A new season of performances by the fine musicians of the Juilliard Orchestra reached an early peak with a terrific concert at Alice Tully Hall on the evening of Monday, October 28th, under the accomplished direction of the distinguished conductor, Mark Wigglesworth.

 

The program opened exhilaratingly with a confident account of the nowadays seldom heard, vivacious and colorful Portsmouth Point Overture by the currently unsung and undervalued William Walton, an evocative work inspired by an 1811 etching by the English artist, Thomas Rowlandson. The 1925 score, as indicated by the program annotator, “was the young composer’s first work for full orchestra and his first great success” as well as his first published score, dedicated to the eminent poet Siegfried Sassoon, described as “a friend and early patron” of Walton. It was a splendid opportunity to hear unfamiliar repertory in the concert hall.

 

Even more exalting was the glorious music that closed the first half of the program, an impressive realization of the Suite from Richard Wagner’s magnificent Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which ends with the most famous excerpt from the opera, the transcendent Prelude to Act I.

 

The evening concluded marvelously, with a compelling rendition of the exceptional Second Symphony of Jean Sibelius, deservedly his most popular along with his Fifth. The effect of the first movement was above all suspenseful, followed by the more somber but still dramatic Andante. The sense of urgency continued and intensified in the third movement, while the stirring Finale unfolded triumphantly. It was a powerful end to a memorable evening.

 

A thus-far terrific season at Carnegie Hall continued extraordinarily on the evening of Friday, November 15th, with the magnificent appearance of the superb musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the dazzling direction of the inestimable Riccardo Muti, in the first of two concerts on consecutive nights. (The second was devoted to music by Sergei Prokofiev.)

 

The program, with all three works in it bearing some connection to the city of Rome, opened exhilaratingly with a magisterial account of Georges Bizet’s colorful, mystifyingly undervalued and seldom performed quasi-symphony, Roma, inspiredby his memorable sojourn in that city as a winner of the Prix de Rome. The first movement consists of a dramatic middle section in between a subdued introduction and its unconventional recapitulation, while the ensuing scherzo was charming and ebullient. The slow movement was stately and melodic, and the work concluded triumphantly with a dance-like finale, eliciting abundant applause.

 

The second half of the evening began with a commanding performance of another rare opus, the powerful, early The Death of Cleopatra by Hector Berlioz—written as his submission for the Prix de Rome—which is notable especially for its brilliant orchestral writing and which here featured the divine presence of the outstanding mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato, who also earned an enthusiastic ovation.

 

The concert closed stunningly with an unsurpassable reading of the Ottorino Respighi favorite, the exquisite Pines of Rome. The opening “Villa Borghese” section was glittering, succeeded by the somber “Catacombs” movement. The dreamy, impressionistic The Pines of the Janiculum seamlessly transitioned into the glorious and rousing finale, The Pines of the Appian Way, which resulted in an deservedly ardent reception from the audience.

 

The next appearance of these superlative artists shall be eagerly awaited.

Blu-rays of the Week 

(Criterion Collection)

When Jean-Jacques Beineix made this 1986 comedy-drama, his career was in the gutter following his disastrous followup to Diva, his debut hit, The Moon in the Gutter. 

 

 

 

Thanks to a one-of-a-kind performance by the magnetic and irresistible Beatrice Dalle in the title role, Beineix’s alternately enervating and exciting study of a mentally ill young woman’s relationship with a struggling writer (Jean-Hughes Anglade) has its charms alongside its deficiencies, which Beineix’s own three-hour director’s cut multiplies. (It’s too bad that the two-hour theatrical cut isn’t included.) Criterion’s hi-def transfer is magnificent; extras include new and archival interviews with Beineix, Dalle and Anglade; an archival making-of featurette; and a 1977 Beineix short.

 

The Angry Birds Movie 2 

(Sony)

This sily sequel shows how those natural enemies the birds and the pigs join in an uneasy alliance when both Bird and Pig islands are threatened. Sure, it’s slightly overlong (a movie like this should be 80 minutes, tops), but the creators know their audience and give it more of the same: corny jokes and goofy animated visuals in spades.

 

 

 

The accomplished voice cast includes Josh Gad, Bill Hader, Peter Dinklage, Leslie Jones, Rachel Bloom, Awkwafina and Sterling K. Brown. There’s a first-rate hi-def transfer; extras include a mini-movie titled Live Stream, featurettes, interviews and a holiday sing-along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blinded by the Light 

(Warner Bros) 

 

Bliss 

(Dark Sky)

Writer-director Joe Begos’ dark tale of a young female artist who throws herself willingly and wantonly into a life of hedonism, turning into a literal monster, might be clunky and obvious, but it also has, in the lead role, the remarkable Dora Madison, whose intense performance compels you to keep watching even as the movie itself goes bloodily off the proverbial rails.

 

 

 

The hi-def transfer is excellent; extras include two commentaries and a deleted scene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

47 Meters Down—Uncaged 

(Lionsgate) 

 

Good Omens 

(BBC)

Michael Sheen and David Tennant battle it out as an angel and a demon in this hackneyed but diverting series about good and evil doing their damnedest to prevent the destruction of the human race and planet earth.

 

 

 

Despite hoary subplots and often risible—and mostly unfunny—asides and characters, Sheen and especially Tennant take their tendency to overplay to the extreme, making this more watchable than it should be. There’s a fine hi-def transfer; extras include commentaries, deleted scenes and several featurettes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rolling Stones—Bridges to Buenos Aires 

(Eagle Vision) 

 

Tel Aviv on Fire 

(Cohen Media)

Writer-director Sameh Zoabi’s beguiling comedy follows a Palestinian interning on a popular TV soap opera who becomes one of the writers and is soon assailed on all sides: the stressed-out lead actress, the producers, the sponsors, his family, the woman he’s in love with and—most sidesplittingly—the Israeli checkpoint commander who demands the show be rewritten to reflect his reality.

 

 

 

There are bumpy patches, but Zoabi’s film amusingly shows how personal interactions can help smooth over seemingly irreconcilable differences. There’s a splendid hi-def transfer; lone extra is a director interview.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday Was a Lie 

(Indiepix) 

 

DVDs of the Week

Genèse 

The Demons 

(Film Movement)

Québécois director Philippe Lesage made these two films about childhood and adolescence and, despite static longeurs and self-indulgence, they are sensitive explorations of the nuances of growing up, from the innocuous to the horrifying and everything in between. 

 

 

 

The Demons (2015) is more of an apprentice work, a blueprint for the more accomplished and affecting Genèse (2018). Genèse extras are a Lesage commentary and a short film by Swiss/French director Tristan Aymon, The Lesson.

 

CD of the Week 

(Chandos)

One of the unsung British composers of the 20th century, Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) wrote arresting and vigorous music in all categories: chamber music, symphonies, concertos, ballets, film and vocal. This last is the draw of a new disc comprising a trio of later Bliss works (all composed between age 60 and 72), which not only features his rapturous 1952 scena The Enchantress but also the first recording of Mary of Magdala, a lovely sacred cantata composed in 1962-3.

 

 

 

The impassioned instrumental work Meditations on a Theme of John Blow rounds out this superior recording, conducted by Andrew Davis, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and sung by Sarah Connolly and James Platt.