Evelyn Glennie à Luxembourg
January 2006 Reviewed by: Wes Marshall Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Evelyn Glennie is a rarity in the world of classical music. Of course, the first thing everyone always mentions is that she is deaf (which, by the way, is incorrect). But that’s really not the most interesting aspect of her art. What makes her fascinating can be distilled into three words: fire, skill and drive.

The fire will be readily observable on this wonderful DVD. Looking like a redheaded Rosanna Arquette in a diaphanous, low-cut blouse, she hits the stage with passion seldom seen in classical soloists. Where most soloists offer quiet, icy attitudes, she sincerely wants to entertain and astonish her audience. She does it with amazing skill, rhythmic precision, and preternatural speed. She can also slow things down to the pulse of half a heartbeat and bring the crowd to pin-drop silence with tranquil soulfulness.

Her only problem is that her chosen instrument -- or in her case, instruments -- have almost zero solo repertoire. So, instead of being willing to sit at the back of an orchestra as a nameless percussionist, she has shown the drive to commission over 130 pieces from composers as disparate as Xenakis and Birtwistle on one end to Skempton and MacMillan on the other.

On her new DVD, she covers the music of two modern composers. Áskell Másson’s Konzertstück for Snare Drum and Orchestra has modern tonality, but Glennie's ability to dive in and play the dickens out of her snare drum makes it into a crowd pleaser. She then does a solo turn with Matthias Schmitt’s 6 Miniatures for Marimba Solo, a stunning work full of beautiful textures and gorgeous melodies. She finishes with her own transcription of the Vivaldi Concerto in C Major for Sopranino Recorder. She takes the recorder part on a vibraphone at velocities that would scare the hell out of Lionel Hampton or Gary Burton and in such precise rhythm that it would alarm most MIDI composers. Yet, in the slow movement, when some soul is needed, she offers tender beauty.

Thankfully, EuroArts has delivered the goods with first-rate photography and high-fidelity sound. And if the two stars for a simple seven-minute extra may seem a little breathless, given EuroArts' track record of never giving a single thing in the way of bonuses, I upped the ante in hopes that this may be the start of a new trend.

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