Spring Symphony

Starring:AndrÃ© Heller, Sonja Tuchmann, Margit Geissler, Herbert GrÃ¶nemeyer, Anja-Christine Preussler, Nastassja Kinski, Wolfgang Greese, Bernhard Wicki, Edda Seippel, Gesa Thoma, Marie Colbin, Inge Marschall, Rolf Hoppe, Uwe MÃ¼ller, Kitty Mattern, Gidon Kremer
Director: Peter Schamoni
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Description

A motion picture of passions, "Spring Symphony" is a story of love, hate and artistic ambitions. Nastassja Kinski and Herbert Gronemeyer star as Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann, star-crossed classical musicians of the nineteenth century trying to overcome the stifling objections of Wieck's father. All three of them share the same passion for music, but the battle the two men fight for Clara's affections is at the same time a fight between different artistic styles and different lifestyles, a war between the generations. When Schumann finally wins his Clara, "Spring Symphony" is the expression of his love and passion for her.

Customer Reviews:

Robert and Clara Schumann -- in German -- but excellent! .......2007-04-05

The first thing to keep in mind with this movie about Robert and Clara Schumann is that it's entirely in GERMAN although English sub-titles are available. I actually preferred it that way and there is no English dubbing available although, as stated, English sub-titles can be turned on or off via the DVD machine. You might recall Herbert Grönemeyer as Leutnant Werner, the 'Kriegsberichter' or war correspondent on the German submarine, in the excellently done movie "Das Boot" some years ago.

As Robert Schumann, he does an excellent portrayal as does Nastassja Kinski as Clara Wieck-Schumann. Equally engrossing throughout the film is Clara's, shall we say, ultra no nonsense and rather dour and humorless father, Friedrich Wieck, played by Rolf Hoppe. The court scene where Friedrich tries to legally prevent the marriage of his daughter Clara to Robert Schumann and his perceived 'reasons' for same are particularly engrossing.

In this one, Schumann's right hand finger problem is attributed to the 'mechanical device' he concocted to strengthen his fingers yet stories still abound about the alleged 'real' cause of same but these kind of things [read: conjectures] happen with most world known personalities indeed to the point of utter speculation as to, in another well known personality, Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved" where, in my opinion, pure speculation is all too often passed off as alleged historical fact for the sake of the plot more so than any verifiable historical reality! Or proof of the cinematic contention.

The music is excellent and the note fingerings very good and believable. A few of Clara's zoom-in hands on the keys were done by a double although Grönemeyer himself plays the piano so he was able to quickly adapt to the requisite Schumann music note fingerings. So, if you want to keep up your German [or use the sub-title English] while enjoying a decently realistic portrayal of Robert and Clara Schumann, this movie is a good bet! The supporting cast is equally good and the movie moves along nicely. Note too, if only for the sake of curiosity, some of the suggested 'cures' for the finger problem and you'll be rather gratified at today's medical advances!

Doc Tony

Clara Schumann bei mehr als.......2007-02-16

Leck mich am Arsch! Clara Schumann bei mehr als 120 Millionen Menschen mit Deutsch als Muttersprache in 8 Ländern, überrascht es kaum, dass die tatsächliche Sprachverwendung variiert. Wie Englisch, ist Deutsch eine plurizentrische Sprache mit 3 nationalen Zentren der Sprachverwendung: Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz. Die sprachliche Schumann Situation in der Schweiz unterscheidet sich deutlich von der Situation in Deutschland und Österreich. 'Switzertütsch', die durchgängig verwendete Umgangssprache, wird auch von Deutschen und Österreichern kaum bzw. nicht verstanden. Das Verhältnis zwischen Switzertütsch und Hochdeutsch ist eines der Zweisprachigkeit. Aus diesem Grund bezieht Brahms sich der folgende Überblick nicht auf die Situation der Schweiz.

Mid-19th century Europe, the life and times of Schumann the composer.......2007-02-14

Frühlingssinfonie, is a mellow, lush in senses movie, with a Schumann
soundtrack, following the composer's footsteps at crucial moments in
his career.

The movie perhaps downplays Schumann's importance, by assigning him
to a secondary role, compared to the protagonist Clara Wieck, played
by Nastassja Kinski, aged 24 at the time, back in 1983 when his
picture was made.

