In Spring 2009, the year of Joseph Haydn, Xavier de Maistre was invited to the Esterházy Castle in Eisenstadt, where the composer officiated nearly thirty years. After an introduction in which he plays a solo Fantasy on a Theme of Haydn by Marcel…

The 420-member company of the Deutsche Oper Berlin brought "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg", "Tristan and Isolde" and "Lohengrin" to Tokyo. The privately-operated Tokyo Ballet performed "Kabuki" and "M", in Berlin. Our film takes a look at the work…

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…

David Fray’s sparkling talent is such that he is one of the few pianists of the new generation to have signed an exclusive recording contract recently with one of the current majors, Virgin Classics. In January 2008 he recorded a programme entirely…

Sol Gabetta and the Chamber orchestra Basel perform Haydn’s Concert for violoncello and orchestra in C major in the magnificent St. Martin Baroque church in Rheinfelden. The second piece is Plainscapes for mixed choir, violin and violoncello…

Sir Peter Ustinov traces the life and achievements of Felix Mendelssohn. Sketches and drawings by Mendelssohn, extracts from his fascinating correspondence and music performed by the Gewandhausorchester and the Thomaner-Chor are just a few of the…

A 45-minute feature on the subject "love", taking as an example the relationships between Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. The film presents Hélène Grimaud playing excerpts from Schumann's Piano Concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden…

René Pape is a star who represents like no other a new generation of opera singers: casual and up-to-date in appearance, hungry for new challenges and open to ambitious experiments. In the musical film My Heart Is Burning René Pape sings and plays…

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…

Portrait of the famous French producer Pierre Braunberger who started his career in Hollywood. Among his “discoveries” are directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Containing excerpts of 15 of his films this programme tells the amazing…