Following a highly successful small-group jazz concert at New York Town Hall on May 17, 1947, Armstrong's manager Joe Glaser dissolved the Armstrong big band on August 13, 1947 and established a six-piece small group. This group was called the All…

Fritz Kreisler once said that the two greatest performing musicians of the twentieth century were Pablo Casals and Andrés Segovia. He had two prime ideas in mind, first, their extraordinary spirits and second, the fact that both elevated their chosen…

On the 8th of June 1968 Vladimir Ashkenazy, with his Icelandic wife and their two children, arrived at their new home in Reykjavik in Iceland. It was a crucial moment in their lives. They had left the Soviet Union, with the help of Nikita Kruschev…

On August 30th 1969 five young artists, all of whom were beginning to be established as international artists of the highest rank, came together to play Schubert's "Trout Quintet" in the new Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Their names: Itzhak Perlman…

Hallelujah is full of dramatic contrasts, both visually and musically - from the grandeur of the full orchestra and chorus to the simplicity of two choir boys singing a prayer on the Nave steps.

In 1808 the composer and violinist Louis Spohr was invited to a rehearsal in Beethoven's house of the D Major Piano Trio, Opus 70, No.1 known as The Ghost, and wrote of the occasion: "It was not an enjoyable experience. First of all the piano was…

1970 was the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth and, to mark the occasion, Daniel Barenboim and Christopher Nupen collaborated on a thirteen-part series about the man and his music. Close friends at the time, Barenboim as artist and…

Carlos Kleiber is paradox - a conductor who dislikes performing in public. Son of the great Erich Kleiber, he detests routine performing, and always gives his utmost whenever he conducts. This film gives us a fascinating glimpse into the brilliant…

John Williams is almost certainly the most accomplished performer on the Spanish classical guitar that the world has ever seen. Guitar technique was considerably developed and extended in the early years of this century by Andrés Segovia, but he was…

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…