Bartok, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski : three journeys through dark landscapes by Simon Rattle
Call Number: DVD ML240.5.B37 2004
Publication Date: 2004
Streaming Video
After the Storm: The American Exile of Béla BartókWhen Béla Bartók fled to New York in 1940, he carried his love of folk melodies to Columbia University, where he became a research fellow studying Serbo-Croatian music. In this timeless program, friends and associates—including Yehudi Menuhin and the late Sir Georg Solti—join Bartók’s sons Peter and Béla, Jr., to reflect on the Hungarian composer’s last five years, in which he wrote the Concerto for Orchestra, one of his greatest compositions. In the words of the English newspaper The Guardian, this documentary is "an oddly affecting portrait of a composer who, they say, rarely smiled and spoke little, but—in the words of Georg Solti—had the aura of a holy man." (76 minutes)
Arnold SchoenbergTo pursue new directions in music, Schoenberg bravely abandoned traditional tonal arrangements, composing atonal works that would eventually lead to the development of his unique Twelve-Tone System. In this program, musicologists David Rosen and Michel Fischer discuss the dramatic technical changes as well as the historical contexts of Schoenberg’s music. Historic performances include Pierre Boulez conducting Moses and Aaron and Transfigured Night, Op. 4; Glenn Gould’s interpretations of Pieces for Piano, Op. 25; Erich Leinsdorf conducting Chamber Symphony No. 1; Jeffrey Tate conducting Chamber Symphony No. 2; and extracts from A Survivor from Warsaw and Pierrot Lunaire. (27 minutes)
Arnold Schoenberg: My EvolutionWith Schoenberg’s lecture at UCLA as the narrative track, the musical illustrations he cites, and with photographs, manuscripts, and period footage, this program offers a unique picture of music struggling into the 20th century, of atonality, and of Schoenberg himself. (51 minutes)
Beautifully Scary: Contemporary Music in AmericaThis film explores the trends in contemporary music in America over the last half of the 20th century and beyond. Interviews with some of the most influential American composers reveal the circumstances that shaped modern classical music today, and the creative visions that have emerged from it. The film features some of the innovative work being done through short sequences from a variety of ensembles. Interviews with leading performers of this music also reveal the impact that it has had on the fabric of modern American culture.
Charles Ives : American PioneerBernstein discusses and performs the music of Charles Edward Ives (1874-1954), whom he considers the first great American composer. The program includes performances and analyses of several pieces by Ives, including The Gong on the Hook and Ladder, Washington's Birthday, The Circus Band March, Lincoln, The Great Commoner, and The Unanswered Question.
Claude DebussyWhat the painters and poets of the Impressionist movement sought to capture in their media, the French composer Debussy realized in music. This program looks at the techniques Debussy used to create pictures in tones and how he sought to express mood and melody in dramatically new ways. Among the selections featured are Herbert von Karajan conducting Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer, Leonard Bernstein conducting Iberia, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli performing Sails, Samson François performing L’Isle Joyeuse, and Alain Kremski performing Pagodas. (27 minutes)
A Copland CelebrationIn this program, Aaron Copland's 70th birthday is celebrated with a performance of the Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestraandan abridged version of the Ballet Suite from Billy the Kid.Leonard Bernstein analyzes both compositions, describing how Copland incorporated jazz and folk music.
Dmitry Shostakovich: A Man of Many FacesShostakovich is arguably one of the great composers of the 20th Century. In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his death in 1975 we take the opportunity to revisit his life and works. Never before has a filmmaker had the chance to draw on the complete symphonies of the composer, his six concertos, his opera Lady Macbeth and chamber music to demonstrate how Shostakovich managed to uphold creative freedom in spite of the demands of Social Realism. We hear about major setbacks in 1936 and 1948 through rare interviews with the composer himself and his colleague Rudolf Barshai. An evaluation of key works by Valery Gergiev rounds off this picture of a genius, highly decorated and frequently misunderstood.
Eras of Music History: ModernismThis program features the music of the modern period, from 1910 to the present. The Romantic trend of fragmentation continued apace during this period. Some composers continued to develop older traditions, while others shot off in vastly different directions, experimenting with atonal music, serialism, experimental and minimalist music. Some used traditional instruments in unconventional ways, overturning principles previously considered fundamental. During this period, popular music (which had been around for centuries) found a new mass audience with the advent of new media, and film music became a new genre. The advent of electrical instruments, amplifiers, and synthesizers, as well as the use of computers in creating and manipulating sound also had a huge effect on the development of new musical forms. Composers of this period include Strauss, Stravinsky, Bartok, Gershwin, Ravel, Schoenberg, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Cage, Glass, Bernstein, Britten, Copland, and Williams.
The Genius of Paul HindemithBernstein pays tribute to Paul Hindemith, who had died since the previous year's Young People's Concert. He discusses Hindemith's use of dissonance and tonality, and he conducts the orchestra in their performances of some of Hindemith's pieces, including Three Exercise Pieces, No. 1, Piano Sonata No. 2, Quartet No. 3, Opus 22, and Kleine Kammermusik Opus 24, No. 2 among others.
Holst: The PlanetsBernstein conducts the Philharmonic in Holst's orchestral suite. Five of the seven movements—Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Uranus—are performed, and then Bernstein improvises a musical theme for Pluto, whose discovery in 1930 post-dated the Holst composition.
