Famous Composers: Joseph Haydn(NaN)

Boulez at 80(en)

Pierre Boulez conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a special concert from the Barbican, as part of the composer's 80th birthday celebrations. The programme contains two compositions by Debussy; Jeux and Trois ballades de Villon, as well as Daphnis et Chloé by Ravel, featuring soprano Elizabeth Atherton as soloist.Presenter Charles Hazlewood interviews Boulez and discusses the concert with guest Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

O, Fortuna! A portrait of the composer of Carmina Burana, Carl Orff(fr)

No Turning Back: Scoring Silent Running(en)

Film Music Historian Jeff Bond discusses how the music for 'Silent Running' was created.

Conductivity(fi)

Conductivity is a film about creative leadership told through the story of three young conductors at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland; I-Han Fu (Taiwan), Emilia Hoving (Finland) and James Kahane (France). When stepping on the podium, they are put under a magnifying glass. Conductor training, in essence, is leadership training. The film gives a unique viewpoint to follow the students, as this is the first film about conductor training at the Sibelius Academy.

Tanglewood Music School and Music Festival(en)

This video depicts Tanglewood in its very early years. It contains very rare footage of Serge Koussevitzky and Aaron Copland.

Hugues Aufray, l'éternel jeune homme(fr)

The Fire and the Rose(en)

A documentary on the life and work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda(ja)

Oscar winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto weaves man-made and natural sounds together in his works. His anti-nuclear activism grew after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, and his career only paused after a 2014 cancer diagnosis.

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It(en)

This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.

Frank Zappa: Music In Review(en)

Idiosyncratic composer, unique musician and ground-breaking film director…..Frank Zappa packed more into his short lifetime than most men would manage in two. His restless, challenging, creative spirit meant that he never stood still during a career that bought huge critical and commercial success – Zappa sold more than 60 million albums both as a solo artist and with the Mothers of Invention. The life and work of Frank Zappa are examined in this superb new critical review, which features new in-depth interviews with industry insiders, rock journalists and respected critics plus highlights from the songs that re-drew the face of rock music.

Tanglewood: So you want to be a conductor(en)

In 1985, cameras take a look inside the Berkshire Music Center, the most prominent pre-professional classical music academy in the US. Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Slatkin and others work with the next generation younger conducting talent.

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: The First 50 Years(en)

Go behind the scenes with one of London's most important musical institutions.

The Secret of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony(en)

Ian Hislop and John Eliot Gardiner reveal the story behind Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Described as the 'greatest 'great' piece ever written,' its opening notes are among the most recognisable in history. But no one really knows what Beethoven was trying to express with this piece. The traditional wisdom is that he is railing against fate and his deafness. But John Eliot believes the music expresses Beethoven's belief in the French Revolution. This is turbulent music from a turbulent man living in a turbulent age. John Eliot and Ian Hislop bring to life the exciting and dangerous times that shaped Beethoven personally and creatively.

Muhai Tang - In The Ocean Of Music(de)

MUHAI TANG – IN THE OCEAN OF MUSIC is a portrait of Chinese conductor Muhai Tang’s extraordinary life. Born in 1949, the founding year of the People’s Republic of China, and raised during the Cultural Revolution, it seemed as if he would have to abandon his dream of a career in music. However, his talent, perseverance and the support of Herbert von Karajan ultimately brought him to the world’s concert halls. Today, Muhai Tang is a global nomad. A wanderer between the worlds which he unites with music. His personal history, interspersed with historical caesurae, is typical for Chinese of his generation. He gained access to western culture early on through music. Muhai Tang’s life and work are exemplary of a changing China and the enrichment of the world by an artist between East and West.

Giacomo Puccini – Die dunkle Seite des Mondes(de)

Eric Satie: Reloaded(en)

In 2025, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the death of Erik Satie, father of minimalist music. His texts, brimming with humor and despair, and rare archives of his fellow travelers, tell the story of a man filled with doubt, a composer ferociously ahead of his time. His pieces continue to inspire even the most avant-garde artists.

Slovenská filharmónia v Dubaji(sk)

Bilder, die man hören kann(de)

A portrait of the film-composer David Raksin, made for German television. Released in 1994.

Benjamin Britten and His Festival(en)

A behind-the-scenes look at the Aldeburgh Festival and the opening by The Queen of the new concert hall at Snape.

Gidon Kremer: Back to Bach(en)

The film includes rare archival footage and tells in a very personal way of Gidon Kremer's encounters with Johan Sebastian Bach's music, accompanying the famous violin virtuoso in rehearsals, recording sessions and discussions with a few trusted confidants.