"Actor: Georges Pretre"

• New Year's Day Concert 2008 - Georges Pretre/Wiener Philharmoniker | DVD | (21/01/2008) from £13.94   |  Saving you £3.05 (21.88%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The 2008 New Year's Day Concert will be conducted by the eminent conductor Georges Prtre for the first time. Prtre is the first French citizen to receive this honour. Maestro Prtre has a special association with the Wiener Philharmoniker dating back to 1966. He is one of the few French Artists to have received the highest decorations both in France and abroad. In 2004 he became Commander of the French Lgion d'honneur and was decorated with the Austrian Cross for Services Rendered to Science and the Arts. He also became Honorary Member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna - the highest decoration an artist can obtain in Vienna. The concert programme for 1st January 2008 will be the customary cornucopia of Strauss delights but this time with a French theme. The sumptuous setting of the Musikverein Wien provides the traditional backdrop. Tracklist: 1. New Year's Day Concert 2008 Opening Credits 2. Napoleon March Opus 156 3. Dorfschwalben Aus Osterreich Opus 164 4. Laxenburger-Polka Op.60 5. Pariser-Walzer 6. Versailler-Galopp 7. Orpheus-Quadrille Op.236 8. Kleiner Anzeiger Galopp Op.4 9. Overture 10. Freuet Euch Des Lebens Opus 340 11. Bluette Opus 271 12. Tritsch-Tratsch Polka 13. Hofball Tnze Op.161 14. Die Libelle Opus 204 (Polka Mazur) 15. Russischer Marsch Opus 426 16. Die Pariserin Polka Francaise Opus 238 17. Chineser-Galopp Op.20 18. Emperor Waltz (Kaiser Walser) 19. Die Bajadere Schnell-Polka Opus 351 20. Sport Polka Opus 170 21. New Year's Address 2008 22. An Der Schonen Blauen Donau Op. 314 23. Radetzky March Opus 228 24. New Year's Day Concert 2008 Closing Credits

• Waldbuhne 1992 - French Night | DVD | (10/06/2002) from £6.49   |  Saving you £14.76 (282.22%)   |  RRP £19.99

  French Night is subtitled "An Exceptional Summer Concert from Waldbuhne Berlin, 1992" and was recorded on June 27 of that year with the Berlin Philharmonic delivering a programme of French favourites under the baton of Georges Pretre. The concert begins with Berlioz' Roman Carnival Overture and though the orchestra work hard the full daylight in the amphitheatre setting negates any real engagement. Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand follows and is the most serious part of the programme, soloist Leon Fleischer making the most of his showcase, though Debussy's L'Après-Midi d'un Faune is really too intimate for such an event. Night has descended for Bizet's Carmen Suite and the show really takes off as the famous tunes fill the arena. The audience equally appreciate Ravel's Bolero before the French part of the evening is capped by some lively dance music from Offenbach and Bizet. Then, to restore local patriotic pride, the Berlin Philharmonic launch into an enthusiastic version of Johann Strauss' Radetzky-March, the familiar closing number from the Vienna Philharmonic's annual New Year's Day concerts. The finale is Paul Lincke's Berliner Luft, a whistle-along favourite which produces some entertainingly diverse audience reaction. A fun evening for all which would have been better had they waited for nightfall. On the DVD: French Night on disc has promos for nine further TDK classical music DVDs but otherwise no extras. The 4:3 picture has all the flaws of live concert footage shot on video, with little detail in long shots, highly noticeable light trails and a gauze-like effect across many scenes. The sound defaults to a good PCM stereo mix, but while subtly employed the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks offer a much more absorbing atmosphere, the latter in particular providing a real sense of three-dimensional presence. --Gary S Dalkin