No-one did more to expand the audience for opera than the tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He reconnected an elite art-form with popular audiences throughout the world, through his unashamed enthusiasm for life and his unique ability to communicate to vast…

In Offenbachs's Secret, Academy Award winning director István Szabó throws new light on the timeless interplay between power, helplessness, courage and conformity in his character studies of two of the most scintillating personalities of France's…

New Year’s Eve Concert 2014 opens with Sir Simon Rattle conducting music by Rameau: a suite of instrumental pieces from the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes show French Baroque music at its finest. For his appearance at this year’s New Year’s Eve…

This up-to-date documentary about Felix Mendelssohn is based on the original letters of the composer and his sister Fanny, combined with numerous evocative period images. Through a blend of music and words, the most distinguished Mendelssohn…

The music world has known Menahem Pressler for more than half a century and mainly for his work with the famous Beaux Arts Trio. He was the heart of this ensemble and when in 2008 the trio decided to separate, it was not the end for Menahem Pressler…

In 2003, after a career spanning nearly forty years, Julia Varady discreetly retired from the public stage. She now dedicates her time to teaching. While for most great singers the transition from performing to teaching generally follows signs of…

Martha Argerich has long been hailed as one of the greatest and most uniquely imaginative pianists. She is most admired for the pure joy of her music-making and her individual approach to each work, each situation and each audience. A wild child and…

This special edition, released for the occasion of Martha Argerich’s 80th birthday, combines some of her most impressive recordings. At the same time, it is testimony to the enormous musical and creative versatility with which she has succeeded in…

WHEN THE FIRE BURNS When the Fire Burns is a musical documentary portrait. Filmed throughout Spain and Argentina, this documentary captures the rich sensuality of Manuel de Falla’s music, in counter-point to the near monastic austerity of his life…

Verdi first presented his Messa da Requiem in the Church of San Marco. It was his emotional response to the death of the Italian national poet Alessandro Manzoni. He poured his entire dramatic skill, the fruit of thirty years of theatrical work, into…