Karajan or Beauty As I See It

Who was Herbert von Karajan? What lurks behind the enigmatic face of this man, on whom more has been written than on any other member of his profession? For many, he was the epitome of classical music, for others the embodiment of the music market. He was the last dictator among orchestral conductors, and the first successful large-scale music entrepreneur. And in everything he did, he was ahead of his time. This documentary is the first to truly penetrate behind Karajan’s regal façade. The program is structured along the personal recollections and interviews, the rehearsals and concerts of the maestro. Much of the material has been drawn from the archives of Unitel, the firm that produced his music films for 12 years. This footage is supplemented by many candid and revealing comments by some of the men and women who accompanied him on his path to legendary status. The result is a multi-faceted, multi-layered portrait of the artist – a portrait that ultimately deepens the mystery of one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Salzburg – One Day with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – Concert 1

The idea of uniting young musicians from Israel, Palestine and various Arab countries into a musical ensemble still seems incredible today. Yet such an orchestra has been flourishing since 1999, when Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The project, says Barenboim, brings together these young people “not so that they forget or hide their differences, but so that they can understand them.” He adds that “making music together gives us the best opportunity to learn to live with one another.” The concerts presented here were recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, during the orchestras residency. The ensemble “proved its status as a first-class orchestra that has no need to shy from comparisons with the philharmonic ‘top dogs’ from Vienna or Berlin” (Munich’s Abendzeitung). Among the highlights of the concerts are Mozart’s “Sinfonia concertante” K. 297b, which gives four young soloists a chance to dazzle, and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat,” an airy piece with a demanding percussion part. Songs and chamber music, including Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, showcase the individual talents of the young players. The major orchestral concert comprises a Beethoven overture, an intricate and multi-layered piece by Schoenberg, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pathétique,” in which Barenboim pulls out all the stops and coaxes rarely heard instrumental lines and accents from the depth of his ensemble. On three afternoons, Daniel Barenboim led a musical workshop called “The School of Listening.” In the first part, Barenboim explores the phenomenon of sound and the importance of the human ear. The second part features the fiery 24-year-old conductor Robin Ticciati in a rehearsal of Beethoven’s third Leonore Overture punctuated by the Maestro’s insightful comments and heated discussions with the young conductor. In the third part the great composer and conductor Pierre Boulez rehearses Béla Bartók’s rarely played “Four Orchestral Pieces,” answering questions from the audience and the musicians. Throughout, Barenboim’s enthusiasm, humor and directness make this three-part series an exceptionally informative and entertaining event. The orchestra’s residency at the 2007 Salzburg Festival will be rounded off with the documentary “Music Is Never The Same,” available in May 2008.

West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Salzburg – One day with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra – Concert 2

The idea of uniting young musicians from Israel, Palestine and various Arab countries into a musical ensemble still seems incredible today. Yet such an orchestra has been flourishing since 1999, when Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. The project, says Barenboim, brings together these young people “not so that they forget or hide their differences, but so that they can understand them.” He adds that “making music together gives us the best opportunity to learn to live with one another.” The concerts presented here were recorded at the 2007 Salzburg Festival, during the orchestras residency. The ensemble “proved its status as a first-class orchestra that has no need to shy from comparisons with the philharmonic ‘top dogs’ from Vienna or Berlin” (Munich’s Abendzeitung). Among the highlights of the concerts are Mozart’s “Sinfonia concertante” K. 297b, which gives four young soloists a chance to dazzle, and Igor Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du soldat,” an airy piece with a demanding percussion part. Songs and chamber music, including Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet, showcase the individual talents of the young players. The major orchestral concert comprises a Beethoven overture, an intricate and multi-layered piece by Schoenberg, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, the “Pathétique,” in which Barenboim pulls out all the stops and coaxes rarely heard instrumental lines and accents from the depth of his ensemble. On three afternoons, Daniel Barenboim led a musical workshop called “The School of Listening.” In the first part, Barenboim explores the phenomenon of sound and the importance of the human ear. The second part features the fiery 24-year-old conductor Robin Ticciati in a rehearsal of Beethoven’s third Leonore Overture punctuated by the Maestro’s insightful comments and heated discussions with the young conductor. In the third part the great composer and conductor Pierre Boulez rehearses Béla Bartók’s rarely played “Four Orchestral Pieces,” answering questions from the audience and the musicians. Throughout, Barenboim’s enthusiasm, humor and directness make this three-part series an exceptionally informative and entertaining event. The orchestra’s residency at the 2007 Salzburg Festival will be rounded off with the documentary “Music Is Never The Same,” available in May 2008.

Mozart, Piano Concerto No.22 in E flat major, K.482

Born on 11 February 1946, Rudolf Buchbinder celebrated his 60th birthday just two weeks after Mozart’s 250th birthday – a happy coincidence of landmark events that prompted the great Austrian pianist to present a series of Mozart piano concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2006 Vienna Festival. The works, recorded live at the Musikverein in Vienna on 7 May 2006, represent the crème de la crème of Mozart’s concerto output of the years 1784 to 1786. Mozart had arrived in Vienna in March 1781 to work as an independent composer. In addition to seeking commissions from the Imperial Court, he also held subscription concerts at various venues, including the homes of the nobility. Mozart had to satisfy the needs of the fashionable Viennese public by creating a steady flow of virtuoso arias, symphonies, chamber music and piano concertos. Between 1784 and 1786 he wrote no fewer than 12 piano concertos, many of them unsurpassed in the history of this genre. The earliest work on this recording is the Concerto in E flat major K. 449, a work of fairly modest dimensions that was followed in early 1785 by the great D minor Concerto K. 466, a dramatic, gripping piece painted with tormented “Sturm und Drang” brushstrokes. Later that year, he wrote the “big” E flat Concerto K. 482, the first to include clarinets, a natural development in a genre that was increasingly taking on symphonic traits. While the A major Concerto K. 488 glows with an inner serenity, the C minor work that follows it, K. 491, is a grand, almost heroic, work with wild outbursts of raw passion. It is also the most heavily scored of Mozart’s concertos. Its successor, the C major Concerto K. 503, is the most technically difficult of all of the concertos, and can perhaps be seen as the culmination of his output in this genre. Although Rudolf Buchbinder commands a mighty repertoire, he is best known for his interpretations of the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms. In recent years, Buchbinder has specialized in giving cycles of performances – the complete Haydn sonatas, for example, or the complete Beethoven sonatas – which he prefers to record live. This live recording of six masterpieces by Mozart provides a lasting testimony to Buchbinder’s canon of Mozart interpretations in his 60th year – and Mozart’s 250th.