This is a European, obviously state-funded production, of the
highest professional quality, as it was often the case back then, when
movie houses, television, technical professionals in the movie
industry had immense experience, skills, and education due to the
sponsorship they had from the governments, before the collapse of the
Cold War.

A questionable aspect of the movie, is the need to intertwine an
ephemeral part of the composer's life, which is his personal, sensual
relationship, (played by the actor Herbert Gronemeyer), with the
performer of his pieces, Clara.

The stronger aspects of this movie, is the excellence in its
representation of 19th century Europe, (horse and carriage,
panoramic views of the countryside, palaces, city neighborhoods in
Germany, Austria, for example, the way people dressed, carried
themselves, their outlook on life, the pressure of high density
cities to the inhabitants from early on, the privileges of the upper
classes in having time to learn to enjoy, and attend concertos, etc.

The charm of Kinski, which is mostly improvised as far as I can
tell, and not mechanical or rehearsed, obviously has something to say for
the promotion and acclaim this work received at the time. All
dialogue is in German. Rolf Hoppe, playing Wieck's father, does
a tremendous job, lending enormous credibility to the movie.

A Historical Romance In Music.......2004-10-01

Peter Schamoni's 1983 German film "Spring Symphony" is an intimate, accurate portrayal of the relationship between two composers- Robert Schumann and Clara. It is a wonderful film, with fine acting by the leads Herbert Gronemeyer and Natassia Kinksi, who had been a model and would enjoy further success after this movie. The time is early 19th century (1830-1850)during the Romantic Era craze in classical music. Beethoven opened the gates to the new wave of music, which would be followed by Chopin and Franz Liszt, all mentioned in this film. Robert Schumann is portrayed here as a struggling artist, an idealist who lives from hand to mouth, more along the lines of Mozart. He gets romantically involved with the more wealthier and polished Clara Wieck whose father opposes their love. Even like this, Robert and Clara, who had become lovers through working together as composers, continue to defiantly engage in their relationship. Clara's father is brought to trial but in the end Clara and Robert are married. The film is accurate, and not highly dramatized or romanticized far from the truth. Filmed in Germany, Austria and France, the film follows the career of Schumann quite truthfully - i.e: the fact he was injured and his fingers were paralized and even as such played the piano quite well, his publication of a music magazine under the pen names of Eusebius and Florestan. Eusebius is his practical, balanced side while Florestan is passionate and free-spirited. A beautiful film. Natassia Kinksi plays a fine Clara, strong, independent, refined, romantic, soulful. The costumes and attention to detail are precise, captivating us and hooking us into a new world of historical romance.

My favorite scenes are those romantic moments between Clara and Robert, the opening scene with Paganini playing a violin concerto with lightning speed, all the chamber music scenes and recitals Clara has and the finale in which finally, Clara and Robert have married and decide to open their own concert hall..Robert says "I hope this institution is big enough for two instruments" and I think he was referring to their marriage. The music is heaven. Conductor Wolgfang Sawallisch leads his orchestra in brilliant music by both Robert Schumann and Clara.

Excellent.......2002-06-11

The writer and director of this film is Peter Schamoni, not Alfred Hirschmeier as reported in another customer review, and he took most of the dialogue from the correspondence and other documentation of Robert,Clara and Friedrich Wieck. Anyone with knowledge of Schumann's correspondence, his love of poetry and dramatic narrative and the world of 19th century German romanticism will recognize the accuracy and faithfulness of the dialogue used throughout this wonderful film.

The look and sound of the pianofortes used is another example of the care lavished on presenting Robert and Clara's world as accurately as possible.

Amazon.com

The bad boy of classical music at mid-century, Pierre Boulez made an infamous comment about burning down all the opera houses that was incendiary, to say the least, but it pointed to the fact that Boulez needed to burn bridges to pave the way for a new kind of music. That he became friends with, and later championed the music of, Igor Stravinsky, is odd if only because Stravinsky went through so many stylistic changes--from seductive exoticism to neo-baroque to 12-tone serialism--that Boulez probably didn't know what to make of the elder statesman.

