In 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sand.
At the peak of his career, Ivo Pogorelich was filmed at Racconigi Castle in Italy playing four major works by Chopin as well as sonatas by Haydn an dMozart. Director Horant H. Hohlfeld captures the pianist's virtuosity in revealing close-ups. The program includes: CHOPIN Polonaise in c op40/2; Nocturne in E♭ op55/2; Prelude in c♯ op45; Sonata in b op58 // HAYDN Sonata in A♭ H16.46 // MOZART Sonata in A K331 "alla turca".
Piano Vladimir Horowitz in a televised recital from the White House on 26 January 1978, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his US debut, at the invitation of President & Mrs Carter. On the program, Chopin's Sonata #2 in B-flat minor, Waltzes in A minor and C-sharp minor, and Polonaise in A-flat, followed by encores by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and Horowitz's own Carmen Variations.
Arthur Rubinstein's 1964 recital in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, filmed and recorded by Soviet television and preserved in its archives, in a program of work of Chopin and — in encores introduced from the stage by Rubinstein — Schumann, Chopin, Debussy, and Villa-Lobos.
Powerful story about love, struggle and passion of an over protective mother and her piano prodigy.
The biography of world famous Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin.
Dutch artist Guido van der Werve runs, bikes, and swims nearly 1,200 miles from Warsaw’s Church of the Holy Cross to Paris’s Père Lachaise cemetery.
A new way to approach classical music, more fun, more original, more entertaining. Mozart Band arrives, and with it his four young members: Mozart, Betoven, Chopin and Verdi. Since the filming of a music video for a superstar to the mysterious theft of a valuable harp, Mozart and his friends live a host of incredible adventures. There comes a symphony of humor, adventure and above all, lots of music.
A documentary about Squallor, Italy's first and most successful "ghost band" project, created by four big bosses of 70's-80's Italian music business.
This documentary explores the partnership between the prolific singer-songwriter and pioneering rock band — and their historic 1979 Genoa concert.
The tale of a quick-witted fox and her escape from confinement for a life in the forest.
Kent Nagano superbly masters the challenges presented by this score, shapes the dynamics with subtle intensity, and casts the score in a mellow glow. As Marfa, the spurned lover of Ivan Khovansky‘s son Andrei, Doris Soffel unfolds such a rich palette of sonorities, from the pathos of the lower ranges to shaded discant heights, that “one is tempted to speak of a Russian mezzo”. The final chorus, which Mussorgsky did not compose, is played in the orchestrally transparent version of Igor Stravinsky – the third great Russian composer who contributed to making “Khovanshchina“ a timeless, gripping stage work. With his stripped-down sets and historicising costumes, director Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the new voices of contemporary Russian theatre, builds a bridge to the political present. A lesson in history and music!
At first glance, the title of Shostakovich’s opera seems to speak for itself: Katherina, neglected and unhappy in her marriage, commits the most heinous crime just like the Shakespearian Lady Macbeth. But Nikolai Leskov’s short novel, which portrays Katherina as a monster, was only the starting point for Shostakovich to elicit understanding for an oppressed woman whose pursuit for self-determination is suppressed by society. Through combining satiric, grotesque and tragic elements in his music, Shostakovich succeeds in striking the balance between repulsion at Katherina’s immoral acts and sympathy for her. Violence, eroticism and the paralysing boredom of Russian society in the 19th century are the founding elements of this composition. The choir and orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino conducted by James Conlon accompany tremendous soloists such as Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Vladimir Vaneev and Vsevolod Grivnov in the original language in this live recording.
Live in London is a live concert recording of George Michael's final two concerts in London's Earl's Court arena on 24th and 25th August 2008 as part of his 25 Live tour. It features a career-spanning set that includes Wham! classics and his solo hits. This is the first live DVD of George Michael's career.
Lou Reed — once the androgynous rock poet of the Velvet Underground, then a godfather of punk, now a weathered icon of courage and adventurousness in American music — in two astonishing live concerts, one from New York's fabled Bottom Line in 1983, one from the 2004 Benicassim Festival in Spain. With selections deftly mixed and matched for maximum effect, these two concerts allow us to time-travel between key phases of an amazing career, as Reed reinvents classic songs from his Velvets and early solo period and presents adventurous new work — always with the unmistakable droning, dissonance, and literary intelligence that are part and parcel of the Lou Reed approach to rock and roll, and to his adventures in post-classical minimalism and even free jazz, all key to his unique sensibility.
1. Introduction 2. Sweet Jane 3. Why Do You Talk 4. Rock'n' Roll 5 . Venus In Furs 6. Kill Your Sons 7. Romeo Had Juliette 8. I'm Waiting For The Man 9. Ecstasy 10. Satellite Of Love 11. The Blue Mask 12. Walk On The Wild Side 13. Perfect Day 14. Women 15. Jesus 16. Motherless Child
The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.
Multi-platinum recording artist and Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood headlines CARRIE UNDERWOOD: AN ALL-STAR HOLIDAY SPECIAL, a two-hour variety special. Underwood performs new music from her upcoming album as well as previous hits and holiday classics. She is also joined on stage by special musical guests and chart-topping artists including Dolly Parton, Brad Paisley and David Cook.
Live acoustic concert from The House of Blues, Las Vegas.
If Bugs Bunny were to direct his signature inquiry--"What's up, doc?"--toward the modern-day Warner Bros. creative team, he wouldn't be far off. For 1001 Rabbit Tales, they've doctored up a batch of classic cartoons featuring the carrot muncher and his bumbling comrades and bundled them, near seamlessly, into a feature-length film. Here's the premise: Bugs and Daffy, both book salesmen, are competing to sell the most copies of a kids' book. Instead of burrowing a beeline to his sales territory (he should have made a left at Albuquerque), Bugs ends up in the castle of Yosemite Sam, here a harem-leading honcho. Sam's pain-in-the-spurs son, Prince Abalaba, needs somebody to read him stories; Bugs, who'd sooner take the job than suffer the alternative, that involving being boiled in oil, signs on.