This portrait shows the prima ballerina in her daily round of classes, rehearsals and performances, revealing her dedication to perfection. Sylvie Guillem’s preparation for Nureyev’s Raymonda, her first performances in Rudi van Dantzig’s Four Last Songs and William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated, and her appearance at a gala, dancing Bejart’s La Luna, are all recorded for posterity in this film.
Thomas Allen
Internationally acclaimed, the leading lyrical baritone is noted for his skill not only as a singer, but also for his acting. In this programme, Allen takes a masterclass with trainees from the National Opera Studio, looking at scenes from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Britten’s Billy Budd. He also talks in interview about his career and his approach to opera.
The Penguin Cafe Orchestra
Under its leader and composer Simon Jeffes, this ensemble has been making its own idiosyncratic brand of music since the mid-1970s, drawing on classical and avant-garde sources, as well as pop, folk and ethnic forms, with instruments ranging from the piano, cello, violin and drums, to the ukelele, electric guitar and penny whistle. A studio recording of performances by the PCO is punctuated with interviews in which they discuss their original and eclectic style.
Gluck: Winds of Change
Gluck had an insatiable appetite for success and its rewards, and also for food and drink. In 1787, he finally gorged himself to death and died while on a carriage ride with his devoted wife. This fatal outing is the starting point of Inger Åby’s stylised dramatisation of Gluck’s life, set to some of his most beautiful music and filmed in historic settings around Stockholm, including the Drottningholm Palace, with its magnificent eighteenth-century theatre.
Itzhak Perlman
One of the world’s greatest violinists, Itzhak Perlman is also known for his wit and good humour. This film was shot on location in New York, where Perlman talks about his career and how he copes with the effects of the childhood polio which left him crippled. He talks in depth about the art of playing the violin and demonstrates his skill, tackling pieces by Paganini and Bach.
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy is one of the world’s most accomplished and charismatic musicians, renowned as both a pianist and a conductor. He left Russia in 1963 to escape the restrictions imposed on individual expression pre-perestroika, and, in this film he talks revealingly about his life, work and motivations. Specially-recorded musical illustrations include passages of Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Brahms.
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
This profile of the German composer Karl Amadeus Hartmann (1905-63) combines documentary and Performance footage. It looks at his championship of new music with the Musica Viva concerts he organised in Munich after 1945, and includes extensive excerpts from his opera Des Simplicius Simplicissimus Jugend, as well as his Symphonies No. 6 and No. 8.
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
One of the greatest sopranos of the post-war decades, Schwarzkopf won acclaim on the operatic stage and as a lieder singer. Her career was moulded by Walter Legge, an innovative British recording executive who became her husband. He guided her towards her best repertoire – Mozart and Richard Strauss. In this film, which includes rare archive footage of Schwarzkopf in performance, she talks about her life and work and is seen conducting a masterclass on Hugo Wolf songs.
Domenico Scarlatti
The Italian composer and harpsichordist wrote over five hundred compositions for his pupil and patron Maria Barbara of Braganza, daughter of King John V of Portugal, who became Queen of Spain. The celebrated keyboard player George Malcolm talks in interview about this self-effacing man and demonstrates the power and originality of his work at the harpsichord. He also gives a performance of Scarlatti’s Salve Regina with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jennifer Smith.
Siobhan Davies
Siobhan Davies is one of Britain’s most notable contemporary choreographers. This film follows her through the process of creating a piece for the highly individual dancers of the Second Stride company. The result is Silent Partners, an intensely dramatic and passionate work, which is seen both in rehearsal and in performance.