The Wiener Streichsextett, founded in 1981, probably is one of the most famous ensembles of all time in its genre. In this special recording they perform the String Sextet Op. 4 by Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg. The work named “Verklärte Nacht”…

Jacqueline du Pré caught the public imagination when she was still in her teens. That happened not only because she was one the finest performing musicians that Britain has ever produced - one of the very finest - but because she had a quality that…

The earth on which we live silently remembers the catastrophies of our history but if we listen to the silence of the earth it will remind us of the fate of others who lived before us and from whose suffering we may yet learn. A television film by…

Waltz, a revolutionary thing? Historically, it was the first dance having couples clasping each other, men and women hugging, whirling to the rhythm of its music to the point of giddiness and rapture. A dance with a triple time rhythm both simple and…

German composer Richard Wagner was notoriously anti-Semitic, and his writings on Jews were later embraced by Hitler and the Nazis. But there is another, lesser-known side to this story. For years, many of Wagner‘s closest associates were Jews - young…

Waltraud Meier‘s talent, perfectionism, charisma, unmatched stage presence, text studies and complete devotion to the art of singing have not only made her one of the greatest opera singers of our time, but also one of the most significant performers…

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…

Four German soloists, currently enjoying prime positions on the international concert scene, join together to perform Mozart's remarkable piano quartets in the Ludwigsburger Palace.

«Voyage to Cythera» is a documentary about Luciano Berio's composition Sinfonia. The film concentrates on the third part of the composition, which consists of a number of musical quotes from composers like Mahler, Stravinsky, Boulez, Schönberg and…

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…