Ballerina Polina Semionova performs the mythic parts of Odette and Odile (white swan and black swan) with her great partner Stanislav Jermakov. The Zurich Opera House Orchestra is conducted by Russian musical director Vladimir Fedoseyev acclaimed in this repertoire.
Fred Pellerin and Kent Nagano revive the great tradition of the OSM and offer a new symphonic Christmas tale! They take you to Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, where the first post office in history was run by Madame Alice Lavergne. For a long time the only reliable channel through which we could send and receive, this trunk service constituted the privileged link to maintain between us everywhere. Letters, cards, invoices, packages, forms, catalogs: everything went there.
Documentary about an emblematic institution of the Spanish Arts, Madrid's Teatro Real, or Royal Theatre, released to celebrate it's 2nd centenary anniversary.
Letters, Riddles and Writs is a one act opera for television by Michael Nyman broadcast in 1991.
In four corners of the globe, in each of the four seasons, four outstanding violinists guide us on an extraordinary journey through their four distinct homelands. From the springtime blossoms of Japan, into the blistering heat and thunderstorms of an Australian summer; from a joyful autumn in New York, to the unforgiving cold and human warmth of a Finnish winter. The resonant and much-loved music of Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and the timeless stories they tell, form the backbone to this bold and engaging celebration of friendship, homeland and the cycles of life.
Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.
This Royal Albert Hall Concert, presented now on DVD, was also available online through live streaming. It is difficult to remember the last time any concert gave me so much pleasure and insight, and sent my soul soaring to such heights of joy. So many beloved piano pieces, so magnificently performed! Valentina has scaled the heights of technique, knocking off 'impossible' Liszt pieces like a stroll in the park. She melds with the piano with such assured ease that she can milk every piece for musical content and subtlety, reminding us of the great Hoffman, who also loved to play each piece a little differently every time, tapping deeply into the inexhaustible potential of a great composition, perpetually finding fresh ideas and magnificent new interpretations.
Recordings of all the Beethoven symphonies with their chief conductor are always a milestone in the artistic work of the Berliner Philharmoniker. So it was with Herbert von Karajan and Claudio Abbado, and expectations are correspondingly high for this cycle conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Where does the special status of these symphonies come from? Simon Rattle has an explanation: “One of the things Beethoven does is to give you a mirror into yourself – where you are now as a musician.” In fact, this music contains such a wealth of extreme emotions and brilliant compositional ideas that reveal the qualities of the orchestra and its conductor as if under a magnifying glass.
Hearing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the first time changed Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser’s life forever, and in this inspiring documentary, we see him—the first openly gay Black conductor in Canada and a regular conductor with the San Francisco and Vancouver symphonies—using his passion to bring live classical music to people identifying as “different,” like he does. Having struggled with his own sexuality, Bartholomew-Poyser believes music can help unite and uplift everyone beyond race, class, and gender. This unorthodox film chronicles his concerts in a women’s prison and teaming up with Thorgy Thor (from RuPaul’s Drag Race and also a classically trained violinist) to create the first orchestral drag show in Canada.
The great composer of The Planets, Gustav Holst also taught himself Sanskrit, lived in a street of brothels in Algiers, cycled into the Sahara Desert, and allied himself during the First World War with a ‘red priest' who pinned on the door of his church "prayers at noon for the victims of Imperial Aggression". He hated the words used to his most famous tune "I Vow to Thee My Country" because it was the opposite of what he believed, and died before the age of 60 - broken and disillusioned.
These biographical drama documentaries explore the lives and careers of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Chaliapin.
Johnny Green conducts the MGM Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky's "Capriccio Italien".
Vladimir Horowitz's piano recital in 1987 at the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna.
Vladimir Horowitz's piano recital in 1982 at Royal Festival Hall in London.
Documentary on the life and accomplishments of the members of this uniquely talented musical family. The film focuses on the Figueroa family’s history within the context of its creative universe, dating back to the 19th century. Through the use of photographs, historic film footage, recordings, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and posters, the musical trajectory of the family is brought to life and their role in transforming the musical history of Puerto Rico and the world is portrayed.
A performance for the ages - the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the charismatic yet calculated baton of Andris Nelsons give everything they've got to Shostakovich's might 8th Symphony.=2011 winner of the prestigious ECHO Klassik Award, Andris Nelsons is one of the most sought-after young conductors on the international scene today.=Over the next few seasons he will continue collaborations with Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. Andris Nelsons is a regular guest at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera New York.
Bolero is played every 15 minutes in the world. This film tries to answer how this famous melody inspired and influenced the world pop-culture? It explores the complexity and the richness of a piece so simple in appearance: the emotions it triggers, vertigo it creates, the words it inspires.
YEARS OF PILGRIMAGE: Franz Liszt was a virtuoso pianist that took early nineteenth-century Europe by storm. He conquered the Parisian salons with passionate performances marked by excellent technique and handsome features that became the downfall of many women. But what was he truly after? The musical narrates the story of Liszt's early years, and his pilgrimage across Europe in an attempt to find a place where his soul could belong, focusing on the romance with the Countess Marie d'Agoult, and his greatest friend and rival, Chopin. FASHIONABLE EMPIRE: A revue that transforms the stage into the "Empire" where the pioneering fashionistas of our time gather. The stylish array of scenes will enchant the audience, at times with the cool atmosphere, and at times with the hot beats. While focusing on the sophisticated and metropolitan appeal of top star Yuzuka Rei this revue also shows off the unique, scintillating members of Flower Troupe through many groovy scenes.