Search - Herbert Von Karajan: Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique on DVD

I wish I could give it zero stars

Gary Fair | Modesto, CA | 03/03/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"For a conductor that made it to the highest levels of the profession, Karajan is, at best, useless and immaterial to the sounds being created by the Orchestra of Paris. At worst, he is interfering with what the orchestra is trying to do. Mr. Karajan's conducting seems to have little to with sound being produced. And his nebulous conducting technique fails to lead the orchestra through some tricky ensemble passages.

There is also an oddness to the cinematography: the camera will hold on Karajan for far too long, ignoring important musical passages in doing so. The camera will hold on the second violins when the important line is in a brass or woodwind voice. It also seems that various musicians were asked to come back after the full orchestra was recorded and to play certain passages alone on stage--so at times it appears as though only a solitary cello is playing that part. That may sound cool and "artistic," but when the "soloist" and the orchestra aren't in sync, it's just annoying.

I am very surprised at how disappointing this recording is. Not worth the money at all!"

A Total Flop

Zsolt Bognar | Cleveland, OH USA | 03/12/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Being a fan of Karajan's craftsmanship, I was very disappointed with this release. The sound is heavily compressed, with very little dynamic contrast. The picture quality is poor (barely TV-broadcast quality) and betrays its age. Camera-work is directed by Karajan himself, and is distracting in its choice of how much of the orchestra to reveal at a given time, and also makes use of odd, changing-color backlighting. The performance is stodgy, and too heavy for its own good, and the orchestral playing is sluggish and uninspired. Because the production centers around trying to emphasize Karajan's mastery in a mock-heroic way, the juxtaposition between the posturing and the performance is laughable. Truly a waste of my money for this contrived performance of Berlioz. I will stick to my audio recording of the Cleveland Orchestra with Boulez."