Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna with Leonard Bernstein

Dec 16, 1970

2h 5m

★ 0.0

Overview

In this documentary portrait prepared for the anniversary of Ludwig Van Beethoven's 200th birthday, Leonard Bernstein illustrates his analysis with excerpts from his performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major and the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony.

Genres

Documentary

Music

Production Companies

Amberson Productions Inc.

Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna with Leonard Bernstein Trailers

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Cast

Self / Narrator

Leonard Bernstein

Self / Pizarro in 'Fidelio'

Theo Adam

Self / Rocco in 'Fidelio'

Franz Crass

Self / Joaquin in 'Fidelio'

Adolf Dallapozza

Self

Plácido Domingo

Self / Leonora in 'Fidelio'

Gwyneth Jones

Self / Florestan in 'Fidelio'

James King

Self / Marzellina in 'Fidelio'

Lucia Popp

Self / Don Fernando in 'Fidelio'

Karl Ridderbusch

Self

Otto Schenk

Self

Martti Talvela

Self

Shirley Verrett

Falco in 1993 on the Danube Island in Vienna in front of 100,000 fans—an impressive concert has found its way onto DVD. Viewers can quickly understand why the "Falcon" became Austria's number one pop legend. With minimal effort and subtle theatrical gestures, he captivates the audience -- not only with his hits "Der Kommissar," "Jeanny," "Vienna Calling," and "Sound of Music." The atmosphere is perfect — despite, or perhaps because of, the thunderstorm that rolled in during the famous concert. The fact that lightning struck right next to the stage during "Nachtflug" and temporarily knocked out the sound system is, so to speak, a sign of the energetic atmosphere of that evening.

7.0

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Two years prior to the opening scene, the nobleman Florestan has exposed or attempted to expose certain crimes of the nobleman Pizarro. In revenge, Pizarro has secretly imprisoned Florestan in the prison over which Pizarro is governor. The jailer of the prison, Rocco, has a daughter, Marzelline, and a servant (or assistant), Jaquino. Florestan’s wife, Leonore, came to Rocco’s door dressed as a boy seeking employment, and Rocco hired her. On orders, Rocco has been giving Florestan diminishing rations until he is nearly starved to death. Place: A Spanish state prison, a few miles from Seville; Time: Late 18th century.

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No overview available.

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