In reviewing his videos they say things like...
"...Victor Borge helped make classical music accessible to a wide audience by showing that it could be laugh-out-loud funny."
A real Oz Pianoman favorite, Victor Borge is available on both DVD and VHS.
Variations in picture quality appear to be the main 'grizzles' here - but Quality is "OK". I bought the video and I think one derives sufficient delight from the material itself - that such critics may need not be taken too seriously. Anyway, you can read all the customer reviews at AMAZON.COM
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"Classic Victor Borge" : Very entertaining, clean, quick-witted :
"Genius at work" : Victor Borge's work is incredible : "Very Funny and some great music too!" : Comic genius : Ability to play the piano and still be funny is unbelieveable : "Amazingly funny" : Borge is hilarious and very talented : "Victor Borge's Superb " : Provides absolute joy : "Borge at his best" : A truly talented musician - and to perform some of these 'mishaps' takes real talent ! The Best of Victor Borge
" Incredibly funny - brilliant pianist and just as gifted in comedy : a real motivator to those taking piano lessons : ninety minutes of sheer delight."
"Funny,funny,funny"
Victor Borge was sufficiently skilled at combining comedy and classical music that "longhair" music became accessible to a wide audience, Borge rose to fame making classical music "laugh-out-loud funny."
Though his comedy recordings have been popular for many decades, Borge simply excells on video. His 90 minute concert "The Best of Victor Borge Acts One and Two" includes many of his most famous routines.
Arriving late, an audience member is reprimanded; "I'm from Copenhagen and I got here before you did !"
The video lets us observe what always kept Victor Borge's audiences in stitches - but which on the record covers wasn't explained. Ah, what we missed by not being there !
For example: After falling off the piano bench, he "belts-up"...
Playing from upside down music sheets doesn't much help a confused stage hand, attempting to turn Borge's pages for him. Soprano Marylin Mulvey valiantly gets through her aria, one phrase at a time, thwarted by an accompianist who fools around as only Borge can.
It appears that things might be about to get serious when Borge introduces Arzruni announcing a performance of Lizst's Hungarian Rhapsody. Here this two-piano Duet is going to be tackled on a single piano.
In a high energy Borge run around-climb over performance, he and Arzruni engage in a madcap chase around the piano keys, piano stool and each other, both playing the duet parts as the piece hastens to its fiery conclusion.
Borge then presents an opera "this one was written by Mozart and credited to Salieri ... so you can imagine what kind of opera it is"... and then performs a "decent" set of waltzes and lullabies, showcasing his competence as a piano player.
Also incuded are his well known nonmusical sketches: Inflationary Language and Phonetic Punctuation.
In Borge's special punctuation, the sound of a full stop or period is FFFT - an exclamation FSSS FFFT.
Not heard before? Alone worth (in my opinion) the cost of the Video.
A most satisfying concert to own on video - one to pull out from the collection and re run every so often.
"Best of Borge is certainly one that visitors don't mind watching around here"... OzPianoman
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