Summer Night Concert Schoenbrunn on DVD

On the 4th of June, 2009, Daniel Barenboim and the Vienna Philharmonic presented a free open-air concert on the grounds of Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. Over 100,000 visitors were present in the audience for this charming occasion.
Recorded and filmed by Austrian Television (ORF), the concert will be broadcast world-wide in more than 50 countries and will be released on DVD tomorrow, Tuesday August 25th. The US Broadcast on PBS is currently scheduled for September 16th (KLRN in San Antonio).
In the audience that evening were composer Richard Danielpour and KPAC host John Clare (seen before the concert left) who were in Vienna for the world premiere of Danielpour's Souvenirs on Philippe Entremont's 75th birthday (June 7th).
The concert shared a theme: Night. So we heard Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik; de Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain; Mussorgsky/Rimsky-Korsakov's A Night on Bald Mountain; and Strauss II's Thousand and One Nights Waltz; plus encores Josef & Johann Strauss and Mariano Mores. All in all, a wonderful 93 minutes with one of the world's greatest ensembles! Besides the concert, views of the Schoenbrunn grounds and palace are seen, as well as gorgeous shots of the moon, fireworks and eerily appropriate fog/smoke (we're sure it was artifically made via dry ice).
You also get a wonderful sense of how many folks were there, and just how large the grounds are with stunning camera work. Check out this video from that night of a large robotic crane camera in action. You can even spot Danielpour & Clare in the audience, especially just after Barenboim announces the encores! Of course, the real magic comes from the Vienna Philharmonic in music they were born to play. (Danielpour is pictured in b&w with Christian Buchmann introducing him to Barenboim after the concert).
You can purchase the DVD of the concert here, or here (after 8/25/09).
Here's an extra bonus as well, composer Richard Danielpour set the scene at the VIP party after the concert:

Next year's concert is earlier, May 20th, 2010 with Maestro Seiji Ozawa.

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