Monteverdi is generally regarded as the father of European opera. His "Poppea" is a blood and thunder melodrama, set in Nero's Rome and loaded with passion, jealousy, murder and savage ambition.

The Japanese pianist Aki Takase is a veritable typhoon of power and clarity. Her playing shows what can happen when the European rules of melody, harmony and rhythm come face to face with a distinctly Asian way of thinking!

Germany has a thousand different faces. Cities like Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, Cologne or Munich each have their own musical traditions. With music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, E.T.A. Hoffmann and others. 26 episodes from 6 - 12 minutes.

The form, rhythm and tone of Rabih Abou-Khalil's music usually follow the pattern of Arabian instrumental music, but for his amazingly cosmopolitan sound Abou-Khalil has created a synthesis of Arabian music with Western classical and jazz idioms.

Based on Hogarth's series of prints, "The Rake's Progress" combines the eighteenth century with the twentieth. The highly individualized set of this production, designed by David Hockney, reflects perfectly the "spikiness" of the music, combined with…

A magnificent Christmas concert, with music ranging from motets to popular Christmas standards, performed by Leipzig's world famous boys' choir. A fascinating half-hour documentary examines the history of the choir from its foundation in the early…

The Czech composer based his libretto on the play "Le Voyage de Thésée" by his friend and trusted source of inspiration, Georges Neveux. Martinu is said to have written the opera for Maria Callas. In this production, the role is sung by the…

Three of the world's leading jazz guitarists - Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis, tour Europe following their successful Carnegie Hall concert.

A Scandinavian Kite Festival is coupled with the heart-felt music of Swedish composer, Björn J. Lindh.

ESP 2 is the true legacy of the music of Miles Davis, kept alive by his former sidemen who are now bandleaders in their own right. Together they honor the heritage of the legendary trumpet master.