The Little Drummer Boy: An Essay on Mahler by Leonard Bernstein

Of Love, Death, and Beyond: Exploring Mahler's Resurrection Symphony(en)

“What is this life—and this death?” Gustav Mahler famously asked when composing his second symphony. Does consciousness “continue” on a higher cosmic level, he wondered, or is it “only an empty dream?” Narrated by renowned baritone Thomas Hampson, this film explores the musical, biographical, and philosophical background of the monumental work. Viewers are treated to beautifully produced historical reenactments as well as interviews with many of the world’s most respected Mahler scholars and biographers, including Henry-Louis de La Grange, Donald Mitchell, Morten Solvik, and others. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum and theologians Catherine Keller and Neil Gillman also add their insights. Woven throughout is a critically acclaimed performance of the symphony featuring members of the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of maestro Neeme Järvi.

Attrazione D'Amore/Voyage to Cythera(en)

Attrazione d'Amore is a touching illustration of the unique relation that has developed between the Conductor Riccardo Chailly and his famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Voyage to Cythera navigates through wonderful musical quotes made of performances conducted by Berio, rehearsals, archival documents and interviews featuring Riccardo Chailly and Louis Andriessen.

Mahler(en)

Famed composer Gustav Mahler reflects on the tragedies of his life and failing marriage while traveling by train.

Lucerne Festival 2009 - Abbado conducts Mahler No. 4 Rückert Lieder(en)

The charismatic and inspiring Claudio Abbado and the magnificent mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená, with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, hold the audience spellbound in this live recording from Lucerne Festival in Summer. Mahler’s five Rückert-Lieder – in a profoundly moving and rapturously received performance – precede Mahler’s sublime and deeply personal Fourth Symphony. This extraordinary work is executed with power, passion and sensitivity, with Magdalena Kožená giving a transcendent rendition of the final movement.

Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 [Paavo Järvi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra](en)

The release of Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 1 + 2 starts the release the complete Mahler cycle with Paavo Jarvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra on DVD and Blu-ray. Each Symphony will have an introduction by Paavo Jarvi.

Lucerne Festival: Mahler: Symphony No. 7(en)

Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra in this performance of Mahler's seventh symphony recorded in 2005.

Lucerne Festival: Mahler: Symphony No. 6(en)

Live performance of Gustav Mahler's 'Symphony No.6' at the 2006 Lucerne Festival. Claudio Abbado conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which includes soloists such as violinist Kolja Blacher, cellist Natalia Gutman and clarinettist Sabine Meyer.

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” – Lucerne Festival(de)

“It would be hard to find anything greater, more significant or more moving anywhere in musical life today: total harmony of mind and heart, poetry and outcry, fear and consolation, knowing and feeling,” declared the Berne paper ‘Der Bund’ after this stunning performance of Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony in August 2003 by the newly founded Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Claudio Abbado had formed this ensemble from famous instrumentalists, celebrated chamber-musicians and experienced soloists from the world’s best orchestras, and the event was sold out months in advance. The ‘Neue Zürcher Zeitung’ reported: “Once again the applause at the end was unequalled; the immense final chord … broke a tension that had lasted over 90 minutes without relaxing for a moment.”

Lucerne Festival: Mahler: Symphony No. 1; Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3(en)

The charismatic and inspiring Claudio Abbado and the mesmerising young pianist Yuja Wang, with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, hold the audience spellbound in this opening concert of the 2009 Lucerne Festival. Prokofiev's popular and vibrant Third Piano Concerto demonstrates the composer's sharp musical wit, and Yuja Wang is a brilliant exponent of the work. Following this, and chiming beautifully with the festival's theme of the relationship between art and nature, Mahler's First Symphony is given an illuminating and rapturously received performance.

Lucerne 2007: Abbado conducts Mahler 3rd Symphony(en)

For this performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 3, recorded live in 2007 at the Congress and Concert Hall Lucerne, Claudio Abbado and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra are joined by the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and the Tölzer Knabenchor. The soloist is Anna Larsson.

