Sir Georg Solti – The Making of a Maestro

Sir Georg Solti (1912-27) was one of the twentieth century’s greatest conductors.

This definitive profile, made during the last year of his life, captures the amazing energy and

passion for music of this remarkable man. Filmed with Solti in Budapest, Bavaria, Chicago and

London, and with a wealth of archive footage, it charts his exceptional musical journey. Solti is

seen in rehearsal and performance, and also working with singers Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Bryn

Terfel.

Sabine Kupferberg – Woman of a Thousand Faces

Sabine Kupferberg is a remarkable dancer. At an age when most dancers hang up their shoes, leading dance-makers, including van Manen, Forsythe and Ek, continue to create exciting new pieces for her and her colleagues at Nederlands Dans Theater 3. This company for the over-forties was founded by her partner, the internationally-acclaimed choreographer Jirí Kylián. Her collaboration with Kylián comes into focus in this dance-filled profile which showcases her distinctive talent in a wealth of performance extracts.

David Bowie

Ever since he burst on to the music scene in the early 1970s, David Bowie has been one of rock’s most consistently inventive performers. Driven by manic creativity and restless energy he has constantly assumed new roles, each signalling a change of personal and musical direction. In a wide-ranging interview Bowie talks about his many reinventions of himself and his music, and these remarkable changes are charted in memorable performance extracts and archive film.

Bryn Terfel

Bryn Terfel is one of the world’s most sought-after bass-baritones. It is the burly Welshman’s ability to express and colour words in a way that moves even the coldest of hearts that has established his ascendancy in the most illustrious vocal company. This profile charts his rise to fame and focuses on his development of various roles in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He is seen preparing the role of the Don himself with Sir Georg Solti.

Parsifal – Search for the Holy Grail

The Grail – the cup which Jesus Christ used at the Last Supper, and which subsequently collected His blood as He bled on the Cross – is one of the most powerful symbols in the last two thousand years of Western culture.

Parsifal, Wagner’ three-act opera, is the most famous work to celebrate the Search for the Grail. First performed in 1882, and written especially for the composer’s revolutionary theatre in Bayreuth, Parsifal has towered above twentieth-century culture, in so far as it became a principal source of inspiration for Hitler.

Tony Palmer’s film centres round a performance of Parsifal, with the unmistakable Placido Domingo in the title role, and conducted by the distinguished Valery Gergiev. The striking documentary, narrated by Domingo himself, offers a description of the plot and explores theories about Parsifal’s origins and considerable sphere of influence.

The music was recorded at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and in the gardens of the Villa Rufolo in Ravello, Italy, which had been a principal source of inspiration for Wagner.

This powerful and controversial film provides an invaluable oppurtanity to explore Wagner and his most intense opera.

Stories my Country told me

In today’s shrinking world the differences between one place and another appear to be rapidly diminishing yet never have so many peoples struggled to establish their own separate nation states. Resulting tensions have often become bloody and horrifying. What is the future of the nation-state in a world of multi-nationals and global communications? In this series, questions concerning identity and belonging are addressed by four world-famous writers and thinkers: Eric Hobsbawm, Desmond Tutu, Eqbal Ahmad and Maxine Hong Kingston.

Sir André Previn – The Kindness of Strangers

Sir André Previn’s success is phenomenal: from Berlin refugee to multi-Oscar-winning film score composer, from renowned jazz pianist to chief conductor of both the London Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras. This film was made with him as his first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire, was being staged at the San Francisco Opera. It follows the production from first rehearsals through to opening night and Previn talks candidly about the experience, relating it to his international life and career.

Sting

Sting first found fame with the band The Police and then went on to forge a highly successful solo career. He is one of today’s most thoughtful and literate songwriters, adopting an eclectic array of styles, while remaining a best-selling artist world-wide. Filmed at his magnificent English country manor, Sting is seen recording his hit album Mercury Falling. An elusive star who has preserved his essential privacy against all odds, he talks in interview about his life and his music.