This series is dedicated to stellar musical events that gripped the whole world and remained unforgettable until today – with touching interviews of today’s artists, celebrities and eyewitnesses. The Berlin Philharmonic’s legendary Berlin Wall Concert under the baton of Daniel Barenboim in November 1989. To get in, East German citizens just had to show their identity cards. Queuing started outside the Philharmonie at five in the morning, many spent the night on the parking lot in their Trabi cars. Interviews e.g. with Daniel Barenboim, Walter Momper
Magic Moments of Music – Horowitz in Moscow
This series is dedicated to stellar musical events that gripped the whole world and remained unforgettable until today – with touching interviews of today’s artists, celebrities and eyewitnesses. Horowitz in Moscow – after 60 years absence from Russia, the pianist returned to his home country for the first time. Interviews with Peter Gelb, Martha Argerich, Daniil Trifonov and Sophie Pacini.
Magic Moments of Music – Anne-Sophie Mutter and Herbert von Karajan
This series is dedicated to stellar musical events that gripped the whole world and remained unforgettable until today – with touching interviews of today’s artists, celebrities and eyewitnesses. Anne-Sophie Mutter’s and Herbert von Karajan’s version of the Beethoven Violin Concerto. Interviews with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lisa Batiashvili, Robin Ticciati, Wilfried Strehle
The Unanswered Ives
The first film about the most famous “weekend composer”: Charles Ives. As a teenager, he composes dance melodies as well as church hymns, becoming the youngest organist of all Connecticut at age 14. As a natural talent in sports, he is appointed captain of the football team at the elite Yale University before the former music student becomes the most successful life insurer in the United States. Charles Ives (1874-1954) is perhaps the most famous “weekend composer” of musical history – and is regarded today as the first composer of the modern age in America. The Unanswered Ives is the first film about Charles Ives and a profound exploration of this extraordinary, multi-faceted personality. The documentary shed light on Ives’ life and work in all its facets and inconsistencies.
For the Love of Music in Georgia – The Paliashvili Music School in Tbilisi
The Georgian Republic: An orthodox multi-ethnic mix in the wild Caucasus, the borderland between the East and West. The Paliashvili Music School for gifted children is located on a hill above the capital city of Tbilisi. The plaster is crumbling, and the stairs are riddled with holes. Hardly any instrument can be tuned anymore, and many teachers are so old that they could be the great-grandparents of their students. Those who are allowed to step through the battered main entrance after the strict entrance examination do so with pride because former Paliashvili students regularly conquer the world’s stages. The violinist Lisa Batiashvili and pianist Khatia Buniatishvili were taught here. The children dream of such a success, their parents all the more so. An observant and character-based documentary about a magical place. A film about growing up and aging, about farewells and new beginnings, about great dreams and the art of improvisation.
Caballé – Beyond Music
A complex and passionate portrait of a woman who can only be described as a myth. A documentary feature film about one of the most important voices in history. The film makes us re-live, through an intimate story told in first person by the artist, the most important musical, personal and emotional moments of such a long and passionate life. It accompanies Montserrat Caballé on a trip through the most significant cities, historical performances and audio recordings of her life, including testimonies of those who, through a professional or personal relationship, can help us understanding Montserrat, the person and Caballé, the diva.
ONE, TWO, THREE! – The “Waltz Factory” Strauss & Sons
Johann Strauss’ waltz “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” is considered Austria’s secret national anthem. First performed 150 years ago in Vienna, the composition from the Strauss “waltz factory” became an instant worldwide hit. The film by Eric Schulz looks behind the scenes of the “waltz factory” of the Strauss family. Historic film footage is combined with waltz impressions from Vienna’s Musikverein and an unusual collection of mobile phone selfie-videos: for the first time, every musician in the orchestra filmed themselves during the performance. The “Donauwalzer” as the world’s first “orchestra selfie” – like the entire documentary itself – creates astonishing new perspectives on one of the world’s most popular musical traditions.
Lucas Debargue – To the Music
For a year, the film follows the pianist Lucas Debargue through his encounters, his discoveries and his quest for music. In his early career, revealed by the XVth International Tchaikovsky Competition, praised by the public and critics, Lucas is confronted with the concerts that come one after another. He discovers the relationship with the conductor and music partners, studio recordings, post-concerts, success and autographs. He has now found his new life, a whole life devoted to music.
Mythos Carmen
What do the great characters in the history of opera have to do with our own lives? “Mythos Carmen”: modern re-enactments place the respective operatic character squarely in the middle of our present times. Individual chapters examine the key issues of the character, which are spread out in the form of a kaleidoscope. International stars of opera, singers, conductors and directors explain what continues to fascinate us about the characters to this day. They explain their own take on the various heroes and describe what makes the operatic characters mythological. In doing so, they provide a distinctive, new and fresh perspective on the great works of music. The film is augmented by footage shot behind the scenes, at the places where the operas were written, and with a répétiteur, allowing the film to move through our present times emotionally guided by the opera.
BACK HOME in Georgia – Khatia Buniatishvili and Zubin Mehta
They have known each for a long time and performed many concerts together: the pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and the conductor Zubin Mehta. Perhaps that is why they can be so open with each other during rehearsals of Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A-Minor. Back Home with the two musicians and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Georgia under special conditions. The rehearsals in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, take place in the great music hall. The concert two hours drive away under the open skies of Tsinandali – a brand new concert place, built up to the very last minute.