Wagner, Richard/Elgar, Edward/Brahms, Johannes: Europa Konzert 2010 (Euroarts DVD)

For over 20 years, the Berliner Philharmoniker have celebrated their foundation on May 1st with the annual Europa Konzert - this year’s concert takes place in Oxford. The orchestra under the baton of worldwide renowned musician Daniel Barenboim, welcome cellist Alisa Weilerstein who has attracted widespread attention for a playing that combines natural virtuoso command and technical precision with impassioned musicianship.

"Daniel Barenboim´s programme played to the orchestra's strengths, and the sound was sumptuous. The plush strings and refulgent brass permitted him to unfold the introspective third-act prelude to Wagner's Die Meistersinger with glacial slowness, while the energy that pulsed through Brahms's First Symphony, its phrases sculpted in great expressive arcs with every detail and woodwind solo thrillingly realised, was irresistible. Between the prelude and the symphony, Barenboim conducted the young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein in Elgar's Cello Concerto … Barenboim's approach was refreshingly un-English, a bonus in Elgar, and the sound of the orchestra in the climaxes was overwhelming." Guardian