Product Description

"To play Beethoven’s music is to give oneself over completely to the child-spirit which lived in that grim, awkward, violent man. Without that utter submission it is impossible to play the Adagio of the Ninth. Or, Heaven knows, the first movement. And the Finale? Most of all! It is simply unplayable unless we go all the way with him, as he cries out "Brüder!" - Leonard Bernstein. Soloists: Gwyneth Jones, Shirley Verrett, Placido Domingo, Martti Talvela. Vienna Philharmonic; Vienna State Opera Chorus.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79197 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-01-31
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 78 minutes

Customer Reviews

a great performance
I can't believe the stupid "review" below! This must be from some kid only into new digital picture, never mind the performance. Ignore him! This performance is one of the great performances of Beethoven's ninth. As part of the Beethoven bicentennial performances of 1970, of course the video lacks the absolute clarity of a modern digital recording. But no conductor today can hold a candle to Bernstein, one of the last great conductors. The orchestra is still one of the best and the soloists were the best of 1970 and far better than any today (including Domingo who still performs but not with the freshness here).
Bottom line - get this one and the Beethoven 9th with Bernstein in Berlin on Christmas day 1989 when the infamous Wall came down. These are how Beethoven should be conducted. Get them while they're still available as no performance these days comes anywhere near the power and intensity of these DVDs.

Really bad A/V quality
I'm not a documentary collector.This is the worst concert recording that I have ever seen. I even thought I got a vcd for this.The video and audio quality is far way below you expected and I can't even "enjoy" this for 2 minutes longer.