The little guy with his mustache, his bowler hat and his bamboo cane is world-famous. But, who is the man behind this figure? Mario Schröder wondered the same thing when choreographing “Chaplin”. His rise to fame makes Chaplin a person of public…

Only rarely do musicians win fame as great interpreters of everything they touch. However, the Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau was one such virtuoso. Like his great predecessors Liszt and Busoni, Arrau was renowned for reaching to the stylistic core of…

Ten years ago Russia’s Wonder Children documented the struggles and triumphs of four extraordinary piano prodigies. Now, in Competitors, the cameras return to discover how their lives and careers have developed, and whether time has brought the…

What made Claudio Abbado stand out was his unpretentious, noble character, his democratic understanding of music making and his ability to celebrate the live moment on stage. Claudio Abbado empathized with his musicians. In order to be able to…

“I cannot begin even to describe what I have learnt with these musicians. Maybe they have learnt a little something from me, but that is nothing compared to what I have learnt from them, and the generations that came before.” (Zubin Mehta about the…

“It is a very special art of conducting. One must try to embrace the musicians.” (Bernard Haitink) On 6 September 2019, Bernard Haitink bowed before his audience for the last time: after 65 years on the podium, the 90-year-old exceptional conductor…

A music film with Daniel Barenboim Debussy wanted his piano preludes to be played and listened to privately. This film pays tribute to his wish, featuring Daniel Barenboim interpreting the first book of these delicate musical pieces. Architecture…

They are one-of-a-kind and they are known all over the world: the 12 Cellisten der Berliner Philharmoniker (the Twelve Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic). Their concerts offer the audience the chance to experience the ensemble’s instrumental…

At an attractive mid-range price, this 20 part DVD series brings famous masterpieces closer to the viewer through first class concert broadcasts and an introductory documentary. These audio-visual concert guides to highlights of classical music allow…

A film by Paul Smaczny and Maria Stodtmeier. Venezuela's unique system of music education takes children from violent slums and turns some of them into world-class musicians. "El Sistema" shows how Venezuelan visionary Jose Antonio Abreu has changed…