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 Resurrection(en)

In 2005, the Staatsoper Berlin and its orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin under musical director Daniel Barenboim, celebrated a series of events to celebrate the 80th birthday of French conductor and composer Pierre Boulez. Artistically associated for decades with Barenboim and Berlin, Pierre Boulez is one of today's most distinguished composers and conductors. As part of the celebration, Boulez conducted a performance of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony at the Berlin Philharmonie. With his uncompromising approach to the score, Pierre Boulez's Mahler readings have long fascinated critics and audiences alike. Boulez eschews the romanticized readings common in performance tradition and, instead, reveals the real joy and terror in Mahler's large-scale symphonies.

Mahler: Symphonies 1-7(en)

The unforgettable performances by Claudio Abbado and the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA of Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 1−7 are newly celebrated in a set which showcases their exceptional quality – both audiovisual and musical. Claudio Abbado has set new standards in the interpretation of Gustav Mahler’s works; he and his exclusive ensemble of hand-picked musicians held audiences spellbound in these concerts. REPERTOIRE: Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1-7; Five lieder based on poems by Friedrich Rückert; Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26

Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89(cs)

Vladimir 518, uncompromising rapper, artist, stage designer and activist, is a rare phenomenon, who not only writes books, but publishes them as well. Today also a respected authority primarily on pre-1989 architecture, he has written not only a major publication on the subject, but also the story for two audiovisual works treating the same theme, which were shot by Jan Zajíček, renowned director of music videos. In addition to the recent TV series we have the eagerly anticipated feature-length film which, through its fascinating and impressive exploration of Czech and Slovak architecture of the latter half of the 20th century, offers exclusive insight into extraordinary buildings and unique individuals living below the Tatra Mountains. Karel Och (kviff.com)

Ecce Homo Bedřich Smetana(cs)

Tajemství života KHM(cs)

Isaiah vs. The Hodag(en)

A young man living with his parents in Wisconsin comes face to face with a terrifying monster while searching for the elusive cryptic known as the Hodag.

Japan's Tsunami: How It Happened(en)

An investigation by Professor of Geological Sciences, Roger Bilham, of the science behind the earthquake and tsunami off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011.

The Spark: The Origins of Pride(fr)

A story of the LGBT struggle from the 1960s to the present, after the Stonewall riot sparked the militant action in New York that was to spread around the world. From San Francisco to Paris via Amsterdam, between the first Gay Pride, the election of Harvey Milk, the French "decriminalization", the AIDS epidemic and the first homosexual marriages, these few decades of struggle are embodied through numerous testimonies of actors and actresses of this revolution rainbow.

Bellini and Mantegna: Renaissance Rivals(de)

The mysterious parallel story of Italian painters Andrea Mantegna (ca. 1431-1506) and Giovanni Bellini (ca. 1435-1516), brothers-in-law, public rivals and masters of the early Renaissance.

Belarus: An Ordinary Dictatorship(fr)

It’s the last dictatorship of Europe, caught in a Soviet time-warp, where the secret police is still called the KGB and the president rules by fear. Disappearances, political assassinations, waves of repression and mass arrests are all regular occurances. But while half of Belarus moves closer to Russia, the other half is trying to resist…

Das Rheingold(de)

From the gorgeous scene deep in the river Rhine that opens the opera, up to the magic Rainbow Bridge that appears at the end, leading to a glistening Valhalla, Otto Schenk’s production captures the scenic world of Wagner’s Ring as brilliantly as James Levine and the Met orchestra capture the musical world. The cast is incomporable: an astounding James Morris as the young god Wotan, the great Christa Ludwig as his wife Fricka, incandescent Siegfried Jerusalem as Loge, the wily god of fire, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha as a complex Alberich.

FILM(en)

A boy walks through an abandoned building and films the interior. Suddenly his camera disappears.

Let's Face It(en)

A soldier stationed on an army base and his fiancé, who runs a women's "fat farm" nearby, want to get married but don't have enough money. Three customers of the "fat farm" scheme to get back at their philandering husbands by hiring the soldier and two of his buddies as "escorts" for the weekend. Complications ensue when the husbands show up unexpectedly.

