Wholesale and Distribution Movie Reviews

The sound of this DVD is somewhat like their Philips version before it was remastered into 24 bit ( but they are from different performances). It is anyway good enough for the enjoyment of the music, for both the cello and the piano part.

The picture quality is even better, much better than most contemporary colour versions. The angle of view is the best one could hope for, with the two sitting at a right angle, back to back while the camera shoots from 45 degree from the air covering both Rcihter's hands and Rostropovich's at the same time for most of the time. The speed of filming is however, slow for fast actions: whenever we have a vibrato, the vision of Rostropovich's left hand is for sure blurred and likewise for the pianist. The quality is otherwise very good. Also note that there arn't too much bodily movements especially from Rostropovich.

Richter has been hailed as the best pianist of the century somewhat like Oistrakh has been called the king of the violin. Whether this is justified is besides the point, as there are plenty of evidence here to support such an arugument. Suffice to say that Richter has won the admiration of even Michelangeli. As for his Beethoven, I however invite readers to go to Rachmaninoff where the pianist interprete Beethoven more from a composer's point of view, where his major concern was music, instead of just from a performer's point of view where the interpretation is somewhat confined within the four corners of the score, however colossal his technique might be or however deep his interpretation may be. The tradition of great musicianship is also better preserved in Rachmaninoff too. As far as phrasing or even music is concerned, I also invite reader to listen to Horszowski as well. I wouldn't say he is better than Richter, but he certainly has something to offer which could not be seen fron Richter. But the latters were of course CDs only.

Here Kogan plays a number of short pieces, with composers spanning all over Europe playing some German, French, Italian and even Spanish music. The longest piece is Beethoven. It's amazing that after having heard dozens of renditions of the same piece, one stil finds his Beethoven fresh and new and that is despite the fact that the French orchestra doesn't quite give him due support.

Needless to say his Shostokovich is unrivalled. It's so amazing that he managed to play Handel nearly as good as Adolf Busch; and his Debussy almost as good as Thibaud and that was despite the fact that Thibaud himself was a Frenchman with the widest imaginable exposure. No wonder Thibaud handpicked him from among his fellow Russian violin pupils.

His Bach is not the best one available on DVD, but the French audience seemed exceedingly delighted by it. Hopefully, viewers would find the same. The last three pieces i.e., Brahms, Pagaini, Falla are instead the most intriquing of them all, fully demonstrating Kogan's musicianship. The bonus shows us what an excellent chamber musician Kogan was. Emil Gilels's sister, Kogan's wife though not equally as impressing as either her brother or her husband, does help to bring out Kogan's finest qualities as a musician.

There is one thing that is quite extraordinary. We don't always have an appetite for Heifetz, nor Menuhin. One may even get tired of hearing Oistrakh. This may not be the case of Kogan. I have watched this DVD 3 TIMES in a go and still left with an urge to go back to it, and that is despite of the fact that Kogan doesn't have any outstanding accompanist like Emil Gilels or Richter or the like! Marvelous, isn't it? I suppose that is the very essence of musicianship.

As to the picture, the worst part comes from his Beethoven where shiny part comes as "blackouts", sometimes a big as a fist and that come a dozen times or so. The grain and resolution of the film isn't quite the best. But the picture is generally quite pleasing as the photography is excellent. There are moments we can actually see how fleshy his fingertips are and how excatly he effected his vibrato etc. The sound is even better than the vision.

Mr Kogan was not merely a technician nor is his playing in anyway cold. How do I find the words to describe his magic? Effortless technique, the ability to speak with every note, flawless intonation, expressive phrasing and vibrato, a great sence of timing, delivery of music with finesse and advanced musicality, and sensitivity and emotion in the most intimiate moments.

Music included on this DVD includes:
->ANDREI MYTNIK PIANO FILMED IN LONDON, 26 MARCH 1962

1)HANDEL VIOLIN SONATA IN E MAJOR, HWV373
2)DEBUSSY BEAU SOIR
3)SHOSTAKOVICH 24 PRELUDES, OP. 34 NOS 10, 15, 16, 24
->ORCHESTRA NATIONAL DE L'ORTF, LOUIS DE FROMENT CONDUCTOR
4)BEETHOVEN VIOLIN CONCERTO IN D MAJOR, OP. 61
->FILMED AT THE ORTF, PARIS. 12 MARCH 1966
5)BACH SARABANDE FROM PARTITA FOR SOLO VIOLIN IN D MINOR
->NAUM WALTER PIANO FILMED IN PARIS, 1968
6)BRAHMS HUNGARIAN DANCE NO. 17 IN F SHARP MINOR
7)PAGANINI CANTABILE
8)FALLA SUITE POPULAIRE ESPAGNOLE

->BONUS/LEONID KOGAN AND ELIZAVETA GILELS-KOGAN VIOLINS FILMED IN PARIS, 21 NOVEMBER 1963
9)LECLAIR SONATA FOR 2 VIOLINS IN C MAJOR, OP.3 NO. 3

The video is in black and white, the sound quality is good but the quality of recording at the time dulls the tone of his DelJesu, even so the man simply plays like he is on fire. I would recommend this video to any violin student without hesitation especially because I believe this is the best video you can get of the Beethoven Concerto.

If you like this DVD make sure to get the VHS made by Kultur called "Interpretations by Leonid Kogan" The VHS and this DVD are absolutely essential to any violinist's library.

5 Stars all the way!!!

In any case, Ceres has and will develop itself to be one of the best drama anime ever. Sure it tends to go melodramatic at times, but the overall plot and character development package is one of the best, if not the best, in the genre among anime. If you've enjoyed the first 6 DVDs, then you'll absolutely love this and the final DVDs.