Beethoven's Birthday: A Celebration in Vienna with Leonard Bernstein(1970)

Pianomania(de)

Pianomania takes the audience on a humorous journey through the secret world of sound and accompanies Stefan Knüpfer in his extraordinary work with the greatest pianists in the world. To select the instrument that corresponds to the vision of the virtuoso, according it to his desire and accompany him until he goes on stage, Stefan Knüpfer has developed nerves of steel, a boundless passion and above ability to translate words into sounds.

One Night of Love(en)

Mary Barrett is an aspiring opera singer who is taken under the wings of a famous operatic maestro, Guilio Monterverdi. After spending endless working hours together and arguing, their relationship develops into love. But, jealousy and misunderstandings prevent Mary and Guilio from acknowledging their true feelings.

Egon Schiele: Between Love and Hate(de)

An account of the short life and the astonishing and provocative work of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918), seen through the peculiar point of view and the critic voices of the women who defined the paramount milestones of his existence: Gerti, his sister; Wally, his main model and lover; and Edith, his wife. A brief story of love, hate, betrayal and misfortune.

Khatia Buniatishvili and Zubin Mehta: Liszt & Beethoven(de)

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.

Beethoven's Nine: Ode to Humanity(en)

Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.

Beethoven's Hair(en)

Beethoven's Hair traces the unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven's corpse and unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. The film begins in modern times, when a pair of Beethoven enthusiasts purchase the hair at a Sotheby's auction. The story then looks at the lock's previous owners and culminates in the science that reveals Beethoven's "medical secret". Set to a lush score of some of Beethoven's most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing in sharp relief against the romance of 19th-century Vienna and the horrors of 20th-century Nazi Germany.

Beethoven: Fidelio - Salzburg Festival(de)

Caravan(en)

The four Afghan refugees who have applied for asylum in Austria strike up the song, “The caravan moves on” again and again. Encouraged by the journalist Lucy Ashton to record their lives on their smartphone cameras as a video diary, the friends film their precarious daily routine between visits to authorities, small jobs, and changing accommodations. Yet even when hope is lost, one certainty remains: the power of friendship.

Concerto: A Beethoven Journey(en)

Filmed over the course of four years, Grabsky and his Seventh Art team followed leading concert pianist Leif Ove Andsnes's attempt to understand and interpret one of the greatest sets of works for piano ever written: Beethoven's five piano concertos.The end result is a beautifully-crafted film with lavish cinematography, a signature of Grabsky and Seventh Art's style. Considered one of the top pianists of the age, Leif Ove Andsnes offers rare insights into the mind of a world-class pianist and access to his personal and professional life. Against the wonderful background of Leif Ove Andsnes playing these five pieces, we also peel back the many myths of Beethoven's life. Perhaps above all it is the fresh new biography of Beethoven that is most revealing.

Brothers of the Night(de)

Soft boys by day, kings by night. The film follows a group of young Bulgarian Roma who come to Vienna looking for freedom and a quick buck. They sell their bodies as if that's all they had. What comforts them, so far from home, is the feeling of being together. But the nights are long and unpredictable.

Viennese Nights(en)

In 1890, Gus Sascher joins the Austrian Army and romances the impoverished girl Elsa Hofner. Elsa instead marries the wealthier officer Franz von Renner, in an attempt at social climbing.

The Unanswered Question I : Musical Phonology(en)

This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question. Bernstein drew analogies to other disciplines, such as poetry, aesthetics, and especially linguistics, hoping to make these lectures accessible to an audience with limited or no musical experience, while maintaining an intelligent level of discourse: Phonology is the linguistic study of sounds, or phonemes. Bernstein's application of this term to music results in what he calls "musical phonology".

Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9(en)

Showcasing a musical masterpiece in a rare full-length television recording by the Vienna Chamber Orchestra with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, under the direction of conductor Mark Laycook. An introduction to the performance, narrated by actor John Lithgow, gives a unique perspective on music history.

Karajan: Beethoven - Symphonies 7, 8 & 9(de)

Herbert von Karajan conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in these 3 great Beethoven symphonies. Gundula Janowitz, Christa Ludwig, Jess Thomas and Walter Berry are featured vocal soloists with the Choir of the Berlin Opera in the 9th Symphony.

Beethoven - Fidelio (Zurich 2004)(en)

Nikolaus Harnoncourt is the conductor in this 2004 production of Beethoven's only opera staged at the Zurich Opera House. Finnish soprano Camilla Nyland takes the title role, with performances by Jonas Kaufmann, Laszlo Polgar and Alfred Muff.

Beethoven - Symphonies 1-9 (Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle)(de)

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.

50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. and Mrs. Kraus(en)

In the spring of 1939, Gilbert and Eleanor Kraus embarked on a risky and unlikely mission. Traveling into the heart of Nazi Germany, they rescued 50 Jewish children from Vienna and brought them to the United States.

Bernstein in Vienna: Beethoven, The Ninth Symphony(en)

To play Beethoven's music is to give oneself over completely to the child-spirit which lived in that grim, awkward, violent man. Without that utter submission it is impossible to play the Adagio of the Ninth. Or, Heaven knows, the first movement. And the Finale? Most of all! It is simply unplayable unless we go all the way with him, as he cries out "Brüder!" - Leonard Bernstein

Bernstein In Vienna: Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major(en)

In Vienna's Musikverein, Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic celebrates Ludwig Van Beethoven's 200th birthday with a joyful performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Maestro Bernstein conducts the orchestra from the keyboard in this historic concert.

The Life and Loves of Beethoven(fr)

Lyrical biography of the classical composer, depicted as a romantic hero, an accursed artist.