Georg Solti

Maestro or Mephisto: The Real Georg Solti

Andy King-Dabbs

Georg Solti

This film tells the story of one of the greatest and most controversial conductors of the 20th Century. The Hungarian-born Georg Solti had huge drive, energy and ambition. A combination of willpower and extraordinary talent took him to the peak of musical power and prestige. This film includes remarkably candid interviews which Solti talked with great honesty about his life, challenges and achievements. It also includes new interviews with some of the artists and musicians who worked closely with him.

Karajan—Schönheit wie ich sie sehe

Robert Dornhelm

Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein

With a career that includes a 35-year tenure as composer of the Berlin Philharmonic and record sales topping 200 million, Herbert von Karajan is one of the most legendary figures in 20th-century classical music. Comprised of archival footage, performance highlights and interviews with the likes of Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christa Ludwig and Seiji Ozawa, this retrospective chronicles the life and times of the iconic Austrian maestro.

Der Rosenkavalier

Brian Large, John Schlesinger

Kiri Te Kanawa, Anne Howells

Live performance, new production season 1984-5. BBC 2 Television relay on 30 March 1985 of performance of February 11.

Man of Three Worlds: Luchino Visconti

Francis Coleman

Riccardo Aragno, Luchino Visconti

BBC television program exploring Visconti’s mastery of cinema, theater, and opera direction.

Falstaff

Götz Friedrich

Gabriel Bacquier, Richard Stilwell

This performance, and the film that documents it, is superb! From its comically vulgar opening in the Garter Inn, where we are introduced to a rotund (and slightly pathetic) Falstaff - in a richly nuanced performance by baritone Gabriel Bacquier cocooned in prosthetic girth (his face is too thin for the enormity to be real) - to the supremely beautiful nocturnal magic of the Finale in Windsor Park, Solti is lovingly accompanied by the sublime Vienna Philharmonic. They play with such delicacy and elan what is an undeniably delicate score, that I lost myself in the instrumentation, forgot it was Verdi, thought it was Mozart, and couldn't remember which Mozartean Opera this was. The woodwinds and strings are singled out for special praise: perfect intonation and phrasing doesn't begin to do them justice. They breathe life into this score, propel it forward, act as a Chorus commenting on the action.

Sir Georg Solti The Maestro Vol. 1

Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

A collector's celebration of Solti's time in Chicago and includes bonus material of Solti rehearsing the Vienna Philharmonic. Included are works by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Wagner, Strauss, Kodaly, Bartok, Weiner, Berlioz.

Sir Georg Solti The Maestro Vol. 2

Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

A collector's celebration of Solti's time in Chicago and includes bonus material of Solti rehearsing the Vienna Philharmonic. Included are works by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Wagner, Strauss, Kodaly, Bartok, Weiner, Berlioz.

Sir Georg Solti: Beethoven: Symphony No. 7

Murray Perahia, Georg Solti

This superb performance of three of Beethoven's compositions features renowned pianist Murray Perahia and the London Symphony Orchestra, led by legendary guest conductor Sir Georg Solti. The concert, which was held as part of the fifth anniversary celebration of London's Barbican Centre, includes the Overture to "Coriolan," op. 62; Piano Concerto no. 1 in C Major, op. 15; and Symphony no. 7 in A Major, op. 92.

Sir Georg Solti The Maestro Vol. 4

Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

A collector's celebration of Solti's time in Chicago and includes bonus material of Solti rehearsing the Vienna Philharmonic. Included are works by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Wagner, Strauss, Kodaly, Bartok, Weiner, Berlioz.

Mozart Requiem

Humphrey Burton

Georg Solti, Cecilia Bartoli

You will find this Requiem the finest on video. It certainly outshines Bohm's dated approach, and Bernstein's lethargically slow performance. (No disrespect to them, I enjoy them but this is better :) It also gives us a superb opportunity to view Solti at work, and I wonder why don't have more of his performances on video. One may also enjoy seeing (and hearing) Rene Pape at only 27 years old, likewise Cecilia Bartoli in her young prime.

Sir Georg Solti The Maestro Vol. 3

Georg Solti, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

A collector's celebration of Solti's time in Chicago and includes bonus material of Solti rehearsing the Vienna Philharmonic. Included are works by Rossini, Mendelssohn, Bruckner, Wagner, Strauss, Kodaly, Bartok, Weiner, Berlioz.

The Golden Ring

Humphrey Burton

Georg Solti, John Culshaw

Watching the Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti, and a stellar cast record Wagner's immense Götterdämmerung for Decca in the fall of 1964 provides a thousand lessons in the art of working under pressure. For this classic documentary, The Golden Ring, a BBC camera crew eavesdropped as producer John Culshaw guided his engineering team through tricky technical maneuvers far removed from the relative ease of modern digital editing. What utter concentration and focus Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bring to their collective and individual singing! Solti, for his part, oozes energy and exactitude as he pleads for greater precision and frets over details in the car en route to the sessions.