A devotee of youth culture, McLaren has survived numerous changing trends, by turns a fashion designer, store-owner, rock and roll manager and recording artist. A prime mover in the punk era of the 1970s, he managed the notorious Sex Pistols and later gave Adam Ant and Boy George their first big breaks. Adam Ant, Boy George and Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols contribute to this illuminating profile of McLaren, which was filmed in Boston, New York and London.
Electronic Music
In the twentieth century, music entered the age of electronics and the microchip. This programme examines the history of this new music, from Stockhausen to Varèse, from pop singles and signature tunes to serious contemporary composition.
Joseph Heller
One of the towering figures of twentieth-century literature and the writer who gave the phrase ‘Catch-22’ to the English language, Joseph Heller died in 1999. This profile focuses on his novel, God Knows, with its somewhat surprising choice of biblical subject matter. Filmed on Coney Island, where he grew up, and at home in New York, Heller talks about the ideas that underlie this intriguing book. Dramatised extracts from God Knows are included.
Mstislav Rostropovich
Cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was indisputably a supreme master of his instrument. After leaving Russia in the mid-1970s, he established a distinguished double career as a performer and a conductor in the West. Filmed at Aldeburgh, when he was Festival director there, Rostropovich is seen rehearsing the Pears Britten Orchestra, performing works by Britten and Penderecki, and talking about his eventful life and his music.
Lester Young
This portrait of the legendary saxophonist, known as ‘the Prez’, centres on a jazz opera inspired by his life. Interwoven with film of this ambitious work in rehearsal and performance are contributions from people who knew him – fellow Basieite Buddy Tate, master of ‘macvouty’, Slim Gaillard, the arranger and composer Gil Evans. Rare archive film of Lester Young reveals a shy, withdrawn man behind the musical giant.
Michala Petri
The Danish virtuoso Michala Petri has won world-wide acclaim playing an instrument
which very rarely finds the spotlight on a concert platform – the recorder. Filmed at home in
Denmark and with the English Chamber Orchestra in London, she plays music ranging from
contemporary pieces, composed specially tor her, to baroque music, including works by Bach and
Vivaldi. This profile also explores the long history of the recorder and its astonishing revival
in recent years.
The Dream Is Over
Christopher Bruce’s ballet, specially-choreographed for television, is set to music by John Lennon and performed by soloists of the Cullberg Ballet. The piece has a biographical theme and includes scenes recalling Lennon with his family, breaking out of his working class background, falling in love and eventually dying at the hands of an assassin. The songs used are Mother, Working Class Hero, Love, Well, Well, Well, Look at Me, Don’t Believe It, My Mummy is Dead and Imagine. A documentary introduction to this programme is also available.
Henri Matisse
Matisse’s brilliantly coloured work inspired many twentieth-century painters and is a source of infinite enjoyment to all who love art. This film shows the richness of his oeuvre and uses archive footage of the man himself and extracts from his Notes ofa Painter, to explore his legacy. It highlights the influence of his travels to Tangie, Tahiti and New York, looks at his use of decorative patterns and textiles.
Silence Is The End Of Our Song
Christopher Bruce’s moving ballet is danced to Chilean folk songs, including several by Violetta Para and the poet/song-writer Victor Jara, who was assassinated by the junta that overthrew Allende’s government in 1973. Dedicated to the Chilean people, the work shows the tension and sorrow of a country in turmoil. Contrasting light and darkness, it embraces celebration and evokes the courage needed to confront political adversity and the threat of death. This performance was recorded in studio.
Anthony Burgess on D.H. Lawrence
Novelist Anthony Burgess presents a personal appraisal of D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930). The portrait he paints is of a polemicist against his country and his age: against petty materialism and class conflict, against militarism and the prevailing sexual repressiveness. The film uses locations in Nottinghamshire and Cornwall, extensive period documentation of Lawrence’s work and times, and includes readings from his novels, essays and poems.