But Boulez's maturation as both composer and conductor allowed him to view Stravinsky as a kindred soul restlessly searching for new forms of expression. These 1993 performances of two great Stravinsky works from before and after World War I--that still-bludgeoning masterpiece of rhythm and dance, The Rite of Spring (1913), and a lovely, brief work of subtle coloration, Symphonies of Wind Instruments (1920)--not only give us two sides of Stravinsky but also demonstrate Boulez's innate understanding of such a wide musical palette. The London Philharmonic performs splendidly, and in an added bonus interview, Boulez discusses the importance and influence of The Rite of Spring, not only on him as a musician but on 20th century music as a whole. --Kevin Filipski

Description

Pierre Boulez conducts Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rites of Spring), which was originally commissioned by Diaghilev for his Ballets Russes. The magnificent score premiered in Paris in 1913. The rhythmic complexities of "Sacre" are notorious, but in the hands of a master of modern music and one of the world's top orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the elemental barbarism of the music is thrilling. This program also includes "Symphonies D'Instrument A Vent" and a short interview with Pierre Boulez.

Customer Reviews:

Le Sacre .......2006-10-31

Despite the negative feedback on this selection already, I would have to disagree with most of it. While parts of it are slower than most CD recordings from other conductors, it really isn't THAT much slower than what's written in the score. Something else I noticed here and there were some somewhat drastic tempi changes, speeding up or slowing down.
However, despite these downsides, if you are an aspiring composer/orchestrator/musician/music aficionado, I highly suggest this DVD. Especially if you watch this with the score and can follow along instrument entrances, etc.
The quality of the video and the sound is quite good as well. So if tempo changes here and there and a slightly slower overall tempo doesn't bother you very much, definatley add this to your collection.

Le Massacre,by Monsieur Boulez.......2004-08-20

Impossible to qualify properly this "Massacre du Printemps" signed by Monsieur Boulez.Just watch some musicians semblances in the orchestra;the most phlegmatic british performer simply can not be impassible in face of this visceratical masterpiece.Of course,technical accuracy is an essential requirement but not the only one!.I'm so sorry because I don't know english enough to describe how lazy,boring is this.Nonetheless,very fine picture and sound;one of the best I purchase on DVD.

This is a great concert rendition.......2003-06-13

First off I would like to compliment Pierre Boulez in his wonderful rendition of Le Sacre du Printemps. True there is no ballet in this performance but one cannot simply make a ballet performance of this monumental work. If you notice the orchestra takes up the whole entire stage and in order to perform this in ballet form, you would need a huge huge pit. But about Boulez's interpretation.. it is great. The tempos are just right. The tempos are not too slow or too fast. Considering the fact that he himself was a friend of Stravinsky's and was counselled by him in this work he does this work well. The orchestra is great and performs the work wonderfully. All in all a very good dvd.

No Ballet ?.......2002-07-15

If they make this one for a DVD production, they have to make it
with Ballet. It is like they make a opera DVD production
with only orchestra. I would recommend that you
stick to your CD or LP collection and wait until
(Orchestra + Ballet) DVD production comes out.

A nice DVD presentation but..........2001-08-05

Boulez is not the best conductor of this work, notwithstanding his friendship with Strravinsky. To be sure, he can conduct "Le Sacre" with the steely precision of a pianola roll; he's a past master at awkward rhythms and overcoming hideous performance difficulties (and this work is full of both).

His interpretation here is accurate but too sedate for me. It is even more gentlemanly than his renderings of the early 1970s. Le Sacre is raw and primitive and screams out for passion which Boulez fails to lend it.

It might sound good the first time you hear it; the orchestra is up to scratch; the climaxes are nicely loud and it moves on in its merry, noisy way. There are worse interpretations. But as recorded performances go, it is not one that bears repeated audition.

He does much better with the Symphonies of Wind Instruments, a more formal neo-classical work that comes across better for the conductor not attempting to get passionate about it.

It is possible that at times in their lives, Boulez and Stravinsky might have coincided in their musical objectives but there really is nothing akin about Boulez at any time and the Stravinsky who wrote this work. If the studio insisted on a Boulez recording, they might have chosen his Varese interpretations - utterly competent - and left Le Sacre du Printemps to a more passionate interpreter.

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