In 1972, when Vladimir Ashkenazy was at a new peak both in his playing and in his career, we planned with him to shoot two recitals for television, one Chopin and one Beethoven. For quite some time he had been extremely reluctant to perform in…

In 1972, when Vladimir Ashkenazy was at a new peak both in his playing and in his career, we planned with him to shoot two recitals for television, one Chopin and one Beethoven. For quite some time, Ashkenazy had been extremely reluctant to perform…

Vladimir Ashkenazy has had a particular affection for the music of Rachmaninoff throughout his professional life, and his performances have long had the ring both of authenticity and of deep commitment. This is not surprising in a Russian-born and…

Vladimir Ashkenazy closed the 1984/85 season in London with a recital at the Royal Festival Hall that was regarded by many of those present as a new peak in his musicmaking. If that perception is correct, it is a remarkable achievement in a career…

In 2011 the Grand Opera Gala in support of the AIDS Foundation was held again at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The chorus and orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin under the internationally acclaimed conductor welcome some of the world's leading Opera…

“Jazz is more than just a style of music”, says Amro Salah. “It’s about freedom.” Salah, a jazz pianist, is an enthusiastic promoter of the genre. Every year he organises the Cairo Jazz Festival, but doesn’t view himself as a festival director: He is…

A film about Georges Bizet and his ill-starred masterpiece. This film has two themes: first the substance and narrative of Bizet's perennially popular opera and second the story of its disastrous première, which had such a dramatic effect on Bizet…

This live recording captures the memorable occasion when these two famous jazz pianists met for the first time in the Kongressaal during the Munich Klaviersommer 1983. On two pianos, they play an exciting version of Round Midnight.

The “Bolero”, originally composed as a ballet, is Maurice Ravel's most successful work at all. The world famous melody of the “Bolero” has been featured in popular music, motion pictures and even video games. Pianist and writer Paul Roberts vividly…

Juan Diego Florez at the Dmitri Hvorostovsky Festival 2019.