The Swedish-born lyrical tenor Nicolai Gedda is considered one of the greatest tenors of the 20th Century. From the time of his debut in 1952 right through his unprecedented career for half a century, he took the world’s stages by storm and recorded more than 200 albums which made him the most recorded tenor in history.
Glenn Gould – Russian Journey
The date is May 2nd, 1957. Stalin died only four years before and perestroika is still a long way off. However, the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, who is just 24, arrives in Moscow for an exceptional tour: he is the first North American musician to play behind the iron curtain. Witness accounts from musicians such as Ashkenazy and Rostropovitch, the original recordings of his concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, as well a recording that had never been released before of his lecture-recital in Leningrad make this an invaluable documentary revealing a whole side of Glenn Gould’s past few people are aware of.
Riccardo Chailly – A Portrait
Riccardo Chailly is one of the most exciting musicians of our time. This very first portrait shows him working with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and other leading orchestras, accompanies him on tour and with his family in Italy. It delineates the artist, the conductor as well as the husband, (grand)father and patriarch. It shows him in private settings as well as at work with leading orchestras of the world: With the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig he continues his acclaimed Mahler cycle; his passion for opera is documented in Valencia, where he recently produced Puccini’s “La Bohéme” with young vocal talents (cf. Puccini, La Bohème from Valencia. Prog. No. A93050003).
The Piano Guys live at Red Butte Garden
Hailing from Utah, The Piano Guys became an Internet sensation by way of their immensely successful series of strikingly original self-made music videos. They’ve made 35 since joining forces a little more than a year ago, including their most recent hit video, an innovative 10-handed version of One Direction’s ‘What Makes You Beautiful.’ But it’s the Guys’ highly original blend of classical music with pop that has really been the cause of an Internet phenomenon that has now brought them to their major label debut album, The Piano Guys, released on Sony Masterworks.
Solti – Journey of a Lifetime
Solti’s professional advancement starts at a time when Germany was on its knees. The film depicts this situation by including historical video documents. Only a couple of hours before his death on 5th September 1997, he made his last corrections for the book. By using a narrator who reads excerpts of his biography, Solti is virtually given a voice in this film. The interview partners add an important dimension to the film. All of them were very well acquainted with Solti and have fascinating stories to tell. In regards to capturing performances, Solti was as productive as Bernstein and Karajan. The archives of the ARD network list about 120 TV productions, interviews, rehearsals. Further rich sources are the archives of BR, HR, SWR, ORF, Unitel and the BBC.
The Heart of Sound – A Musical Journey with Vittorio Ghielmi
The Island of Sardinia is very rich in traditional song, music and dance of all kinds, and supports two distinct forms of polyvocal singing. The first is the secular sung dance-music Cantu á Tenores tradition, the second is the Coro or Cuncordu tradition of sacred ritual music, which in the quite recent past they were an integral part of numerous socio/religious rituals. World-renowned Viola da Gamba player, conductor and composer Vittorio Ghielmi (who appears with orchestras such as Il Giardino Armonico, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra or the London Philharmonic Orchestra) has been on a lifelong quest to find and create authentic interpretations of ancient-classical music.The film documents a special and unique way of making music that contributes to the vitality of rural life and thus provides a closer picture at Sardinia off the beaten tourist tracks. The sound track as well follows untrodden paths: the fruits of this collaboration reward the audience with music never ever played before.
Stravinsky in Hollywood
Stravinsky in Hollywood explores the short-lived film career of this legendary composer, it is the story of his trials and tribulations with the Hollywood Studios, the story of an ‘old school’ European artist knocking heads with the brash New World. Igor Stravinsky lived in the heart of Hollywood from 1939 until shortly before his death in 1971 – longer than in any other single place. He came expecting to find lucrative work composing for the movies. The 60-minute film uses a combination of existing archival footage (some of it never before seen), contemporary interviews with experts in the field and living movie composers, and scenes from several big studio films of the 40s brought together – for the first time – with the music which Stravinsky wrote for them.
Yanni – Live from Las Vegas & Acapulco
Experience Yanni and his world famous orchestra in stunning high-definition. In this program, we revisit 2 of Yanni’s critically acclaimed television spectaculars: ‘Yanni Live from Las Vegas’ and ‘Yanni Live from Acapulco’. Each performance was captured by 16 high-definition cameras and 125 channels of digital audio for a brilliant and amazingly clear audio-visual experience. Go center stage for an explosive concert special filled with magnificent performances by the world’s most extraordinary musicians. Featuring Yanni’s favorites like ‘Nostalgia’, ‘Santorini’, ‘Within Attraction’ and a spectacular debut performance of Yanni’s classic composition, ‘Tribute’ by tenor Nathan Pacheco.
Vadim Repin – a Magician of Sound
Born in Siberia in 1971, Vadim Repin started to play violin at the age of five and had his first stage performance six months later. At only eleven he won the gold medal in all age categories in the Wienawski Competition and gave his recital debuts in Moscow and St Petersburg. In 1985 at fourteen he made his debuts in Tokyo, Munich, Berlin, Helsinki; a year later in Carnegie Hall. Two years later Vadim Repin was the youngest ever winner of the most prestigious and demanding violin competition in the world, the Reine Elisabeth Concours. From the vastness of Siberia to world fame, the violin virtuoso Vadim Repin returns to where his career began, for a Brahms tour, far away from the cultural centre of Moscow. From Irkutsk at Lake Baikal to Novosibirsk, we follow the magnificent artist to the West, where Yehudi Menuhin once called him the ‘most perfect violinist in the world’ he ever heard.
Jamiroquai plays Avo Session
The British jazz, funk and acid jazz band, Jamiroquai, started out as the most prominent component in the early 1990s London-based acid jazz movement. Subsequent albums have explored other musical directions such as pop, rock and electronica. Jamiroquai have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide and won a Grammy Award in 1997. At the Avo Session they perform their world-famous hits.