The Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world’s greatest ballet company with an astonishing heritage. Before emigrating to the West, George Balanchine studied in St Petersburg and was a member of the Mariinsky. However, Jewels dates from late in his…

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s Master Class at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is one of the most famous lieder singers of his generation. He is greatly admired for his interpretive insight, note-perfect control of the tonal…

A dim light picks out the outlines of the hall. Suddenly a massive shadow appears and moves swiftly over to the keyboard, the only brightly lit surface to stand out from the large coffin-like box in the centre of the stage. There follows the vaguest…