Post by gp1972 on Feb 18, 2008 23:08:05 GMT 1
I thought it time to speak up for some of the earlier HvK films. I've just been watching the 1971 Unitel film of Beethoven's Eroica. I think it's a great film! The style is not as sophisticated as the later films, lacking the meticulously constructed layering of images. However, it benefits from being filmed in a studio with strong lighting - the image is very clear.
Some of the concepts in this cycle were a bit strange, particularly the Pastoral (HvK himself hated that one, I think). I'm not sure who directed the Eroica - there is no director credit after the film (perhaps it was Karajan himself?). I like the idea of putting the orchestra on three blocks of tiered seating, like a Greek amphitheater - it's visually dramatic and seems appropriate for this monumental symphony. There are some powerful visual effects such as the backlit trumpets that appear during the brass passages, and the close up of the timpani (this was also used in the later films). The lighting emphasises the dramatic nature of the music effectively.
Another benefit of these earlier films is that they show the Maestro at the height of his powers before he was physically weakened by his illness. We get a great sense of the sheer power and energy emanating from him - this is the fusion of athlete and artist. From an interpretative point of view, this was filmed between the first and second DG Beethoven cycles, and seems to combine the power and energy of the first cycle with the smoothness of line and perfect ensemble playing of the 1977 set.
The funeral march is particularly wonderful - nowhere is Karajan's incredible ability to maintain a long melodic line so evident, and the slow build up to each peak in the score. I am struck by the feeling that this is as much sculpture (or architecture) as it is music - here video is valuable to show us Karajan's gestures, as he draws the sound out of the orchestra, moulding it into a magnificently noble form. I think some of the beauty of his conducting style is lost in the later films, as his mobility is restricted (although the artistry is very much there!).
This is epic stuff. Every time I watch one of these films, my enthusiasm for the music is refuelled - this, I think, is what HvK wanted to achieve with his film projects. I'm going to revisit the rest of the series now, and hope to acquire some earlier film material - one of my favourites is the "Karajan in rehearsal and performance" film with the Beethoven 5 and Schumann 4 - both electric performances showing Karajan at his most energetic and fiery.
Incidentally, I noticed this comment on an Amazon review of the rehearsal and performance DVD:
"Not sure why the producers didn't also include the tremendous Dvorak 9 (made at exactly the same time and with seried ranks of double bass players who look barely into their teens) or the Mozart Violin Concerto No 5 (with the VSO and Menuhin, under Karajan) which accompanied these films in their earlier incarnation on a pair of VHS cassettes (as "Karajan: Early Images, Volumes 1 & 2"). "
This sounds interesting - does anyone know about these videos?
Some of the concepts in this cycle were a bit strange, particularly the Pastoral (HvK himself hated that one, I think). I'm not sure who directed the Eroica - there is no director credit after the film (perhaps it was Karajan himself?). I like the idea of putting the orchestra on three blocks of tiered seating, like a Greek amphitheater - it's visually dramatic and seems appropriate for this monumental symphony. There are some powerful visual effects such as the backlit trumpets that appear during the brass passages, and the close up of the timpani (this was also used in the later films). The lighting emphasises the dramatic nature of the music effectively.
Another benefit of these earlier films is that they show the Maestro at the height of his powers before he was physically weakened by his illness. We get a great sense of the sheer power and energy emanating from him - this is the fusion of athlete and artist. From an interpretative point of view, this was filmed between the first and second DG Beethoven cycles, and seems to combine the power and energy of the first cycle with the smoothness of line and perfect ensemble playing of the 1977 set.
The funeral march is particularly wonderful - nowhere is Karajan's incredible ability to maintain a long melodic line so evident, and the slow build up to each peak in the score. I am struck by the feeling that this is as much sculpture (or architecture) as it is music - here video is valuable to show us Karajan's gestures, as he draws the sound out of the orchestra, moulding it into a magnificently noble form. I think some of the beauty of his conducting style is lost in the later films, as his mobility is restricted (although the artistry is very much there!).
This is epic stuff. Every time I watch one of these films, my enthusiasm for the music is refuelled - this, I think, is what HvK wanted to achieve with his film projects. I'm going to revisit the rest of the series now, and hope to acquire some earlier film material - one of my favourites is the "Karajan in rehearsal and performance" film with the Beethoven 5 and Schumann 4 - both electric performances showing Karajan at his most energetic and fiery.
Incidentally, I noticed this comment on an Amazon review of the rehearsal and performance DVD:
"Not sure why the producers didn't also include the tremendous Dvorak 9 (made at exactly the same time and with seried ranks of double bass players who look barely into their teens) or the Mozart Violin Concerto No 5 (with the VSO and Menuhin, under Karajan) which accompanied these films in their earlier incarnation on a pair of VHS cassettes (as "Karajan: Early Images, Volumes 1 & 2"). "
This sounds interesting - does anyone know about these videos?