Sweet Stepmother(hu)

The child's must have a mother! - This is the doctor's instructions, and a young widow will do everything so that little girl's mood will change.

Wallander: The Container Lorry(sv)

A semi-trailer found dumped and full of dead people leads Kurt Wallander and his team to a convent where the nuns have been assisting illegal refugees into Sweden via Poland.

La garganta del diablo(es)

Main Street on the March!(en)

This Best Short Subject Academy Award winning film begins in the spring of 1940, just before the Nazi occupation of the Benelux countries, and ends immediately after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It chronicles how the people of "Main Street America", the country's military forces, and its industrial base were completely transformed when the decision was made to gear up for war. Original footage is interspersed with contemporary newsreels and stock footage.

Jackplot(en)

Two handsome twenty-somethings, Kevin and Jay, drive home from the races after having won the jackpot, excited about their newfound fortune. The newlyweds fantasize about how to spend their bag of cash, but disagreement turns into bitterness when Jay claims ownership of the win and prize. As tensions mount and tempers rise, distraction becomes inevitable and the ride home turns into a race towards tragedy from which fate will ensure no one benefits from the windfall.

Chamomile(el)

She is alone. The land of the living is far away, while the world of the dead smells like chamomile.

24 Milchkühe und kein Mann(de)

The farmer's wife Elli is determined after the unexpected death of her husband, despite high debt and against the advice of their adult children to manage their farm on. At the same time she dreams after 25 years of marriage, which consisted mainly of work, finally the great love. A partner agency, she met the friendly and down to earth from Zimbabwe Raymond know. Both are sparks at first, but above all the men in the village of Africans met with suspicion and prejudice. Against the odds, Elli is willing to fight for their happiness.

Growing Young(en)

Minks, 16, is living with her Nan who has dementia. Unaware of what Dementia really is, Minks is trying to understand the severity of her Nan’s forgetfulness. The two women share a unique bond, despite their generational gap, which is highlighted by Nan’s good sense of humour. However it’s only a matter of time till Minks is forced to realise she can no longer care for her Nan on her own.

American 30s Song(en)

“Begins with a portrait of the filmmaker’s father, moves through imagery of various forms of transportation (cars, boats, trains, and planes), and concludes with a ‘Postlude’ in which filmmaker Jerome Hill deplanes from a jet.” –Gerald R. Barrett & Wendy Brabner, STAN BRAKHAGE: A GUIDE TO REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

Rapport från Stockholms sexträsk(sv)

Stockholm in the 70's. A shady world of sex clubs and porn shops. "Report from the red light district of Stockholm" might as well been called Mondo Stockholm. It is a Swedish pseudo documentary designed as cruising the underbelly of Stockholm, with a unhealthy mixture of authentic and faked scenes. The street scene of the night. An entire striptease number. A dark drama shot from a car driving through the central Stockholm, while the reporter interviews a prostitute in the backseat about her tariff.

Iron Blood Guard(zh)

North on Evers(en)

In NORTH ON EVERS James Benning takes the road movie seriously, making his circular trip across the U.S. a marvelously photographed, intensely felt, and disturbing portrait of contemporary America. In many ways, this recent film is a departure of Benning’s earlier films which are characterized, at times, by extremely long, carefully planned takes and a minimal narrative approach. In NORTH ON EVERS, the shots are kept short with a narrative that is direct and detailed, like a diary or a long series of postcards to a friend. What this work shares with the other films is a dry wit and a deep interest in the American social landscape.

Diablillos de arrabal(es)

In a poor neighborhood in Mexico City, two gangs of kids fight for control of the center where they work as "boleros", musicians or announcers. "Completo" joins the gang led by "Rorro", a rival of the group headed by "Curricán".

Peter Gabriel - Live In Athens 1987(en)

In October 1987 after many months on the road, it was in the elevated surroundings of the hillside open-air theatre at Lycabettus overlooking Athens that the So tour came to a climactic close. The three nights were filmed in what was the first-ever Peter Gabriel concert to be committed to film.

Noreen(en)

Two guards are headed to a house where there has been a shot due to a statement of a neighbour who called the police. What can possibly happen there? The most unexpected!