Testing Mozart is a 60 minute film about the "Mozart Effect", the power of Mozart's music to fight disease and increase the mental ability of its listeners. It is common knowledge that cows give more milk and tomatoes grow bigger when played Mozart…

Three generations of listeners have been turned on to the music of mystic singer/ songwriter Terry Callier. During the 1960s, concerts at the "Bitter End" New York, made him a leading figure in the early folk boom. In the 1970s, recordings for Chess…

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…

The life of an orchestra musician is marvelous. Mozart, Schubert and Strauss surround you. All day long you hear beautiful music. What other people pay a lot of money for, you get paid to do. You are gifted, you bring joy into people’s lives…

In August of 2007, Anne-Sophie Mutter performed the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's 2nd violin concerto in Lucerne with conductor Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker. This piece by the Russian composer (born in 1931) is an…

When renowned jazz pianists of the old and new school meet at a "Solo Piano Summit," audiences are treated to many an interesting musical surprise. The "Solo Piano Summit" brings together a handful of top pianists with different musical backgrounds…

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…

This film essay focuses on the music of Claude Chalhoub, a highly gifted violinist and composer from Lebanon, who was classically trained at the Royal College of Music in London. When Chalhoub composes and plays, he has abstract visions – he…

The film documents the maestro's reunion with the Berliner Philharmoniker after 37 years, interviews with former orchestra members and impressive stock footage from post-war Berlin. Also available is the concert recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7…