In this documentary, which tells something of the history of one of today’s most popular instruments, several acclaimed pianists talk about their choice of piano and discuss the merits of using period keyboards when playing baroque and classical compositions. Lively musical illustrations are included.
Pulling Out the Stops – A History of the Organ
The organ is one of the oldest and most glorious musical instruments known to man. Since the early fifteenth century, its history has been closely linked with the religious setting in which it came to reside. Visiting churches in Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, this series looks at the work of the great organ-builders of Europe. Leading organists demonstrate the magnificent range and beauty of this complex instrument’s sound, from sixteenth-century compositions to contemporary masterpieces, among them works by de Cabézon, Frescobaldi, Couperin, Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Bach, Widor and Messiaen.
Jimi Hendrix
Great Documentary about Jimi Hendrix with Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Mitch Mitchell, Noel Redding, Chas Chandler and Jimi Hendrix. Melvyn Bragg as Presenter.
Movie Music Man: Lalo Schifrin
The pianist, conductor and composer Lalo Schifrin is perhaps best-known for the award-winning film and television scores he has penned, such as Mission Impossible, Cool Hand Luke, Bullit and The Fox. This documentary includes clips from these screen classics and features extensive extracts from a concert Schifrin gave in Cannes, with the Lyon National Orchestra and guests, including Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown and Grady Tate (The Dizzy Gillespie Trio) and soprano Julia Migenes.
Yuri Bashmet
The internationally-acclaimed Ukrainian viola virtuoso, whose dark good looks have earned him the nickname of ‘the Paganini of our age’, is seen giving the Russian premiere of Schnittke’s Monologue and performing with the legendary pianist Sviatoslav Richter in the Pushkin Museum. In his Moscow flat, he discusses social and musical issues with other Russian artists and improvises on the viola. It transpires that The Beatles were the catalyst to his musical success!
Recital Cyprien Katsaris
Piano virtuoso Cyprien Katsaris plays Debussy’s Clair de lune from the Suite bergamasque, Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte, Saint-Saëns’ The Swan (arranged by Godowsky), Brahms’ Sonata No. 3 in F minor Op. 5 and his own composition to celebrate European unity, Fantasie sur des hymnes. Each performance is introduced by Katsaris, who illustrates his insights into the music at the keyboard.
Rossini The Chef
Rossini (1792-1868) was only thirty-eight when he stopped composing. Was he drained
of inspiration, or did he, as hearsay goes, devote the rest of his life to the culinary arts?
This light-hearted film, a subtle blend of fact and fiction, sets out in search of an answer.
Accompanied by a fea of his music and gathering opinions from a wide range of connoisseurs – from
chefs and sausage-makers to Pavarotti, Raimondi and Muti – the programme tracks the maestro
through Italy and uncovers a wealth of information.
Hindemith: A Pilgrim’s Progress
Hindemith’s symphonic suite, Mathis der Maler, forms the framework for Tony Palmer’s highly original film about the German composer, narrated by John Gielgud and Ronald Pickup. The music was inspired by the medieval painter Grünewald, who, like Hindemith (1895-1963), was an opponent of oppression in his day. Palmer uses tableaux vivants from Grünewald’s crowning achievement, the Isenheim altarpiece, archive film of Nazi Germany and readings from Bunyan’s A Pilgrim’s Progress, to make a powerful assault on the senses and the emotions.
Out of the Dark Ages
Written and presented by the eminent art historian and writer Edwin Mullins, this series tells the story of four monarchs – a single dynasty known as the Salians. They were men of extraordinary energy who, for a hundred years, from 1024-1125, forged and held an empire from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. Filmed on location throughout Europe, Out of the Dark Ages visits historic sites and uses dramatic reconstructions to shed light on political, religious, cultural and social aspects of Salic rule. It highlights key events and surveys the magnificent Salian legacy of Romanesque architecture and religious art.
John Ogdon
In 1962, the British pianist John Ogdon won the Tchaikovsky Competition along with Ashkenazy and embarked on a successful international career. Ten years later he was struck by a crippling mental illness from which he took many years to recover. This programme was made with Ogdon shortly before his tragic death in 1989, as his musical genius was beginning to reassert itself. It focuses on his overriding love for music and concludes with him improvising a new work at the piano.