The Tchaikovsky DVD, released on 9 November for the first time, is hitting the right spot with the press and the critics.
Favourable articles have appeared in 10 newspapers/magazines and reviews have been promised in 18.
It will be Editors Choice (which used to be called DVD of the Month) in Classic FM Magazine and John Pitt, the editor of New Classics, after describing the films as impeccably crafted and moving, ends his review with, “Meticulously researched and directed, these films are another triumph for Christopher Nupen, who has shown himself the music documentary master with his outstanding films....”
More soon, I hope
With thanks for your interest
Here are the BBC showing dates:
A new DVD release from Allegro Films.
Two films with a combined duration of 2 hours and 36 minutes.
Our first release for 12 months
When Tower Records went bust the event robbed the world of an affectionately remembered haven where hundreds of thousands of people sought comfort and solace in the magic and the mystery of music. We enjoyed walking through those doors.
Allegro Films watched the demise of Tower Records with apprehension because the world used to possess hundreds of record shops staffed by dedicated people who had enthusiasm for their subject and the sort of knowledge that can only come with real enthusiasm. We knew how important those shops and those people were.
We were right to worry. The dwindling retail outlets have had a powerfully diminishing effect on the sales of DVDs and that is an unhappy story.
Why? Because, with television retreating from its commitment to music, DVD has replaced TV as the best medium we have for remembering our artists and their music. There are many reasons for this: among them that DVD is not in a hurry while television is always in a hurry, that, unlike television, DVDs are viewed at times to suit the viewer, and viewed repeatedly, that the viewer has instant access to any part of the disc, that DVD can be stopped and started anywhere, that DVD is capable of carrying subtitles in multiple languages and that DVD, unlike VHS, has a long life.
These are just some of the advantages.
But nobody buys a DVD until she, or he, knows of its existence and sees or learns something which attracts interest or offers promise. That made us cautious in the new circumstances but we are now venturing forth again with a new DVD release which we hope will attract interest and offer promise. Its title is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It runs for 156 minutes and contains two films, Tchaikovsky’s women (71 minutes) and Fate (85 minutes). The release date is 26 October. Distribution is by Select Video Distribution in the United Kingdom and Naxos worldwide.
The first film is concerned with both the women in his private life (his mother Alexandra, his governess Fanny Durbach, the Belgian opera singer Désirée Artôt and Nadezhdza von Meck, and the women in his early music, Katerina Kabanove in The Storm, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Francesca in Francesca da Rimini, Odette in Lake and, above all, Tatyana in Evgeny Onegin..
In his early years nearly all of Tchaikovsky's best music is inspired by his powerful identification with these vulnerable young women. The second film traces Tchaikovsky’s shift from the fate of his young heroines to his own fate, the idea of fate as a governing force in our lives and his expression of that idea in Manfred and the last three symphonies.
Cynthia Harvey, a ballerina with the Royal Ballet, plays Katerina, Juliet and Odette. Mark Silver, also of the Royal Ballet, dances Prince Siegfried and Helen Field, of English National Opera and Welsh National Opera sings Tatyana. Mozart’s Donna Anna, who had a major impact on Tchaikovsky at the age of 13 also makes a brief appearance, sung by the Swedish soprano Clarry Bartha.
The orchestra is the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy whose dedication, commitment and deep understanding of his compatriot’s music contributes an important quality to these films.
Success for our latest DVD release, hope for the next one and news of an 8 part series of our films on BBC television
Our latest DVD release, Itzhak Perlman: Virtuoso Violinist has been welcomed by the critics with unreserved enthusiasm as a truly revealing and intimate portrait of one of the leading violinists of our time.
Here are three reviews
"It is one of the best and most perceptive films on a musical subject that I have seen.... in this field Nupen has no peers." Robert Matthew-Walker. International Record review
"This wonderfully warm and frank DVD....... here it seemed that music had transcended personality" Harry Eyres. The Financial Times
"He has remained true to himself as to his music. That is the achievement of this lovely, intimate film" Anne Ozorio. Music Web International
Our next release, on 1st October 2008 will be Vladimir Ashkenazy: Master Musician. As with our past DVDs it will contain two of our Ashkenazy films plus additional material.
