borodin 2nd, which is not all that great tobegin with. The video is excellent, and the audio almost as good as the Jansons Beethoven set,which is my standard for now. Very good for 2007 , and the difference may just be the hall---butthe sound is CD quality plus, not quite up to the very best.The Pictures is the star of course, and it's very, very good. Recommended.Now, how about something except pops concerts and Mahler. How about a Rachmaninoff 2nd orthe 3 late Tchaikovsky symphonies. Or the Franck D minor. Berloiz anyone? Copeland? Bruchand Mendelssohn violin concertos? Bartok Concerto for Orchestra? Prokofiev 1 and 5! But notthe 18th version of Mahler! For the price these cost, let's have some variety.

Mussorgsky is A genius (the one who invented, Pink Floyd, ELP, Yes, Genesis etc..)The piece is played beautifully!!!At last a classic piece that is recorded in Great Sound - I have a good Stereo system who waited to be exploit by a good recording.The image is also great ( I have a new Optoma HD projector, which also I wished to have decent use)I recommend to all music lovers!!The piece is very hard piece (IMHO) and here we can hear all notes of all instruments- this requires great conductor with great orchestra!!Like part 3 of Beethoven monlight sonata. You must be a master to bring the notes so clear. In an orchestra it seems impossible mission.I can watch this BD over and over. The pure solos and the fast movements!! all are so great!!Joel

I enjoyed this Blu-ray disc, but Maestro Rattle's decision to be spectacular on the podium ruins a near perfect recording of Pictures. Everything was great until the very last chords in the Great Gate at Kiev...they are splattered across the sound stage with no togetherness and a perfect listening session ends with an "Oh well." If only he would have LED the group, had been clear and precise in his wishes instead of being a showman for the audience we would have a perfect disc. The most disappointing ending to an otherwise wonderful disc.Still...all-in-all, this is a wonderful disc and more than welcome is the sparse list of good music on Blu-ray.

The Berlin Philharmonic is the best orchestra in the world and they just keep getting better. The playing on this disc is great and the whole production is first rate. "Pictures" uses the Ravel orchestration which is the most commonly done and the best in my opinion. It was hard to determine which orchestration was used from the information given online.I now own 4 blu-ray orchestra discs and am really impressed with all of them. Hopefully the price of these blu-ray discs will come down some. This disc is basically a complete concert including an encore. You won't be disappointed with your purchase.

This Russian-themed concert from 2007 is performed at the expected high standards of the BPO under Simon Rattle. Its success, when judged against the highest of interpretive standards, is a little more varied however while still being an enjoyable concert overall.The opening Polovtsian Dances make a good opening number and are given a comfortably secure reading which makes full use of the tonal resources of the orchestra. It is the following second symphony of Borodin that doubts really start to appear. This is a very major Russian work and the Russian temperament ideally needs to be fully exposed. It is this aspect that is so obviously missing, especially in the opening movement. Those who are familiar with the famous Decca recording of the work with Martinon conducting the LSO on top form will know exactly what I mean here. That performance sizzles from the start and serves as a good example that it does not require a Russian orchestra and/or conductor to achieve the Russian volatility that is missing here. However, to be fair, the Borodin pieces could be described as very good, mid-European performances.The Mussorgsky half of this concert is totally successful. The Pictures at an Exhibition, as orchestrated by Ravel, is also more European in its conceptual nature and suits this orchestra well. The music has long been a staple item in the orchestra's repertoire, even going back to an admired recording by Karajan in the 1960's. The piece features many solo passages and it is in these that the individual players excel. The larger moments also suit the accumulative tonal resources and power of this impressive group of musicians. The Khovanshchina introduction is an object lesson in sustained quiet expressive playing, even almost to the point of inaudibility at times. The orchestra let their musical hair down in the Shostakovich encore from The Golden Age which is played with considerable verve.The imaging is very crisp and of excellent colour rendition. The camera work is involving throughout. The sound is faithfully reproduced and presented in DTS-HD 5.1 as well as stereo.This is a very enjoyable concert if not very Russian in feel. It should nevertheless give considerable satisfaction as an example of a central European way of playing the music to a very high standard.

Registrazione tratta da un concerto di fine anno alla Philharmonie del 2007. Precisa ed equilibrata, nasconde dietro lo smalto puntuale dell'orchestra berlinese una cura estrema per il particolare, il risalto delle dinamiche, la potenza delle due parti conclusive. La consiglio dopo un attento ascolto perchè oltre che in CD è disponibile in formato 24/48 su HD Tracks e persino in questo splendido Blu Ray video. Da notare che il programma contiene anche una corposa lettura delle famose “Danze Polovesiane” di Borodin, altro pezzo di grande efficacia sonora. Il multicanale DTS del Blu Ray è molto interessante, ma nel video la specialità sta soprattutto nelle immagini che ci accompagnano in un percorso sonoro tra i più affascinanti. Sembra un documentario sulle possibilità espressive dell'orchestra. A ciascuno il suo formato: quello che conta è che sia grande musica. Ravel utilizza l’orchestra con grande senso del colore sottolineando dinamiche ed espressione dell'audace partitura pianistica di Mussorgsky.Sentite ad esempio in Bydlo la resa naturale degli ottoni bassi (tromboni e basso tuba), i diffusori devono essere in grado di farli uscire fuori dal complesso delle sonorità. Si arriva ad un climax che sembra inesauribile, un orgasmo sonoro, per poi diminuire progressivamente. La tensione resta alta sino alla fine, il senso è quello del nostro carro che esce dalla scena. Attenti alla gamma bassa, contrabbassi in pianissimo, sino quasi a morire sul rumore di fondo. Impalpabile chiusura. Notevole. Ovviamente esecuzione impeccabile da parte di Simon Rattle ed i suoi “Berliner”. Affascinante seguirlo con le immagini. Provateci.Il respiro lungo degli ottoni berlinesi, la capacità di suonare forte senza fatica apparente, il fortissimo privo di sbavature sono testimonianza massime possibilità di una grande orchestra.