Summary: The enduring power of a single song across continents and time-and the ironic story of how that song was written by a man who traded in slaves-is examined in this program with Bill Moyers. One of the most popular and enduring hymns in the English language, its lyrics were written in the 18th century by the captain of an English slave ship. In the 19th century, the song successfully crossed the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Why is "Amazing Grace" the most-performed hymn in the English language? In this DVD, Bill Moyers seeks to understand the enduring power that has carried this song across continents and through time-and the compelling story of the slaver-turned-preacher who wrote it. This disc includes the full-length program Amazing Grace as well as a special video introduction by Mr. Moyers and a menu of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Inspired by Paganini's dedication to a soloist instrument, the violin, Chopin decided early in his career to write only for piano. This beautifully produced program presents a biography of the Polish-born child prodigy and composer who blended Slavic influences into his works. Sketches, paintings, and cinematic treatments of Chopin and his times complement the music. Archival footage includes...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This program is devoted to the 18th century, the Age of Decadence. It covers the rise of Antonio Vivaldi and his famous all-women orchestras at the Pieta, the heyday of Venetian composition, Vivaldi's departure from Venice and the rise of a new breed of composer, and the decline-when the kissing had to stop. Live performances at the Conservatorio and the Church of the Redentore.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: This program, devoted to the 17th century, explains how the St. Mark's sound was first rescued and then enhanced by Claudio Monteverdi, and covers the art of the madrigal, the rise of women composers, and why the world's first public opera house was built in Venice. Live performances in San Nicolo dei Mendicoli and the Ducal Palace.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: This program from the Famous Composers series provides an overview of the life and work of Finnish composer Jan Sibelius. The video contextualizes the composer's childhood and his later musical production in light of Romantic Nationalism and political atmosphere in Finland. Following Sibelius to Helsinki and then Berlin, the film details both the building of his family and their home, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: This introduction to the life and music of Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn from the Famous Composers series begins by contextualizing life in the eighteenth century Austro-Hungarian empire. Born to a wheelright and community leader, Haydn grew up with the folk culture and song presented to him by his parents. His talented was recognized early, and the film follows young Haydn to St....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This installment of the Famous Composers series introduces the life and work of Italian-born composer Giuseppe Verdi. The film begins by painting a portrait of the village Verdi was born in, then a part of the French Empire, and his childhood there as part of his Roman Catholic family. Following Verdi to Milan at the age of twenty, the film outlines the composers devlopment as a composer and as...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This captivating program combines key scenes from Mozart's singspiel The Abduction from the Seraglio as performed at the spectacular Topkapi Palace with a documentary about the intricate process of rehearsing the production. A winner of the International Broadcasting Convention's Golden Rembrandt, the program also provides fresh insights into the personal life of Mozart, the history of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 takes on new life in this Emmy-nominated Discovery Concert(tm) Conductor George Marriner Maull and the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey create an interactive experience through which spectators become intimate with the concerto's third movement and the structure of a fugue. Engaging the live audience in spirited conversation, Maull cajoles them into...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In 1802, Beethoven faced the prospect of becoming deaf. But instead of causing defeat, that crisis triggered a season of transcendent creativity that changed the course of music history. In this program, pianist Mia Chung explores the innovations of Beethoven's genius in the face of enormous obstacles as she performs, deconstructs, and discusses two of Beethoven's most significant solo piano...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: Schubert's Impromptus allow the performer a chance to display considerable skill, but modern-day pianists have tended to neglect them. This program documents Martino Tirimo's spellbinding master class at the Royal Academy of Music, in which the B flat impromptu takes on a refreshing new shape and color. Pianists from the United States, Europe, and Asia immerse themselves in the beauty of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: With its real-life characters and earthly plot, The Marriage of Figaro is the first modern opera and an example of how Mozart took his inspiration from humanity and not God, as his predecessors had done. This program tracks the meteoric career of perhaps the greatest musical genius ever. Musicologist Andre Tubeuf and Mozart scholars Jean and Brigitte Massin discuss the interplay of composition...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: In this program from the Famous Composers series, viewers are introduced to the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven beginning with an overview of his family's history and eighteenth century Germany. By the age of seven, under the tutelage of his father, Beethoven was playing concerts. At 17 Beethoven went to Vienna for the first time and met Mozart but returned home quickly to help support...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: In this introduction to the biography and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the Famous Composers series, viewers are offered a glimpse of court lifestyle in Salzburg, where Leopold Mozart, the composer's father, was a musician, and in other European capitals, where his young children toured and performed. Leopold was an accomplished musician himself, but dedicated himself to the development...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: 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
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Summary: Written by 16th-century Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, The Peony Pavilion is a 19-hour epic opera in 57 episodes that tells a story of youth and love literally triumphing over death. This program follows director Chen Shi-Zheng and the Shanghai Kunju Opera Troupe in their monumental effort of staging the entire production, an event that had not occurred in nearly four centuries. Despite...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In this program, Charles Hazlewood addresses Tchaikovsky's final work-and what many regard as his greatest achievement: Symphony no. 6 in B Minor (Pathetique), which premiered only days before his death. After conducting the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a complete performance of the monumental first movement, Charles Hazlewood thoroughly explicates each of that movement's constituent parts:...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Between 1738 and 1788, Charles Wesley wrote more than 9,000 hymns and sacred poems, work which earned him the title "The Sweet Bard of Methodism." This program recounts Wesley's life and life's work, with special attention to his better-known songs, such as "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." Scholars of music and theology speak about Wesley's childhood, education, and missionary work; explore the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: The life of Giuseppe Verdi contained almost as much tragedy and joy as his timeless operas. This beautifully filmed program traces the long and eventful career of a giant in musical composition who vowed to never write an opera again after the fiasco of his first production. Dramatic reenactments, photos, archival footage, and rare recordings from the National Institute of Verdi Studies and La...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: His playing too advanced for small-town churches, his cantatas far more complex than those of his contemporaries (and thus under-appreciated), Bach initially found his genius thwarted. This program surveys the amazing achievements of the man of whom Beethoven said: "Not brook but ocean should be his name." Interviews with cellist Pablo Casals and organist Pierre Cambourian complement an array...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: In Lohengrin Wagner links arias with recitatives-unbroken musical continuity is born. In Tristan und Isolde he changes the very role of the orchestra. And in The Ring of the Niebelungen he invents the leitmotif. This program charts the fortunes and innovations of the composer who truly revolutionized opera. Beginning with The Flying Dutchman, the video explores the connections between Wagner's...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: The Rhapsody in B Minor requires a range of sensibilities, from lightheartedness to a propensity for shock value. In this program, virtuoso pianist Martino Tirimo leads an engaging master class at London's Royal Academy of Music-pushing his students to find the essence of the Brahms piece, while encouraging each performer to craft his or her individual approach. Artists from the United States,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: This is a performance of the Messiah in the original scoring, performed as Handel intended it, with much smaller resources than we have become accustomed to and, therefore, a perfect balance between a small chorus and orchestra. Roger Norrington conducts the London Baroque Players (comprising leading specialists in 17th- and 18th-century instrumental practice), the Cardiff (Wales) Polyphonic...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007