Pianist Bruce Liu is the winner of the prestigious 2021 Chopin Competition and has been on the path of a stellar career ever since. Influenced by different cultures, he developed into one of the most musically expressive and technically gifted pianists of his generation. Bruce Liu made his grand debut in his native Paris with a Chopin program at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
The Lucky Tenor – José Carreras turns 75 years
It was the existential turning point of a career that until then had known mainly triumphs: During a rehearsal, José Carreras learns that he has leukemia – an almost certain death sentence in 1987. He is transferred from Barcelona to a special clinic in Seattle. His only chance is a therapy that until then was considered impossible: stem cell transplantation. He survives the disease and feels a real commitment to others suffering from leukemia. Starting with the cancer and the subsequent healing as the frame story, the film tells the stages of a world career in an associative and emotional way, jumping back and forth. Tightly edited archive footage brings these chapters to life. Newly filmed material shows the most important scenes from Carreras’ life and career. In addition, interviews with prominent companions, contemporaries and experts as well as a central interview with the jubilarian himself reflect a dramatic biography without slipping into one-sided hero worship. Cross-genre greetings and birthday serenades from Pretty Yende to Diana Damrau and from Plácido Domingo to David Garrett demonstrate the high regard in which the artists’ colleagues hold his life’s musical achievements and document the enormous impact José Carreras continues to make.
Carnival of the Animals – A music piece tells the story
The “Carnival of the Animals” is his best known work. Camille Saint-Saëns never wanted to publish it during his lifetime. On the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death in December 2021, the music piece itself tells us how the dwindling act of birth occurred in the composer’s mind. It is the notes that tell us of its suffering and of its triumph on the great stages of the musical world. According to the will of its creator, “Carnival of the Animals” was to be performed only once, in March 1886, on Shrove Tuesday. And now this piece has stolen the show from Camille Saint-Saëns’ other works for a hundred years. Directors have brought Saint-Saëns’ music to Hollywood. At the Cannes International Film Festival, “The Aquarium” is the signature tune. The film shows that “Carnival” is more than the musical characterization and exaggeration of various species. The role of the narrator was taken over by German actor Sebastian Koch. An orchestra specially assembled for the film lets the music of the “Carnival of the Animals” resound.
For Elise – Beethoven’s Besteller
It’s one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. A catchy tune that won’t let go. It’s in every stack of piano music. It’s been used in music scores for Hollywood films like “Rosemarys Baby” or “Inglorious Basterds”. “For Elise” can be heard tinkling from mobile ringtones, telephone waiting loops, Fabergé eggs and toy pianos. The American rapper Nas based his hit “I can” on the melody of “For Elise”. How could this piece of music, just 928 notes in length, ever achieve such international distribution and celebrity? Within this documentary famous Pianists such as Alice Sara Ott, Gabriela Montero, Kit Armstrong, Richard Clayderman, composer Detlev Glanert and others give their interpretations of “For Elise”. The film sets off in search of the meaning and merit of “For Elise”. Prominent classical music experts and historians in Berlin, Vienna and Bonn work out the secrets of the magic that this best known and most frequently played of Beethoven’s pieces sparks anew in every generation around the world.
Three Tenors – From Caracalla to the World
It was the most successful classical concert: 30 years ago, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and José Carreras performed together with Zubin Mehta for the first time as „3 Tenors“ in the thermal baths of Caracalla on the occasion of the Football World Cup in Italy. 1.6 billion spectators watched the concert worldwide – and it catapulted classical music into a completely new dimension. Just in time for the 30th anniversary, the film „Three Tenors – From Caracalla to the World“ shows the emotional highlights of the first concert and the sequel in Los Angeles. Previously unpublished backstage material shows the tenors unadorned and offers a fascinating insight into what takes place beyond the spotlight. The film takes a completely new look at the concert legend. For the first time, Placido Domingo, José Carreras, conductor Zubin Mehta and Luciano Pavarotti‘s widow Nicoletta Mantovani talk about José Carreras‘ struggles with leukemia, their rivalries and friendships, their spectacular contract poker and life as an opera star.
The Faces of Carmen – Aigul Akhmetshina
Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” is one of the greatest and most popular operas of all time. But who is Carmen herself? A heroine? A victim? A betrayer? Few characters in opera are as open to interpretation as the free spirit at the heart of Bizet’s masterwork. “The Faces of Carmen” takes an unusual approach to exploring this evergreen piece. The film follows rising 28-year-old opera star Aigul Akhmetshina as she undertakes a truly unique journey, performing the role of Carmen in six different productions in a single year. Her Carmen year takes her, and us, to some of the world’s greatest opera stages – Arena di Verona, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Real, London’s Royal Opera House, the Glyndebourne Festival and the Metropolitan Opera – as she brings Carmen to life in a range of differing productions. Some are modernized, others traditional; some are directed by men, and some by women; some are new, some revivals. We hear about each interpretation in interviews with the directors and see excerpts from the finished productions. Additionally, extensive biographical material reconstructs Bizet’s life and his work on the opera.
Hans Werner Henze – composer, communist, dandy
Hans Werner Henze was Germany’s most political composer, at the same time, he was the epitome of a dandy and bon vivant. On the occasion of his 100th birthday in July 2026, the film is a tribute to the courageous artist and humanist, showing his colourful life in all its complexity and with all its contradictions.
Giovanni Antonini conducts Haydn’s Daytime Symphonies
More than 250 years after their premiere, conductor Giovanni Antonini and his ensemble Il Giardino Armonico are bringing Joseph Haydn’s three symphonies based on the times of day back to their place of origin, the magnificent Haydn Hall at Esterházy Palace in Austria. A musical journey through the day, in which the location, the work, and the musicians form a magical connection. Historical and very contemporary.
“The Morning.” “The Noon.” “The Evening.” Not just three times of day, but also three symphonies composed by Joseph Haydn, with which he probably celebrated his debut at the magnificent court of Prince Esterházy in 1761. More than 250 years later, Il Giardino Armonico, conducted by Giovanni Antonini, once again perform the cycle in the historic setting of its premiere: in the magnificent Haydn Hall of Esterházy Palace in Eisenstadt in Burgenland, Austria. Long Version includes additionally Haydn: Arianna a Naxos with Kate Lindsey
Andris Nelsons and Lucas & Arthur Jussen
In this concert from the state-of-the-art Konzerthaus Dortmund, Lucas and Arthur Jussen join the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Gewandhauskapellmeister Andris Nelsons for a rare performance of the brilliant concerto for two pianos and orchestra by the 14-year-old Felix Mendelssohn, himself Gewandhauskapellmeister from 1835 to 1847. To complete the programme, orchestra and conductor present first another rarity – the beautiful “Blumine” movement composed for the original version of Mahler’s
Symphony No. 1 – alongside Dvorák’s life-enhancing Symphony No. 8, a work in which the composer’s symphonic skill and melodic gifts mix to irresistible effect. PROGRAM Mahler: Blumine; Mendelssohn: Concerto for two Pianos; Dvorák: Symphony No. 8
Sheku Kanneh-Mason: My Favourite Melodies
Acclaimed cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason invites audiences into an intimate musical journey where he both performs and reflects on the melodies that have shaped his artistic voice and life story. The documentary episode, part of the succesfull series “My Favourite Melodies” blends live performance and videoclips, thoughtful conversation, and behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process.