Classical music is not supposed to be fun, right? And yet, every concert of the Philharmonix is a living, grooving, finger-snapping testament to the contrary. The Philharmonix’ sophisticated sense of humor allows them to move seamlessly from the…

Towards the end of 1976 Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman made a European tour together, playing duos for two violins and for violin and viola with Zukerman playing the viola part. The tour began with a concert in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in…

A series of recitals by the master pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy at a new peak in his career. Both his audiences and the critics have been aware in recent years of new dimensions in Ashkenazy's playing. This may stem in part from his broadening…

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…

“Trifonov has everything and more. What he does with his hands is both technically and musically unbelievable. And then there is his touch — so gifted with tenderness and at the same time he has the demonic element. I have never heard anything like…

Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi were the two most celebrated artists of the second half of the last century. Made into hostile enemies by their admirers, the two became untouchable goddesses of the opera. To their fans, Callas was known as “the…

Bodas de sangre (Blood Wedding), choreographed by Antonio Gades in 1974, depicts the story written by Federico Garcia Lorca of a bride who, on her wedding night, runs away with her former lover, now a married man with a child of his own. The furious…

Many people live in a closed world. What happens to them when they step onto an arena where they can be themselves, free of their usual roles and status? In the film Closed we encounter four completely different people who once a week leave their…

During the eleventh edition of the famous Easter Festival the Mariinsky Orchestra is travelling across the vastness of Russia by train. In this documentary we will follow the orchestra on this musical journey and on its various concert stations. By…

It is always a great pleasure to see and hear young musicians succeed. The recent of Tchaikovsky's Violin concerto with the amazingly talented Patricia Kopatchinskaja as soloist was one such occasion. "As an interpreter I am most interested in…