Berliner Philharmoniker Vadim Repin Simon Rattle Beethoven Bruch Stravinsky

Product Description The Berlin Philharmonic's European Concert, held each year on May 1, is invariably an international highlight. Review This DVD makes a better calling card for the Rattle/Berlin PO partnership than do any of the DG CDs I've heard. The familiar acoustic of the Great Hall at the Moscow Conservatory is really well caught, and the sound is pretty well balanced and clear. Occasionally, in the Stravinsky, the sound varies in balance. Direction is all right and intelligent, with maybe too much zooming, but you've seen far worse. There are empty seats for the Symphony in Three Movements, a shame, given the care and effort Rattle and the players put into sustaining a beautiful account of the opening movement, and the joyous verve of the finale. It's more like Ansermet than the composer's own reading on Sony, but it's individual. The conductor also applies himself to the Beethoven Seventh as though hearing it for the first time, almost doing a Bernstein for the cameras. The players go with him, and their first Vivace tutti makes for an inspiring release of energy and tension. The tempo for the Allegretto seems about perfect to me; also the Presto, where an up-to-speed trio section sounds all the more original (and Berlioz-like). Articulation is fine in the finale, as you'd expect, and Rattle whips up one hell of a storm near the end. There's some lovely wind playing in all four movements. Repin, in between, stands right on the spot where Oistrakh and Kogan stood before him, then jousts with the Bruch. Repin's star quality is in no doubt, but it's the orchestral response that might surprise you in this chestnut. Repin is moving in the Adagio, glorious in the Allegro moderato, and the accompaniment is excellent. The BPO really gives it everything in the last movement. Stern and Oistrakh own the piece on recordings, especially with their differing, unforgettable approaches to the Adagio's G-string phrases, and Stern's command at the start. But arkivmusic.com lists more than 100 releases of this Concerto. An unusual combination of works, but if you're tempted, no need to hesitate. -- Fanfare, Paul Ingram, Jan-Feb 2010