Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0821936001394
Format: Classical
Label: San Francisco Symphony
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: San Francisco Symphony
MPN: 13
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: San Francisco Symphony
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-11-14
Running Time: 110
Studio: San Francisco Symphony
Theatrical Release Date: 2006

Customer Rating:
Summary: incredible journey through the Eroica
Comment: This is definitely one of the best musical documentaries out there. It comes with a brilliant complete performance of the Eroica, following MTT's informative and often moving explanations of the work in the documentary half. The documentary unfolds in part through the lens of MTT's own journey to get so deeply inside this music as he has. The rich understanding he's developed comes through with resounding force in the full performance. Indeed, this performance is very much the heroic affirmation of life that MTT finds Beethoven expressing in the piece. Also worth mentioning is that the flute and oboe playing are magnificent!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary, Indeed!
Comment: MTT has a great idea with this series! I hope he continues with other releases similar to these (Berlioz and his "Symphonie Fantastique" is a logical place to continue). I would give MTT the Leonard Bernstein award in music education to "Keeping Score," if there was such a thing, and there should be! MTT should get the first award. This release makes a great companion to the BBC "Eroica," and indeed, I think that the Beeb DVD, along with this one, as well as the others in the "Keeping Score" series should be in every library in the land, as well as in any good school and college. The sound and picture quality are both excellent, and MTT is a great communicator of his wonderful subject, and I would say that you should buy this disc for the fascinating musical and armchair journey here alone! The other discs in this series are similar in concept, and are all highly recommended. Ten stars, if they had 'em...

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Beethoven comes alive for young musicians
Comment: After first viewing this production on PBS, I immediately ordered the DVD. I knew our eldest son, then a high school Senior and a horn player, might enjoy it. He certainly did! This is a must for people who can't get enough of "inside looks" at professional orchestras. Michael Tilson Thomas provides wonderful insight into Beethoven's life: both professional and personal highs and lows. The descriptions by the musicians of their parts would be inspirational for any young person involved in band or orchestra.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great Exploration of Eroica
Comment: It is a shame that more DVDs of this quality are not produced. A movement by movement explanation of a pioneering work in classical music history. MTT does a fabulous job of providing his personal insights into the music with a terrific musical ensemble. This is the "Big Picture" tour of the work, the great facade of the building and not necessarily the intricacies of its architecture. A detailed exploration of the nearly molecular construction of the music is not undertaken (it would take quite a few DVDs for that) but the overall storyline is beautifully explained. Beethoven's music has a poignancy that can't be denied; a sharing of thoughts and emotions with his audience that leaves both better off for the experience. I hope there will be more pieces such as this about Beethoven's music in the future. I heartily recommend this to any fan of classical music.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Heroic MTT
Comment: I was at one the performances they filmed for this wonderful DVD. The SF Symphony is my favorite band (this from an ol' Deadhead!), and MTT is brilliant! I hope he never leaves.

We have all heard the Eroica a million times before. How could there be anything new to hear in it? The SF Symphony succeeds. An example, there is a moment in the variations of the fourth movement when the first chairs, violin and viola, share a few fleeting mesaures, and you realize why Alexander Barantschik and Geraldine Walther are first chairs. What they do seems spontaneous and absolutely magical. The performance is filled with such moments.

I recommend all of the DVDs in the "Keeping the Score" series. The performances are more than first rate, and MTT supplies an insightful and informative lecture in each instance. They would have done Lenny proud.

---