Birgit Cullberg’s ballet to Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor Op. 50 is set in the 1860s and concerns four people locked in a complex family conflict – a father (Niklas Ek), a mother (Eva Evdokimova), their daughter (Liselott Svalberg) and her beau (Håkan Mayer). Conflicting emotions make them virtual strangers to each other, but they are bound together by a profound love. Chromakey techniques allow the dancers to move in and out of Impressionist paintings by Manet, Monet, Turner and others.
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.
Intimate Pages
This Christopher Bruce ballet is set to Leoš Janácek’s String Quartet No. 2. The composer wrote this piece in 1928, the last year of his life, inspired by his unconsummated love for a young married woman, to whom he wrote over six hundred letters, Bruce’s lyrical work expresses both the joy and the anguish that are present in Janácek’s music. The designs for this studio recording are by Walter Nobbe.
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.
Karole Armitage
Acclaimed as one of the most exciting and accomplished dancers and choreographers of her generation, Karole Armitage presents this programme surveying her career. It features lengthy excerpts from her works plus location footage from Rhode Island, where she is seen rehearsing her ballet Romance for an American television recording. The programme also includes rare black and white archive material showing Balanchine and Merce Cunningham in rehearsal.
Malcolm McLaren
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.
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.