Discovering Masterpieces-Volume 5: Schumann-Piano Concerto (Argerich) (2006) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Classical	Featurette-Guide to the Schumann Piano Concerto
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	61:54
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Angelika Stiehler (Documentary) Michael Beyer (Performance)
Studio Distributor	Euroarts Select Audio-Visual Distrib	Starring	Riccardo Chailly Martha Argerich
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Linear PCM 96/24 2.0 (1536Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    No one should confuse the Discovering Masterpieces series or this particular edition featuring the Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor as Classical Music for Dummies. In fact, the DVD contains not only one of the most compelling performances of the concerto on video but also a detailed and erudite documentary on the work which delves into the history of the piece as well as the formal structure.

The concept behind the Discovering Masterpieces series is a simple one. Present a world class performance of a piece of important classical music and back it with a scholarly documentary on the work.

In this case viewers are very lucky. In conductor Riccardo Chailly and pianist Martha Argerich Euroarts have managed to combine two of the foremost living musical interpreters of piano music. True Argerich is no longer the Wunderkind who dazzled audiences with her commanding playing in the 50's and 60's but on the strength of this performance she is still an awesome player combining dazzling technical prowess with the fiery and physically powerful playing for which she is both revered and criticised. In this piece which, requires a performer who can share as well as lead, she reaches an instant rapport with the conductor and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. It is a joy from beginning to end and the thrill of live performance drifts out from the screen.

Chailly marshals his forces well, particularly in the opening Allegro affettuoso where the woodwinds and brass are as crucial to the success of the performance as the soloist.

The performance is filmed from about 5 different set-ups and has been intelligently directed. The soloists are featured at relevant movements and we get plenty of shots of Argerich humming quietly to herself and those powerful fingers banging away at the ivories.

The documentary is a high quality work which does not attempt to survey the life of Schumann and his pianist wife Clara but rather draws out the strands of his personal life relevant to the concerto. For the musical scholars it provides insight into the compositional techniques at work in the piece and the radical departures made to the traditional concerto form. Perhaps the key reason for the difference was that Schumann originally wrote the first movement of the concerto as a Fantasia but publication difficulties saw it combined into a full blown concerto in three movement form. Whatever the origins the first movement, Allegro affectuoso, is a concerto in one movement with a slow centre that takes the place of a traditional slow movement. The felicitous Intermezzo, Andantino graziosa follows before the fiery and technically diffcult Allegro vivace.

The documentary looks at the place of the Concerto in the history of music and links it to the development of the piano itself. The documentary leans heavily on musicologist Wulf Konold for scholarly discourse and is narrated in the English version by Dulcie Smart. The film takes apart each movement often referencing the score to demonstrate the points.

This DVD represents a great chance for lovers of fine music to see Argerich, always a rare bird in performance and on disc, and to get a deeper understanding of the wonderful Schumann Concerto.

Video

    Both the performance and documentary are presented on DVD in a 1.78:1 transfer (16x9) transfer.

The DVD is a Region 0 release but it emanates from a NTSC master and viewers without NTSC capability should take note. The performance was captured live over two nights 1-2 June 2006. I looked to see if I could see any edits but it is not clear what footage comes from what performance. I noted a lady in a red dress in all the shots taken from the left of the soloist so I suspect that pick-ups such as the oboist were taken on the other evening.

The picture is pretty standard NTSC digital. It is reasonably clear and clean although not up to high definition standard. The image is pretty stable and predicable aliasing on the strings and bows is about as far as the visual defects go. The blacks are not bad with very few noise problems. The combined length of the two items is less than an hour so it is no surprise that EuroArts have put it on a single layer DVD 5. There are no compression or other problems and, low resolution aside, this is quite a good looking concert film.

The documentary is on a visual par with the concert film.

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Audio

  Picture quality aside most people will be interested to find how this DVD sounds.

The performance comes in three flavours: PCM 2.0 running at 1536 Kb/s, Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kb/s and DTS 5.1 at 768 Kb/s. It is pleasing to report that all three sound pretty good. For those with no surround sound the PCM will be the only option and it is a clear track with suitable depth and clarity. There is a pleasing surround dimension although the mix is intelligent and doesn't feature violins coming in from all sides of the room.

As might be expected the DTS track trumps the standard 5.1 track although not by much. The piano has a nice sharp tone and the live sound is not muddy even in the loudest moments. Check out some of the individual soloist moments to savour the sound quality. The performance is in perfect hand sync!

The audience is perfectly quiet, or have been expertly removed, and there are no hacking coughs on show. The track is without technical flaws.

The documentary only features the PCM 2.0 running at 1536 Kb/s. This is fine for the film which largely consists of voice over narration and a few talking head interludes.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Technically speaking the documentary is a feature and not an extra. It is worth pointing out that the DVD contains an essay and various written works about the concerto. The essay is interesting although the translation is a bit iffy. There is also a timeline placing the concerto in a historical context.

    This DVD is all regions.

    The Schumann Concerto is a great work and this is a high quality DVD to celebrate it.

The transfer quality is fine. I wished for a high definition transfer but that will have to wait until high def' becomes standard.

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