Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

Shiny Objects - The Conductor with ADHD

Recently diagnosed with ADHD, a symphony conductor uses the career shutdown of the 2020 pandemic to dive into her mental health. She looks for ways to face the challenges and honour the gifts of being neurodiverse.

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One 11 and 103

Avant-garde composer John Cage is famous for his experimental pieces and "chance music" but temporarily branched into video in 1992 with this art film about meaningless activity. The work is composed of two segments that are supposed to be played simultaneously: "One 11" contains the artistic statement, and "103" is a 17-part orchestral piece. Also included is a revealing documentary about Cage and director Henning Lohner.

At the Haunted End of the Day

A documentary by Tony Palmer on English composer Sir William Walton (1902–1983), made shortly before his death. The film includes the only full-length interview ever recorded with Walton. Filmed at his home on Ischia and in Oxford, London & Oldham, it includes contributions from Laurence Olivier, Sacheverell Sitwell and Lady Susana Walton. Specially performed extracts of his music are conducted by Simon Rattle in his first substantial contribution to television when he was in his early 20s, with Simon Preston, Julian Bream, Yvonne Kenny, Yehudi Menuhin, Iona Brown, John Shirley-Quirk, Elgar Howarth & Ralph Kirshbaum, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford & Los Paraguayos.

Disruptor Conductor

Hearing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the first time changed Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser’s life forever, and in this inspiring documentary, we see him—the first openly gay Black conductor in Canada and a regular conductor with the San Francisco and Vancouver symphonies—using his passion to bring live classical music to people identifying as “different,” like he does. Having struggled with his own sexuality, Bartholomew-Poyser believes music can help unite and uplift everyone beyond race, class, and gender. This unorthodox film chronicles his concerts in a women’s prison and teaming up with Thorgy Thor (from RuPaul’s Drag Race and also a classically trained violinist) to create the first orchestral drag show in Canada.

The Other Song

Journeying across Varanasi, Lucknow, and Muzzafarpur in India, this documentary film traces the lost traditions and the culture of tawaifs (courtesans of North India), particularly through a song sung by Rasoolan Bai, "Lagat karejwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" and its lesser known, earlier version "Lagat jobanwa ma chot, phool gendwa na maar" (recorded in a 1935 Gramophone recording). Weaving the past with the present, the film spans between personal stories as it interacts with historical events, ultimately leading to the decline of a great art form.

Yannick

At 41 years old, the Quebecois conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin has established himself as one of the most gifted maestros of his generation, with numerous prestigious posts with some of the world’s greatest orchestras already under his belt, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (music director), London Philharmonic Orchestra (principal guest conductor), and the Orchestre métropolitain de Montréal. One week before Nézet-Séguin's official nomination as music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in 2008, filmmaker Christiaan van Schermbeek met the maestro for the first time. The once-in-a-lifetime event inspired Schermbeek to begin this documentary project, giving us a fascinating glimpse into the life of a truly extraordinary individual.

Maestro or Mephisto: The Real Georg Solti

This film tells the story of one of the greatest and most controversial conductors of the 20th Century. The Hungarian-born Georg Solti had huge drive, energy and ambition. A combination of willpower and extraordinary talent took him to the peak of musical power and prestige. This film includes remarkably candid interviews which Solti talked with great honesty about his life, challenges and achievements. It also includes new interviews with some of the artists and musicians who worked closely with him.

Conduction

This unconventional film is an observation Teodor Currentzis – one of the most extra-ordinary modern conductors. Backed by pieces from Mozart, Stravinsky, Jean-Philippe Rameau and with choreography by Jiri Kylian, this film is 64 minutes of love, light, life, beauty and being inside music.

Vivaldi

It was Antonio Vivaldi who developed the classic symphony orchestra, added coloration to the strings and wind instruments to the ensemble, originated the concerto for solo instruments, and was considered to be one of the greatest violinists of the 18th century. This biographical program chronicles the life and musical styles of Vivaldi, with on-location footage and lush studio re-creations of original settings showcasing the astonishing variety of Vivaldi’s works. Included are extracts from operas, oratorios, masses and sonatas, and concertos for flute, oboe, and trumpets, as well as such violin concertos as The Four Seasons. Fifteen-year-old prodigy Corey Cerovsek portrays the young Vivaldi, and world-renowned violinist Steven Staryk plays Vivaldi as a grown man.

Appalachian Journey Live In Concert

April 5th, 2000... On the heels of their unanimously acclaimed albums "Appalachia Waltz" and "Appalachian Journey", "Appalachian Journey Live In Concert" captures three of the world's most extraordinary musicians live in concert, along with very special guests James Taylor and Alison Krauss, from their sold-out performance at New York City's Avery Fischer Hall.

Beethoven's Nine: Ode to Humanity

Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.

In Search of Beethoven

In Search of Beethoven offers a comprehensive documentary about the life and works of the great composer. Over 65 performances by the world's finest musicians were recorded and 100 interviews conducted in the making of this beautifully crafted film. Eleven interviews are included in the Extras and Six complete movements.

Kapila

The film sketches the creative life of the protagonist Kapila. The film’s narrative is structured as one day in the life of a Koodiyattam performer.

Simon Rattle: The Making of a Maestro

This documentary portrait, the first television biography of Rattle for 15 years, follows him through an extraordinary year of concerts, oratorios and opera with five different orchestras. We see his rigorous preparation and experience his irresistible dynamism in rehearsal and performance. We will watch him at work with the Berliner Philharmoniker, often described as the world’s leading orchestra. We will also see him with the Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment and with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. We see him preparing a score for performance, share his experiences with the players and gain privileged insights into the day-to-day life of a conductor