Franz Ferdinand – Scotland´s finest – were part of the mid-2000s Post-Punk Revival along with The Arctic Monkeys and Kaiser Chiefs. Their debut, went straight on No.#3 on the UK Charts – and the band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act, and NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. The band’s second album was platinum-selling in the UK, gold-selling in the US and the album topped the UK Charts, and made the top ten in the Billboard 200 and so the story continued. In August 2013 – shortly after their amazing live performance at RNH Festival – their fourth studio album ‘Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action’ saw the light of day – again with Top Chart Positions stating the next successful chapter of the bands career.
Kraftwerk – Pop Art
The amazing story of how a group of reclusive Rhineland experimentalists became one of the most influential pop groups of all time. The documentary features three exclusive live tracks filmed, at their Tate Modern shows in London (Feb 2013), interwoven with expert analysis, archive footage of the group, newsreel of the era and newly-shot cinematic evocations of their obsessions – motion, cycling, travel, globalism, communication, automation and the harmonious coexistence of man, nature and technology.
The Hives at Hurricane Festival
The Hives are a Swedish rock who´s mainstream success came with the release of the album Veni Vidi Vicious, featuring their most well-known song “Hate to Say I Told You So”. They are known for performing in ever-changing, matching black-and-white suits. The band puts emphasis on their energetic live shows, notably with lead vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist’s engaging onstage banter and his guitarist brother Nicholaus Arson’s crazy stage antics. They have been acclaimed by music critics and fans as one of the best live rock bands in current music.
Isang Yun in North and South Korea
This documentary, filmed in North and South Korea, explores whether music can overcome the boundaries of a divided country. There is one figure of the two Koreas, whose outstanding biography in itself forms a bridge between both worlds: The Korean composer Isang Yun, one of the very few people acknowledged on both sides. The film traces the course of a life that has been interpreted in different ways, examining the worlds of North and South Korean music and in this way taking the viewer on an exciting journey through two political systems that Isang Yun spent his life trying to reconcile.
Jazz & The Philharmonic
The search for the intersection of the world’s greatest musical art forms, classical and jazz, has been attempted many times by many great musicians and composers from Stravinsky to Gershwin, Bernstein to Cage and Goodman to Yo-Yo Ma. Finally, this melding of both genres has been accomplished with the star-studded concert from award-winning producer Larry Rosen, Jazz and the Philharmonic. The show was shot as part of the Jazz Roots concert series in Miami January 2013. —– TRACKLIST: Autumn Leaves – Bobby McFerrin, Chick Corea and Dave Grusin / Fugue in C minor – Eric Owens & Terence Blanchard / Spanish Suite – Chick Corea, Eric Owens & Terence Blanchard / Simple Gifts – Dave Grusin & Mark O’Connor / Mt. Dance – Dave Grusin & Mark O’Connor / Soloings 1 – Bobby McFerrin / The Man I Love – Elizabeth Joy Roe & Shelly Berg / Solfeggietto – Elizabeth Joy Roe, Terence Blanchard / Charade – Terence Blanchard
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms: German Requiem
Conductor Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra present Johannes Brahms’ greatest choral work, the German Requiem, featuring soprano Sally Matthews and baritone Christopher Maltman. PROGRAM Brahms: German Requiem
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms 1 & Szymanowski 1
Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 is presented alongside Karol Szymanowski’s own first symphony and Violin Concerto No. 1, featuring the acclaimed soloist Janine Jansen.PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No 1; Szymanowski: Symphony No 1, Violin Concerto No 1
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms 2 & Szymanowski 2
Presented alongside his Tragic Overture, Johannes Brahms’ relaxed Symphony No. 2, improvisatory in nature with a fuller orchestral sonority, is paired with Karol Szymanowski’s own second symphony. PROGRAM Brahms: Tragic Overture, Symphony No 2; Szymanowski Symphony No 2
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms 3 & Szymanowski 3
Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 is considered to mark a new level and stage of maturity, and is performed here alongside his first orchestral piece Variations on a Theme of Haydn. Completing the program is Szymanowski’s Third Symphony, which was written during his second Franco-Arab period and sees tenor Toby Spence take to the stage. PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No 3, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Szymanowski: Symphony No 3
LSO: Gergiev conducts Brahms 4 & Szymanowski 4
Conductor Valery Gergiev leads the London Symphony Orchestra in a stunning interpretation of Johannes Brahms’ fourth and final symphony that showcases the composer’s architectural musical skill. PROGRAM Brahms: Symphony No 4; Szymanowski: Symphony No 4