Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...
An Hungarian youth comes of age at Buchenwald during World War II. György Köves is 14, the son of a merchant who's sent to a forced labor camp. After his father's departure, György gets a job at a brickyard; his bus is stopped and its Jewish occupants sent to camps. There, György find camaraderie, suffering, cruelty, illness, and death. He hears advice on preserving one's dignity and self-esteem. He discovers hatred. If he does survive and returns to Budapest, what will he find? What is natural; what is it to be a Jew? Sepia, black and white, and color alternate to shade the mood.
In 1997, Oscar-winning documentarian Allan Miller embarked on a film project with renowned conductor Zubin Mehta and celebrated Chinese film director Zhang Yimou as they joined forces in a production of Puccini's opera Turandot in Florence. Before the year was out, an extraordinary opportunity arose: to stage Turandot in its original setting in the Forbidden City of Beijing. The outdoor production was an undertaking on an epic scale. A fascinating chronicle of an unprecedented cross-cultural collaboration, THE TURANDOT PROJECT combines the pageantry of this opulent opera production with a spectacular cinematic portrait of the struggles and triumphs of Zubin Mehta and Zhang Yimou to mount their production in this most historic venue of China. (Source: Amazon.com)
The ruthless gangsters of New York and the rough cowboys of the dusty prairie; the magic of cinema and the rich sound of a symphony orchestra. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sarah Hicks, performs masterful pieces by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone, accompanied by Sonny Bono, Bernard Herrmann and Nino Rota.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 1999 concert was conducted by Claudio Abbado and featured Klaus Maria Brandauer, Rias Kammerchor, and Rundfunkchor Berlin. On the programme: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92, Allegro con brio, Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 in G major, op. 88, Allegro ma non troppo, Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 5, Rondo, Finale, Igor Stravinsky: Firebird (parts), Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, Danse générale, Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, op. 78, Alexander's entry into Pskov, Arnold Schönberg: Gurre-Lieder (Excerpts), Paul Lincke: Folies Bergères, March, Paul Lincke: Brandbrief-Galopp, Otto Nicolai: The Merry Wives Of Windsor Overture, Walter Kollo: Solang noch unter'n Linden.
Claudio Abbado conducts the prestigious Berliner Philharmonikerfor during a concert dedicated to Beethoven. The programme includes the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 with the Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev whose dazzling technique adding to a delicate sensitivity merges instinct and intellectual rigour, and the Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125.
The New Year’s Gala Concert is a tradition for the Berliner Philharmoniker and its music director, Sir Simon Rattle. This 2011 concert, Dances and Dreams, has a theme of dances (two Dvorak Slavonic Dances, Stravinksy’s Firebird Suite, Grieg’s Symphonic Dance, Richard Strauss’s Dance of the Seven Veils, and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 1) and dreams (Ravel’s Alborado del Gracisoso and the famous Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor). This generous mix of romantic and impressionistic music shows off the magnificent Berlin ensemble at its best. It is also great to see star pianist Evgeny Kissin at the keyboards.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 2007 concert was conducted by Simon Rattle. On the programme: Alexander Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from the Opera "Prince Igor", Symphony No. 2 in B Minor, Modest Mussorgsky: Introduction to the opera "Khovantchina", Pictures at an Exhibition, Dmitri Shostakovich: Dance from “The Golden Age“, Ballet Suite, Op. 22.
A drug-addicted doctor who works in an asylum discovers that one of his patients is a gifted writer.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 2001 concert was conducted by Daniel Barenboim. On the programme: Bach: Orchestra Suite in D major, Mozart: Divertimento K. 334, Menuett; Rondo for Piano and Orchestra, K. 382, Verdi: “Aida” (Excerpts), Dvorák: Slavonic Dance, Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker”, Waltz of the Flowers, Sibelius: Valse Triste, Strauss: Kaiserwalzer, Op. 437, Kodály: Dances of Galanta, Strauss: Unter Donner und Blitz, Op. 324, José Carli: El firulete, Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1.
One of Modest Mussorgsky's great talents was his unique ability to transpose words, psychological states, and even physical movements, into music. Kent Nagano rises magnificently to the challenges presented by this score. And Dmitri Tcherniakov's fascinating production emphasizes the timeless quality of this sombre tale of intrigue and power struggles reminiscent of a Greek tragedy, reflecting Mussorgsky's own maxim: "The past in the present - that is my task."
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 2009 concert was conducted by Simon Rattle and featured Lang Lang (piano). On the programme: Sergej Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, Frédéric Chopin: Etude, Op. 25, No. 1, Pyotr Tchaikovsky: “The Nutcracker”, op. 71.
In this Baden-Baden concert, Simon Rattle presents a sonorous snapshot of the European music scene in the early 20th century. It includes Richard Strauss’s self-confidently impressive Don Juan, sumptuous songs by Alban Berg, Ravel’s overwhelmingly sensual song cycle Shéhérazade and finally Stravinsky’s both groundbreaking and nostalgic Petrushka. The star guest is the Latvian mezzosoprano Elina Garanca.
Gustav Mahler's fourth symphony and Pelleas et Melisande by Arnold Schoenberg performed by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, conducted by Claudio Abbado. Soprano Juliane Banse is featured on the Mahler symphony
Nele is a young call center agent who moonlights as a cloakroom attendant at the State Opera. When she falls in love with the small-time street dancer Kolja, she must confront the demons of her past and descend into the underworld. At the same time, talent scout Höllbach notices Nele's singing talent and offers her a great opportunity for a career as an opera singer. Axel Ranisch's modern adaptation of Orpheus and Eurydice is a cinematic opera pastiche between Puccini, Handel and Christian Steiffen.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 2011 concert was conducted by Simon Rattle and featured Evgeny Kissin on piano. On the programme: Antonín Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No. 1, Op. 46 in C Major, Edvard Grieg: Symphonic Dance No. 2, Op. 64, Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16, Maurice Ravel: Alborada del gracioso, Richard Strauss: Salome’s dance from “Salome”, Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird, Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor, Antonín Dvořák: Slavonic Dance No. 7, Op. 72 in C Major.
Claudio Abbado conducted Beethoven’s symphonies on many occasions in the Philharmonie in Berlin. But only at the end of his tenure as chief conductor of the Berliner Philharmoniker did he decide to give a performance of the complete symphonies. It was left to audiences of his native Italy to witness these concerts in February 2001 in the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 2004 concert was conducted by Simon Rattle and featured Sally Matthews (soprano), Lawrence Brownlee (tenor), Christian Gerhaher (baritone), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Knabenchor des Staats- und Domchores Berlin. On the programme: Ludwig van Beethoven: Leonore - Overture, Carl Orff: Carmina Burana.
The annual New Year’s Eve Concert is one of the highlights in the calendar of every classical music fan in Berlin and beyond. On New Year‘s Eve, the Berliner Philharmoniker invite an exceptional soloist for a festive gala. Together, the musicians bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. The 1996 concert was conducted by Claudio Abbado and featured Maxim Vengerov (violin) and the Swedish Radio Choir performing: Johannes Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 1, 5, 7, 17, 10 & 21, Johannes Brahms: Gipsy Songs, Op. 103, Maurice Ravel: Tzigane, Johannes Brahms: "Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang", Johannes Brahms: Liebeslieder-Walzer, Op. 52, Maurice Ravel: La Valse, Hector Berlioz: Hungarian March.