BBC SERIES
Both the Perlman and Ashkenazy portrait films will appear in a BBC series of our films on consecutive Friday evenings for eight weeks from the 26th of September until the 14th of November. The titles will be
Jacqueline du Pré and the Elgar cello Concerto
Pinchas Zukerman: Here to Make Music
Itzhak Perlman: Virtuoso Violinist (I know I played every note)
Vladimir Ashkenazy: The Vital Juices Are Russian
Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music
Nathan Milstein: Master of Invention Part one
Nathan Milstein: Master of Invention Part two
Karim's Journey. A very recently completed film which we have been shooting for 7 years and which won a prize at its first outing
High level critical acclaim for our latest DVD releases, Nathan Milstein, Jacqueline du Pré and Itzhak Perlman. Jacqueline du Pré - A celebration won DVD of the Year (Documentary category) at Midem in Cannes, the third time in four years that this top award has been given to one of our DVDs. The other two were Jacqueline du Pré in Portrait, (2005) and We Want the Light, (2006).
Our Nathan Milstein in Portrait DVD
continues to collect accolades for this wonderful violinist, the following from Classic FM Magazine (Julian Haylock) : "If ever you wonder why all of us get so much joy from listening to sublime music performed by great musicians, just watch any of Christopher Nupen's films to remind us of what led us there in the first place."
Jacqueline du Pré - A celebration of her unique and enduring gift
Gramophone Magazine: (Andrew Farach-Colton)
Not only does du Pré's radiant personality shine through ... but also a deeply affecting feeling of quiet sadness that is all the more potent for being entirely free of self-pity. As her friend, the pianist Fou Ts'ong puts it: "I always heard in her music the person she is. And music never lies."
Classic FM Magazine: (Julian Haylock)
This new release from Allegro Films and Christopher Nupen contains two films overflowing with personal reminiscences and vintage film of her playing, much of it rare or unseen.... the pressure on the collector's pocket becomes irresistible.
Musical Opinion: (Judith Monk)
Compelling viewing and heartbreakingly honest. While Nupen makes films of this quality and validity we may never have to lose a beloved artist again... Here is a man who, using the medium of film, delves deeply into life itself and portrays real human beings with honesty and integrity. Google his name and you are offered 140,000 choices...Jacqueline du Pré lives on here.
Itzhak Perlman : Virtuoso Violinist
International Record Review. (Robert Matthew-Walker)
In this field Nupen has no peers and recently several of his earlier films have been released in DVD format. This is the latest - ostensibly on Itzhak Perlman but more wide ranging than might at first appear - and it is one of the best and most perceptive films on a musical subject that I have ever seen.
Financial Times (Harry Eyres)
In those wonderfully warm and frank DVD about his life and work directed by Christopher Nupen, the violinist Itzhak Perlman makes a profoundly thought-provoking comment about the way artists personalities are expressed in their work. He is speaking about his friend the cellist Jacqueline du Pré........ Perlman's performance (of the Bach Chaconne) is a thing of wonder. The unearthly music, of a grandeur that even Bach never surpassed, flows through him in uninterrupted waves of gathering splendour. Hear it seemed that music had transcended personality.
Music Web (Anne Ozorio)
Perlman is self-effacing, but his warmth and innate decency mark him out. If anything, his modesty restrains the film, for much could be made of his stellar career, his campaigns for the disabled, his numerous awards, his connections with royalty and the White House and so on. But you won't find them in this film. Instead, we see him as a person first, then as a consummate artist. He has remained true to himself as to his music. That is the achievement of this lovely, intimate film, because it reveals how an ordinary human being can achieve great things through integrity and faith … and talent and hard work.
