Summary: The aim of these lectures is to make viewers feel welcome and comfortable in the company of paintings. By focusing on 65 masterpieces of Western painting, Professor William Kloss offers a vivid, visceral encounter with genius, shining light on the unique technical, stylistic, and expressive achievements of each painting. From the 14th century to the 20th, the images are examined for their...
Format: moving image
Publisher / Publication Date: Teaching Company 2010
Copies Available at Woodmere
2 available in Adult Non-fiction, Call number: 709 WORCall number: DVD 709 WOR
Copies Available at Interlochen
1 available in Adult Non-fiction, Call number: Great DVD 759 World 2010Summary: A comprehensive record of the greatest achievements in the history of western art from the medieval era to the post-impressionist world, from Botticelli to Van Gogh.
Format: moving image
Publisher / Publication Date: Kultur 2006
Copies Available at Woodmere
1 available in E-TV DVDs, Call number: DVD E-TV LANSummary: The development of the arts in Europe from the Middle Ages to the modern era is an astonishing record of cultural achievement, from the breathtaking architecture of Gothic cathedrals to the daring visual experiments of the Cubist painters. We all have our favorite artists, periods, or styles from this immensely rich tradition, but how many of us truly know the full sweep of European art? How...
Format: moving image
Publisher / Publication Date: Teaching Co. 2005
Copies Available at Woodmere
1 available in Adult Non-fiction, Call number: 709 HISSummary: Throughout history, musicians and musical works have reflected the fashion, culture, and social attitudes of their times. Music today is more diversified than ever, from the megahits of teen pop stars to the depth and emotionality of gospel choirs to the tones and textures produced by large-scale orchestras. Add to this the unstoppable forces of MySpace, YouTube, the iPod, and a rapidly...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This energetic program illustrates how unpredictable rhythms punctuate musical pieces, and how different instruments are used to create the effect. The orchestra dissects the two Stravinsky pieces line-by-line, illustrating the composer's use of stark rhythm changes to achieve wondrous musical special effects.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Singer-songwriter Andrew Bird is a virtual one-man band - along with his vocal talents, he plays the violin, guitar, xylophone, and glockenspiel. The celebrated musician winds his instrumental techniques together with sophisticated electronic looping. Add in his uncanny ability to whistle anything, and he becomes not just a band but an orchestra. This TED presentation by Bird offers an ideal...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: How do musicians find the inspiration to create? Do most songwriters come up with lyrics first, or music? What does it mean to be a composer in today's high-tech world? This program addresses questions young people may have about embarking on a career in music or musical composition. Focusing on current styles like rock, techno, and hip-hop, the video includes interviews with a classically...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: What are the geometric principles behind the sinking of the Titanic-and how is a ship of its size able to float in the first place? This program examines applications of area and volume, using the Titanic, the Louvre's Glass Pyramid, and New York's CitiGroup Building to illustrate the concepts of volume and density, surface area, and surface area-to-volume ratio. Knowing the proportion of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Greenberg, Robert
Summary: For anyone wanting to master music's language, being able to read musical notation is a necessity. But this course, as Professor Greenberg notes, is a basic course, designed to introduce you to music's language in a way that is similar to the way you learned your own native language, by "discovering and exploring musical syntax through our ears-- by learning what the parts of musical speech...
