The Requiem is not only Mozart’s last composition, but also the one most shrouded in mystery. The purportedly enigmatic patron who ordered the work and the fatal illness that befell Mozart while he was working on it long nurtured the macabre legend of Mozart composing his own Requiem mass commissioned by Death himself. The Requiem was completed by Mozart’s friend and pupil Franz Saver Süssmayr on the basis of Mozart’s sketches and instructions. The somber woodwinds and brass, the artless melodies and the stirring shifts from intricate contrapuntal writing to mighty homophonic blocks convey an otherworldly, apocalyptic feeling seldom encountered in Mozart’s works. Despite its almost operatic solo passages and large orchestra, the Requiem was intended for the church, and is indeed an ideal work for the theatrically sumptuous and brilliant Baroque churches of Austria and southern Germany. The abbey church in Diessen (Bavaria) is a splendid example: completely rebuilt in the early 18th century by one of the leading South-German Baroque architects, it provides an admirable setting for Leonard Bernstein’s sensitive conducting of the Requiem. This production, which the Maestro dedicated to his wife Felicia Montealegre on the tenth anniversary of her death, is a moving and memorable tribute to commemorate Mozart’s and others’ deaths.
Eugene Onegin
Czech director Petr Weigl shot the opera in authentic locations in northwest Russia. Czech actors depict the tragic love story to the music of the opera recorded under the musical direction of Sir Georg Solti, one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.
Don Giovanni
“Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni” is the full title of the opera that is widely held to be the most perfect work of its genre. Luckily, it is known today merely as “Don Giovanni,” a title that far better evokes the hero in all of his seductive power, his disregard for the social order, his merry wantonness. It is this hero who fascinated Mozart, not the “dissoluto punito” – the “rake punished” – who harks back to the morals and conventions of the late 18th century. The work, again on a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (like “Figaro” and “Così”), was written for Prague after “Figaro” had enjoyed such an overwhelming success in the Bohemian capital. It was premiered there on 29 October 1787. The opera’s perfect fusion of opera buffa and opera seria is suggested by its novel designation as a dramma giocoso, or merry drama. It is a moral tale of murder, sexual exploitation and betrayal that is lightened by comedic elements that infuse the whole with warmth and humanity. The aristocrat of conductors, the autocrat of the baton, Riccardo Muti cuts a noble figure at the head of any orchestra, and ennobles every ensemble through his charismatic personality and red-blooded musicality. In many respects, including his unwillingness to compromise over artistic matters, he is reminiscent of Arturo Toscanini, who was also a demanding ruler at the podium. His rise to international fame set in with his guest conductorships at the Salzburg Festival in 1971 and at the head of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1972. Muti became principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra a few years later, and was named its music director in 1980. Always a conductor of both the symphonic and operatic repertoire, Muti advanced to the post of music director of La Scala in Milan in 1986. The 1990s saw Muti consolidating his reputation at the head of this venerable institution, as well as in countless other high-caliber venues around the world. Today he is one of the undisputed giants among the leading conductors of the world.
Der Freischütz
“I am trying,” says director Vicco von Bülow, also known as Loriot, “to take this opera very seriously and to show all its horror, mystery, piousness and the German forest.” Germany’s most refinedly witty comedian staged “Der Freischütz” in 1988 at the Ludwigsburg Festival. Von Bülow considers the work “a mixture of comedy, drama, romanticism and deep religiousness.” Comedy, however, was not the guiding principle of his production. He relates the story like a tale from some romantic picture- book, in a mysterious, symbolic manner. The stars of the performance were, next to the splendid sets reminiscent at times of the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich, the excellent singers and brilliant orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Gönnenwein. Among the singers, the most highly applauded were Uwe Heilmannn as Max, Ulrike Sonntag as Ännchen and Nancy Johnson as Agathe.
Ten Great Writers
This series examines the lives and principal works of ten great modernist writers, the giants of European literature at the turn of the nineteenth Century, whose thought and writing foreshadowed the age to come and whose influence is still felt today. Each programme explores the unique imaginative world of its subject, combining drama, documentary and critical explanation. “Anyone who sees the series, will acquire a remarkably clear idea of the Modern movement in literature and what it represents: in technique, experimentation and introspection; in content, paranoia and despair.” (Financial Times) Joseph Conrad (R0327) Fyodor Dostoevsky (R0225) T.S. Eliot (R0311) Henrik Ibsen (R0310) James Joyce (R0199) Franz Kafka (R0273) Thomas Mann (R0275) Luigi Pirandello (R279) Marcel Proust (R0281) Virginia Woolf (R0274) A follow-up programme is available, in which a panel of writers, including series consultant Malcolm Bradbury, discusses ideas which have been raised. Silver Medal, New York International Film and TV Festival Cable Ace, Best International Cuitural Series
Dancemakers: Lar Lubovitch
The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company exhibits a characteristic New York vitality and energy. Their idiosyncratic style of movement is loose-limbed and athletic, with a casual exuberance that asks not to be taken too seriously. Music is often the catalyst for Lubovitch’s choreography, and this is demonstrated by the two works performed in this studio recording: Concerto Six Twenty-Two, danced to Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major K622, and North Star, to music by Philip Glass.
An Evening with Francis Poulenc
An enchanting blend of music and documentary, this programme looks at the life, times and work of the French composer Poulenc (1899-1963). The framework for the programme is a reconstruction of a soirée typical of those frequented by fashionable society in the early years of the twentieth century. Poulenc’s work is performed by Paul Crossley (piano), Susan Milan (flute), Thomas Mohr (baritone), Ulrike Sonntag (soprano) and the Aulos Wind Quintet, with Anthony Spiri (piano).
Peter Dickinson
A series of major concertos written in the 1980s – one for organ, one for piano and
one for violin – established British composer Peter Dickinson as an important and individual
musical voice. This programme looks at his career and influences, particularly American music,
from Cage to Joplin. The second half of the programme consists of a complete performance of his
composition London Rags, performed by London Brass, for whom it was composed.
Folias
The Heinz Bösl Foundation Junior Company performs Hans Manniegel’s colourful ballet set to a score by Gregorio Paniagula. The music was composed after a famous melody that attained wide popular currency 1500-1700 and to which the wild Portuguese folia was danced. Manniegel’s theme is the madness of dancing till you drop and the often humorous choreography demands exact timing and precise rapid footwork. The fluent mixture of neo-classical and contemporary movements creates an exciting work.
Lenny Henry
Black comedian Lenny Henry is one of the most popular and successful entertainers in the UK today. He has built up an incredibly broad audience, uniting both young and old, black and white in appreciation of his particular brand of humour. This film takes Lenny back to his home town of Dudley in the West Midlands and uses specially-written comedy sketches, featuring his favourite characterisations, to explore his unique comic talent.