Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 9 & 10 / Das Lied von der Erde
Nov 22 2005
•3h 56m
•Music
Filmed on tour at Berlin's Philharmonie, this account of the valedictory Ninth Symphony is an intense interpretation, expressing Bernstein's conviction that modern man had at last caught up with the message encoded in Mahler's last completed work. Having made his famous 1966 studio recording of "Das Lied von der Erde" in Vienna, Bernstein re-recorded this in Israel with the same searing subjectivity. René Kollo draws on the voice of a great Wagner tenor, while Christa Ludwig, the greatest exponent of the contralto songs at the time, is unbearably poignant in the final movement's fusion of elation and sadness.
Cast
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Leonard Bernstein
Conductor
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Wiener Philharmoniker
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Andrea Chenier
Although Domingo was younger and Banackova looked more like the sweet and innocent young Madalena than the one played by Tomowa-Sintow in the ROH production, this production was not as good. It was not as tight and neat. The tempo set was far too slow for the time-period of the story. The stage setting was distracting. The lighting was too dark. Except Domingo, a natural actor who was always into his role and sings and acts with passion, none of the other performers came up with a convincing portrayal of the role he/she played.
Small Lights
Valerie is a self-confident and modern woman - she commutes between L.A., where she works, and Berlin, where she lives with her partner above the rooftops of the city. When he falls ill and falls into a coma, she wakes up at his bedside. Valerie decides to return to L.A. one last time, burn all her bridges there and move to Berlin for good. She decides to record a video diary for her absence and begins to narrate for her loved one the day before her departure. Intended as simple messages of love, Valerie's memories are suddenly unleashed in the midst of the recordings. Playfully, she loses her shyness in front of the camera, her emotions burst forth and allow her to relive the story of her great love. What began as a game becomes a reckoning with life and love.
The Red Thread
Mostly shot in San Francisco and Northern California, material filmed (using the camera almost as a p[r/a]inter, a means of shaping the visual world as film, but without reflection) in response to what that world was opening in me. "Material!" - analogies between weaving and spinning thread and images already a pattern within film history (e.g., in Deren) is here carried into further ramifications of unraveling and patterning in fabric- and cinema-making, as well as in personal and mythic dimensions. The open unfolding structure, which pulls away from the balanced design of much of my work, gives equal weight to the sound composition. Involves "opening" with its perils and ambiguities.
The Accident
After being fired, Marcella, a gentle hearted mother going through separation, buys a tow truck; she gets trapped deeper and deeper in a cynical and aggressive world until a terrible opportunity shines in front of her.