Format: moving image
Publisher / Publication Date: Teaching Co. 2007
Copies Available at Woodmere
2 available in Adult Non-fiction, Call number: 781 UNDCall number: DVD 781 UND
Summary: Opera is unique among musical forms in that it developed over a relatively short period of time, unlike the concerto or symphony. From the birth of opera in Florence with the Camerata to the genius of Monteverdi and beyond, this program looks at how opera grew into both a form of entertainment and a vehicle for delivering incisive social, political, and cultural messages. The operettas of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Whenever the pressure of air is changed rapidly-by the beating of a drum, rattling a stick in a can, plucking a string stretched across a box-the ear-brain system detects the pressure changes as sound, which travels from source to listener as sound waves. This program examines sound waves: why some sounds are musical and others just noise, and the relationship of regularity or irregularity of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Using Mozart's lively operatic piece, this program illustrates how composers weave together musical ideas to bring contrast and texture to their music. Abrupt pizzicatos, resounding fanfares, and languid melodies presented as a series of quick edits illustrate the point, along with an uninterrupted playback of a portion of the Overture.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Early musical notation was much like a road map that lacked names or places. The use of neumes gave the basic shape of the tune and a primitive notion of rhythm, but could not tell the performer what note to start on. This program shows how all of that changed around the year 1030, when the choirmaster Guido of Arezzo came up with the simple device of a thin red line: a dot directly on it would...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Pythagoras believed that music originates in nature and that natural harmonies express very distinct mathematical relationships between their notes. From Pythagoras' first scales and the advent of harmony to the standardization of all instruments to equal temperament, this program traces the evolution of the system of tuning that revolutionized Western music. Few musical cultures have escaped...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Produced in conjunction with legendary singer Peter Gabriel, this program takes viewers to a stage outside London as it documents the work of artists appearing at the World of Music, Arts and Dance Festival (WOMAD) In addition to engaging and powerful on-stage numbers, the film captures intimate, behind-the-scenes moments with world music stars, tracing each performer's origins and artistic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program examines the 20th-century history of Appalachia through the prisms of economic hardship, spiritual perseverance, and the region's rich musical heritage. Showcasing the power of the traditional string band, the video chronicles the rise of modern country music by way of the radio and phonograph. It also highlights the resonance of long-standing church traditions and documents the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: In Andalusia and all around the world, the sensual rhythms of flamenco ignite the blood with joy and sorrow. This program helps make accessible the mysterious, intimate, plaintive form of music known as flamenco, promoting a deeper appreciation of Spanish culture. Background information on Moorish Spain and a chronology of Gypsy history provide the context for generous footage of a juerga-an...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: Music is an art that depends greatly on the quality of the instrument as well as the skill and talent of the performer, the nature of the music itself, and the perceptions of the listener. This program explains how the brain perceives music and why certain melodies seem more appealing than others. The flute is used to show how this instrument has been adapted to different music and musicians at...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: As many non-Western cultures have always known, music affects human development from the womb to the grave-in fact, it may even have specific health benefits. This documentary examines the role music plays in shaping our brains and improving our well-being. Starting with the effect of musical vibrations on premature infants in neonatal intensive care, the film moves on to study the role of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program explores a century of conflict and tragedy in the Appalachians, beginning with the cultural oppression and forced exodus of the Cherokee. Documenting Appalachia's role in racial and ideological tensions leading up to the Civil War, the video examines the prevalence of slavery outside plantation culture and the unpredictable divisions among mountain communities that followed...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The flowering of the Jazz Age is a tale of two great cities, Chicago and New York, and two extraordinary artists whose achievements spanned nearly three-quarters of a century. Louis Armstrong was a fatherless waif who grew up on the rough streets of New Orleans, developing his extraordinary gifts before moving to Chicago, where his transcendent sound inspired a new generation of musicians. Duke...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2000
View online at AVOD
Summary: “Who is the most macho character in all of legend and literature? Could it be Casanova? Or James Bond? Well, my vote would go to Don Juan or, if you prefer, Don Giovanni. Unscrupulous, immoral, and scandalous, his amorous exploits were brought to the operatic stage by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, who was a figure of scandal in his own right. Welcome to Opera...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2004
View online at AVOD
Summary: Call it the ultimate leadership challenge - to create perfect harmony without saying a word. Could your typical CEO pull that off? Probably not, but it's second nature to an orchestra conductor. After a decade-long career at the podium in his native Israel, Itay Talgam has reinvented himself as a conductor of people in business. In this TEDTalk, Talgam demonstrates the unique styles of six...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: Updated in 1998, Edith Piaf's meteoric rise to fame from the nightclubs of Paris to the world's most famous chanteuse is legend. "The Little Sparrow's" throaty renditions of such hits as "La Vie en Rose," "Non, je ne regrette rien," and "L'Accordioniste" seem as fresh today as when they were recorded. This program pays tribute to Piaf by examining her life through archival footage, photos, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007