Guarneri String Quartet: The Beethoven Cycle; The New Sousa Band: On Stage At Wolf Trap; The Swingle Singers In Concert

Kudos to Proscenium Entertainment for offering quality music videos that are a bit off the beaten path. The Guarneri String Quartet, subject of the superb feature film documentary High Fidelity (New Yorker Video), plays two major Beethoven quartets in The Beethoven Cycle: the visionary Quartet No. 11 in f minor and Quartet No. 9 in C Major (the last of the Rasumovsky trio of quartets). The Guarneri String Quartet, widely considered to be one of the finest chamber music quartets in the world, are not only lovely to listen to, but really quite enjoyable to watch. The program was taped at the Old Westbury House near Long Island, and is introduced by actor Hal Linden. The New Sousa Band: On Stage at Wolf Trap is a delightful homage to the music of John Philip Sousa, featuring conductor Keith Brion as the march master, and a band of individual artists and soloists wearing uniforms from the 20s. Hosted by Beverly Sills, the program opens with a brief historical look at the life and times of Sousa (who was paid $35 for one of his best-loved marches "The Washington Post"). Selections include: Sousa's "El Capitan," the "United States Field Artillery March," the "George Washington Bicentennial March," "Semper Fidelis," and "The Stars & Stripes Forever," as well as selections from Grainger, Donizetti, and Wagner. In both the music and the style of presentation the producers have done an admirable job of emulating an actual Sousa performance as it must have appeared to audiences some seventy years ago. The Swingle Singers In Concert, introduced by James Galway, is a half-hour concert with the legendary acapella group filmed at the historic Harewood House in northern England's Yorkshire Dales. The eight-person group performs a handful of numbers ranging from the impressive tackling of Bach's "Organ Fugue in g minor" to The Beatles' "I Will" and "Blackbird." In addition, they perform the lovely "Clair de Lune" (Debussy) and an original Henry VIII piece (and you thought he just played the axe). The grand finale is grand indeed: an acapella version of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." You have to hear it to believe it. All three videos are highly recommended. (Available from most distributors.)