Set amongst the unlikely backdrop of cowboy boots, rodeos, and global geopolitics, thirty of the world's most promising musicians travel to Fort Worth, Texas to compete in the renowned Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Vying for gold and their shot at classical piano stardom, the contestants must endure six grueling performances, multiple elimination rounds, and a discerning panel of jurists. Behind the scenes, we uncover the stories of adversity, sacrifice, and heartbreak driving the pianists to perform at the highest level. As fan favorites and early contenders are eliminated, one unassuming genius rises to the top.
"Ars longa, vita brevis" – art is long, life is short. This is one of Japanese music icon Ryuichi Sakamoto's favorite quotes, and the message that he leaves for viewers at the end of his final concert film, shot before he succumbed to cancer in March 2023. Consisting of only Sakamoto and his piano, Opus features the final live performances of 20 songs that Sakamoto meticulously curated to encapsulate his distinguished 40-year career.
Jenny is young. Her life is over. She killed someone. And she would do it again. When an 80-year-old piano teacher discovers the girl’s secret, her brutality and her dreams, she decides to transform her pupil into the musical wunderkind she once was.
A washed-up '80s pop star gets a chance at a comeback when reigning pop diva Cora Corman invites him to write & record a duet with her, but there's a problem--Alex hasn't written a song in years; he's never written lyrics and he has to come up with a hit in a matter of days.
He had style, he had wit and he had class. Watch this video and enjoy the classical stylings of a true virtuoso: the one, the only, Liberace!
Multi-platinum recording artists release their first-ever live DVD. Recorded in April 2005, the shows were filmed in the band's hometown of Atlanta during two special sold-out performances featuring the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. The 20-song collection spans ninety minutes and encompasses hits from Collective Soul's seven studio albums, including their latest release, "Youth".
Elton John entertains a celebrity studio audience, answering questions and singing songs with his guests.
It is about a music school in Philadelphia, The Paul Green School of Rock Music, run by Paul Green that teaches kids ages 9 to 17 how to play rock music and be rock stars. Paul Green teaches his students how to play music such as Black Sabbath and Frank Zappa better than anyone expects them to by using a unique style of teaching that includes getting very angry and acting childish.
Celebrating the end of World War II and liberation of their city, a group of students is set on holding a cultural evening. They invite Ema, a reclusive piano teacher from the same building, to play for them. Ema declines, but starts reminscing back on her own life and the historical events that have seemingly overshadowed it.
Calvin Lenox's 'The Door at the End of the Hall' follows a young musician through a dream of his in which he hears a mysterious song that seems to be coming from behind a locked door at the end of a hallway. Things start to fall into place when a strange voice begins to speak to him from behind the door.
A brother and sister's battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived — and who defines a family legacy.
Shuhei Amamiya transfers to Moriwaki Elementary filled with hope and ambition. But it doesn't take long before he gets picked on by the class bullies, and gets involved in a dare to play the mysterious piano in the forest. Igniting his meeting with an equally enigmatic child, Kai Ichinose, who seems to be the only one capable getting sound out of the thought to be broken piano.
Jean-Michel Bernard's piano tribute concert to cinema.
Emil Gilels is well known as a Beethoven interpreter. His approach is characterized by a full bodied sound throughout a wide dynamic range, complete virtuosity and a structural sense that gives clarity to both local and global musical events. His tempo choices make sense within a complete movement or entire sonata (he doesn't need to slow down dramatically for the second subject in Op.53's first movement) and he will mostly maintain a tempo with only slight fluctuations.
Tom Cat is a concert pianist who plays beautifully until he is interrupted by Jerry Mouse.
Vivaldi, Mozart, and Beethoven serve up an evening of glittering virtuosity and transcendent melody in this unusual, all-concerto program. Filmed at Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium in July 2015. Zubin Mehta leads the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra as they accompany three very different 18th-century concertos performed respectively by trumpeters Ram Oren and Yigal Meltzer, clarinettist Ron Selka, and pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. Set-List: Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto for 2 Trumpets in C Major, RV 537 / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622 / Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15.
A musical tribute to the piano's 300th anniversary celebrates the legacy, grandeur and showmanship of this instrument. Hosted by "Piano Man" Billy Joel and taped before a live audience in Washington, D.C., this special mesmerizes audiences with its grand salute.
Internet songwriter Chow (Cherry Ngan) is gifted with an extraordinary retentive memory. She never forgets anything she has heard. One day, she was kidnapped by Yung (Ronald Cheng), a street punk, to a remote fish raft so desolate that an escape plan seems to be a mission impossible. In the hope to flee with the only ability she has, Chow offers to give a spiritual music therapy to the rather maniacal kidnapper. What happens next is beyond anyone’s imagination – the two who have nothing in common begin to form an intimate bond and connection through music. More than that, Chow finds immense inspirations on this “floating stage”, while discovering the incredible singing voice and vocal range in Yung – a seemingly hopeless criminal can also possess a voice as captivating as the sound of nature…
A journey into the life of blind jazz musician Caitlin Smith as she explores how her voice as a musician and teacher has become a tool of identity, resilience, and empowerment.
The documentary follows Chilly Gonzales from his native Canada to late '90s underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. Diving deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin.