This concert recording from 1961 is one of the last recordings with two outstanding musicians from Basie’s band, Joe Williams and Joe Newman, who both departed from the band in 1961 to pursue solo careers. Joe Williams, known for having a deeper and…

There was probably no other artist, who was involved creatively in so many stages of the development of Jazz music as Duke Ellington. His sonic individuality originated in his peculiar style of composing and arranging, in which he was interweaving…

Thelonious Monk is famous for his unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Ruby, My Dear", which is part of the "Thelonious Monk Quartet" recording. He is also the second-most-recorded…

Cole Porter is one of the most famous American artists of the past century. Surprisingly, this new film is the first in-depth documentary that gives a unique insight into his life and work. Porter expert Wilfried van den Brande travels in Porter’s…

Max Lorenz was at the height of his career as a heldentenor in 1941. As a homosexual with a Jewish wife in Nazi Germany, he would have faced deportation. However, as Hitler’s favourite tenor and a symbol of his times, he was protected by Hitler and…

‘My Favourite Opera – Katia Ricciarelli’, which will be released in May 2013, portraits the Italian star soprano Katia Ricciarelli. Katia Ricciarelli is best known for her roles in Rossini, Verdi and Puccini Operas but also appeared as Desdemona in…

‘My Favourite Opera – Barbara Hendricks’ intertwines three related strands: firstly the distinguished soprano Barbara Hendricks discusses her international career as a singer; secondly we follow the preparation for the 1990 production of Donizetti’s…

World famous bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi prepares for a staging of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at Bolgogna’s historic Teatro Comunale, working alongside conductor Riccardo Chailly and stage director Luca Ronconi as well as a distinguished cast of…

Violinist, composer and conductor, living through two world wars, caught between east and west, capitalism and communism: The remarkable and glittering life of German artist Paul Dessau is more than a good story – it cries out for the medium of film…

The finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is renowned for his interpretations of contemporary music and has given countless premières of new works. He has led critically acclaimed festivals of music by Berlioz, Ligeti, Schoenberg…