Search - Bruckner - Symphony No. 8 / Giulini, World Philharmonic on DVD

Disappointing

R. Shaffer | Naples, FL | 08/15/1999

(1 out of 5 stars)

"What a disappointment! Lovers of classical music deserve more than this in the DVD format. The sound on this DVD includes the old "tape hiss" in the background - something listeners of quality CD's have long since forgotten. And to add to this, the video quality is often poor! Fuzzy pictures, not something you would expect in this new format. My recommendation: skip this DVD and listen to von Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic. A much more enjoyable experience"

The Performance is All

Ryan Layne Whitney | Seattle, WA USA | 11/30/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Whether or not the sound is the best (and I didn't think it was bad at all), this performance is so fine that I would recommend it over any on video, and even on CD. (I have no trouble listening even to 78s if the performance is great.) Giulini believes in every note of this symphony, as do I, and his way of holding the lengthy work together--some conductors, like Mehta, want to rush it here and there to "get over" the bridge sections--is masterful."

As A matter of Comparison

BLee | HK | 02/25/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"One of my favourite modern conductors. I don't mind much about the recorded sound, but the sound of the orchestra must be musical well mixed. Here we have soloists from some 60 countries, including some Indians and some Asians players whatever lumping together for I don't know how long. It's pointless to expect much from such a combination.The photpgraphy needs much to be desired as well. Often, we see players from an angle that is not quite natural and then the players are not depicted as a section, nor as a group nor are they maninly the soloist(s). Even the seating needs to be re-arranged from a photographic point of view. So is the lighting.
Moreover, very often we have depictions of Giulini with his eyes closed for most of the time ( and when he opens his eyes he was not really looking and would close them within a second) murmuring all the time as though he was cursing! Odd enough.

One of the reasons why I don't really enjoy this performance was, I've just finished watching Eugene Jochum's performance of the same piece with Bamgerger Symphony taped in 1982 and which was way better than this one: it was just like a realist German oil painting from beginning till the last note. Too bad a juxtaposition despite the fact that this one is 4 years younger."