Handel and His Music

Bilder, die man hören kann

Invalid date •German

A portrait of the film-composer David Raksin, made for German television. Released in 1994.

Schubert and His Music

January 1954 •English

Describes the life of Franz Schubert. Explains the character of his music and conveys the flavor of early 19th century Vienna which influenced his compositions.

Chopin: The Space Concert

December 2012 •English

200 years after Chopin's birth, the Space Shuttle Endeavour, like a giant piano, took the music of Chopin into orbit.

In Search of Mozart

January 2006 •English

Made to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, IN SEARCH OF MOZART is the first feature-length documentary on Mozart's life. Produced with the world's leading orchestras and musicians, told through a 25,000 mile journey along every route Mozart followed, this detective story takes us to the heart of genius. Throughout, it is the music that takes center stage, with the jigsaw of Mozart's life fitting around it.

Music by John Williams

November 2024 •English

His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams' own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

Beethoven's Nine: Ode to Humanity

April 2024 •English

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

Scotland: Edinburgh, the Highlands and the Hebrides

Invalid date •English

This fascinating musical exploration of Scotland retraces the journey taken in 1829 by acclaimed composer Felix Mendelssohn, which inspired some of his most famous works, such as the "Scottish" Symphony and "The Hebrides" overture. Travel from the majestic sites of the historic Edinburgh Castle, Scott Monument and Palace of Holyrood to the picturesque island of Staffa, home of the legendary Fingal's Cave.

Amin

October 2010 •English

AMIN portrays Qashqai musician Amin Aghaie, a young modern nomad and his family who despite facing steep financial, cultural and political obstacles are dedicated to their art and culture. Amin travels to remote towns and villages to record the music of the surviving masters whose numbers decline each year. His nomadic family are selling their meager belongings to help support their son's education in performance and ethnomusicology at Tchaikovsky's Conservatory in Kyiv, Ukraine, but it is not enough. Amin, desperate to finish his academic education, sells his violins one at a time just to pay for his tuition.

Simon Rattle: The Making of a Maestro

February 2015 •English

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

Inside Karajan

June 2008 •English

Very few people really knew Herbert von Karajan. The conductor gave access to his private life only a little circle of strictly loyal people who kept their secrets even long after the maestro’s death. This documentary for the first time shows in the whole dimension the real man Karajan: not only the image of a dandy that he himself had shown to the public, but the unfiltered image of his personality. Newly discovered original film footage from the inner circle shows Karajan’s private life like it really was.

Memories of a Young Pianist

November 2009 •English

Interview with the italian composer Claudio Gizzi about his lifetime and work as part or the extras of the Blu-Ray edition from What? (Che?) (1972) from Roman Polanski

Till The Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel

April 2006 •English

A short documentary on Jerome Kern and the making of Till the Clouds Roll By.

ULTRA III: Peter Kurten, Sadist & Mass Slayer

January 1982 •English

A video magazine put out by the Come Organization label. An in-depth documentary of the life & works of Peter Kurten, the monster of Dusseldorf, including previously unpublished pictures and information. With music by WHITEHOUSE, J.S.BACH & BEETHOVEN

No Turning Back: Scoring Silent Running

November 2020 •English

Film Music Historian Jeff Bond discusses how the music for 'Silent Running' was created.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda

November 2017 •Japanese

Oscar winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto weaves man-made and natural sounds together in his works. His anti-nuclear activism grew after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and his career only paused after a 2014 cancer diagnosis.

Boulez at 80

November 2005 •English

Pierre Boulez conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a special concert from the Barbican, as part of the composer's 80th birthday celebrations. The programme contains two compositions by Debussy; Jeux and Trois ballades de Villon, as well as Daphnis et Chloé by Ravel, featuring soprano Elizabeth Atherton as soloist.Presenter Charles Hazlewood interviews Boulez and discusses the concert with guest Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

Tanglewood Music School and Music Festival

July 1949 •English

This video depicts Tanglewood in its very early years. It contains very rare footage of Serge Koussevitzky and Aaron Copland.

O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff

March 2011 •French

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It

September 1990 •English

This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.

Balavoine, enquête sur un destin tragique

November 2022 •French