Six great composers, six landmark symphonies, a top orchestra and its
star conductor Kent Nagano - these are the components of an extraordinary
classical-music television event. Shot in High Definition, it takes a
bold and innovative approach to the recording of classical music. Boom
and tracking shots, quick cuts, remote-controlled cameras - stylistic
means previously used chiefly for pop music recordings give the programs
an up-to-the-minute look and feel. A team of more than 30 specialists
makes sure that viewers enjoy a truly cinematic experience. The programs
also go new ways by featuring entertaining, historically founded animated
sequences illustrating episodes from the lives of the composers.
Backstage interviews with the musicians and excerpts from their rehearsals
let us share in the spirit of their music-making. Conductor Kent Nagano
also relates what is of special importance to him in each work, and offers
fascinating insights on the origin and context of the work in question.
The main element of each episode is the live recording of a concert from
the Berlin Philharmonie. Kent Nagano is one of the most successful and
high-profile conductors of today. He has led all the major orchestras of
New York, London, Berlin, Vienna, Paris... In 2000 he was named artistic
director of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In fall 2006 he
succeeded Zubin Mehta as General Music Director of the Bavarian State
Opera.
Mozart's last symphony is a solemn and formal work which looks back to the
past more than its two fellow works K. 504 and 550. It contains strong
reminiscences of Baroque forms like the fugue and the concerto grosso
(e.g. in the opposition of clear-cut themes and the interplay of solo and
tutti groups). Particularly the last movement is one of the most
impressive in symphonic literature because of its unique blend of melodic
flow and "scholarly" fugal treatment. Although not truly a fugue, the
movement incorporates some exciting imitative work. The theme was well
known and often used in the 18th century. Mozart himself used it in two of
his masses and in the Symphony K. 319. The "Jupiter" Symphony, a truly
Olympian work, must be viewed together with the two preceding symphonies
as Mozart's final word in a genre he raised to heights never before
attained.
The DVD is also released within the complete "Kent Nagano conducts classical masterpieces" DVD package which is available in selected stores worldwide and through Amazon or JPC.