COMPOSERS: Various
LABELS: Warner/NVC Arts
CATALOGUE NO: 3984-29199-2 .. .#D25
Warner's THE ART OF PIANO is also a reissue of a video version, reviewed in November 1999. It's easy to navigate between chapters, and the booklet includes a comprehensive listing of all the musical archive material.
None of the newer concert discs capitalise fully on the format. Only two, the Tavener and the Blomstedt/ Leipzig concert, feature both widescreen and full six-channel sound balance. Multiple camera angles, which are beginning to appear on films and pop DVDs, are absent from classical concerts — a shame, as they would suit the format well.
There are one or two discs with 'extras': the Leipzig concert has an extended documentaty on the events in the city leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, while the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year 2000 concert offers a choice between ballet sequences and the orchestral versions for two pieces.
