Until now a concert of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Ramallah was just unthinkable, but Palestine was the centre of attraction when the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra performed there on August 21. Faced with myriad organizational and political…

In 1827, a year before his death, Franz Schubert wrote one of his most important works: the Winterreise. In the song cycle the Austrian composer set the 24 poems of Wilhelm Müller to music and depicted the haunted soul and landscape of the state of…

Inspired by the Tea Ceremony, Tan Dun, the contemporary Chinese composer living in New York, wrote the opera “Tea”. Tea is a tragic love-story set against the background of Chanoyu, the Japanese tea ritual. In “Tea”, Tan Dun combines Eastern and…

Knowledge is the Beginning tells the story of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra where Arab and Jewish young people are sitting side by side. It illustrates how prejudices are surmounted during the rehearsals, the concerts and the laid-back…

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker's summer concerts. With over 20.000 in attendance, they are some of the most popular classical music…

Rebirth of an Opera: Persée in the Court of Atelier is a two-hour performance documentary focusing on the remount of a three hundred year old French Baroque opera based on the Greek Myth of Perseus and Medusa. Rehearsals and corresponding stage…

A genuine première and, over and above that, starring the biggest motion picture composer of the present day: Ennio Morricone. Morricone is well-known to moviegoers his soundtracks are invariably warmly melodic and superbly suited to the films they…

Artists from all over the world contribute their favorite "Love Songs" to an unusual event uniting classical, jazz and world music. "Love Songs" is an entertaining approach of soloists as Mischa Maisky, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roby Lakatos, Misia, The…

In "Moro no Brasil“, the Finnish director, Mika Kaurismäki dives into the overflowing musical diversity of Brazil. Having got to know Brazil well during more than 12 years, Kaurismäki sets out on a 4000 km journey to discover local, popular culture…

In 2001, during the Verdi commemorative year, some of the finest singers of our time assembled in Parma to honour the maestro’s memory in a gala of distinguished singing art. From the start, Verdi had the opera composer’s most necessary gift, the…