Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14608 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-10-17
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Classical, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD-Video, PAL
• Original language: English, Russian
• Subtitled in: German, English, Italian, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 76 minutes

Synopsis
Valery Gergiev, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of Mariinsky Theatre come together to perform Shostakovich's War Symphonies on this release. Appropriately filmed in Russia, Shostakovich's music is brought to life once again, forming a stirring riposte to the Stalinist purge of the country.

Customer Reviews

Must have for Shostakovich fans
The film gets you much closer to understanding Shostakovich as a person as well as a composer and the influences which the very difficult Stalin years had on his life and music. The insight given by Valery Gergiev is invaluable. The film also includes interviews with his friends, fellow composers as well as his daughter. The bonus audio tracks of movements from symphonies 4 to 9 conducted by Gergiev are excellent.

Shostakovich in History
This DVD is a gem in the universe of relatively few "must have" DVDs in the classical music world. Combining images to music can be very intrusive for some listeners, as myself, amputating the real pleasure and spiritual experience when listening to true art in sound. However, the DVD medium must have a place in this "strange" world of classical music, and this specific one is going in the right direction, I think - so congratulations to Philips, that surelly has many others like this in its archive. This DVD is very well conceived, with dynamic narrative, explaining adequatelly the ideas that are in discussion, with well thought point of views. It is very illuminating regarding the life experiences of Shostakovich and their roots in one of the most rich countries, concerning that argument, in history. There are some very well conducted pieces of symphonic music, the most enriching one written during the 20th century besides Mahler. Maybe filming Gergiev in a limousine could be otherwise excused, but even that contributes to ilustrate the contrast that exists in the present days for living Russian musics when compared to the lifes of musicians in the near past. If you are a Shostakovich admirer, you must buy this DVD...

Emotive - Music v Hell
The build up and witnesses to the performance of the Seventh Symphony in Leningrad brings tears into ones eyes. Death, starvation sheer Hell! - yet intense love of music in the face of it all. Brings it all home to you with vivid realism! This documentary has sharpend the intensity of feelings I have when listening to any of the many Shostakovich works I already know. I now know why the little old ladies flock to the concert hall in the former Soviet Union when Shostakovich is played!