John Cage : Journeys in SoundOn the occasion of the 100th birthday of the American composer, John Cage, in autumn 2012, this documentary honors one of the most extraordinary protagonists of 20th century music. The program is directed by Oscar-winner Allan Miller, whom the New York Times called "America's foremost filmmaker of documentaries on classical music." Shot in America, Germany, and Japan, the program premieres rare archival footage; presenting concert excerpts and a set of short stories; featuring associates of Cage and contemporary artists, playfully delineating different aspects of the composer. Protagonists are Yoko Ono, David Tudor, Christian Wolff, Steffen Schleiermacher, Toshio Hosokawa, Mayumi Miyata, Calvin Tomkins and many others. The film was awarded "best documentary" at the Golden Prague Festival 2012 and the best educational program at FIFA Montréal 2013. (Please note that there is some German and Japanese spoken without translation in the film)
Maurice Ravel - “The Color of Music”Ravel, a French composer who loved Spanish rhythms, once said of his most famous and sensuous piece, Boléro, “It is 17 minutes of the orchestra without any music”. We look at the history of Boléro, one of the most popular pieces of music of any period, and how it brilliantly defines color in music. We explain its Hollywood appeal (heard in several films) and how it has remained an audience favorite for more than seventy years.
Music in Time: Today & TomorrowMusic of our time is harder to assess; we should remember that today’s war-horses were in their own time shockingly modern, and that contemporary audiences often spurned those whom we most venerate today. This program presents a broad cross-section of modern music and musical trends, leaving to listeners the guess as to which will be tomorrow’s classics. Contents include excerpts from: Lennon and McCartney’s When I’m 64; Varèse’s Ionization; Stravinsky’s The Firebird, Rite of Spring, Symphony in C; Copland’s El Salón México; Tippett’s Double String Concerto; Messiaen’s Pentecostal Mass; Stockhausen’s Kontakte; Boulez’ Le Marteau sans maître; Berio’s A-Ronne; Ligeti’s Melodien; Nono’s La Fabbrica Illuminata; Henze’s El Cimarrón; Cage’s Improvisations from "Songbooks." (58 minutes)
Music in Time: The Turn of the CenturyAs we move into the 20th century, music is in transition from Romanticism to Modernism, from self-expression to Realism—or to the attempt to escape from reality to bygone eras. Performers include James Galway and the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernstein, Böhm, and von Karajan. Contents include excerpts from: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly; Debussy’s Syrinx, La Mer; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde; Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht; Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan und Isolde; Berg’s String Quartet; Richard Strauss’ Til Eulenspiegel, Salome; Mahler’s Symphony No. 10. (58 minutes)
Music in Time: War and PeaceIn the period between the two World Wars, composers sought to express in music the jarring and discordant sense that civilization was giving way to barbarism. During the same time, jazz burst upon the international musical scene. Performers include the Moscow Classical Ballet Company, Maxim Shostakovich conducting his father’s Symphony No. 7, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Sir Peter Pears and Galina Vishnevskaya in Britten’s War Requiem, and an electric performance of An American in Paris by Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Contents include excerpts from: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, Ragtime; Elgar’s Cello Concerto; Satie’s Three Waltzes of the Fastidious Dandy; Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag; Hindemith’s 1922 Suite for Piano; Milhaud’s La Création du monde; Prokofiev’s Quintet in G minor; Gershwin’s An American in Paris; Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G; Weill’s Kleine Dreigroschen Musik; Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion; Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 (‘The Leningrad’); Britten’s War Requiem. (61 minutes)
The Music of the 20th Century: Leaving Home (7 parts)Performances led by Britain’s renowned conductor Sir Simon Rattle have won their share of critical acclaim and international awards. Now, go with Rattle—dedicated champion of modern music—and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on an exhilarating journey through the world of 20th-century orchestral music. See how composers from Mahler to Stravinsky to Turnage left old musical foundations behind in their search for new musical expression. The range of the music is wide—30 composers in all—and represents an extraordinary kaleidoscope of orchestral images. Some sounds will seem new, some familiar. All represent the pinnacle of 20th-century musical genius. 7-part series, 52 minutes each.
Olivier Messiaen: The Music of FaithOlivier Messiaen played a leading role in the evolution of 20th-century music. In this classic interview, the late composer talks on topics such as his love of nature and his fervent Christian faith, two themes that profoundly shaped his work; his views on rhythm and tonal color; his relationship with his mother, the poet Cécile Sauvage; and his professorship at the Paris Conservatoire. Film clips of Messiaen improvising on the organ and notating birdsong for his compositions—plus excerpts of his music, some of which are performed by his wife, the celebrated pianist Yvonne Loriod—provide a deeper appreciation of his special genius. (79 minutes)
Prokofiev: The Prodigal SonHere is a breathtaking portrait of one of the 20th century’s musical giants, a man who sought to stand aloof from the turbulent events of his time only to be swallowed up and crushed by them. The program offers superb performances of judicious selections of his works, from the barely-known products of his childhood through the canon of his famous works, from solo piano and vocal pieces to orchestral and ballet selections; it also interweaves stills and biographical reenactments with archival footage of the fateful times through which he lived. The questions this program raises about the relationship between Prokofiev’s sources, his goals as an individual and a musician, and his musical achievements will inevitably lead to a more thorough examination of his work. (92 minutes)
The Road to ParisBernstein discusses three composers: George Gershwin, Ernest Bloch, and Manuel de Falla, who all went to live and work in Paris around 1900. He disucsses the influence Paris had on these composers' creations. Performances include An American in Paris by Gershwin, Bloch's Schelomo: Hebrew Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra, and finally, de Falla's The Three Cornered Hat: The Millers Dance, and The Final Dance.
Salute to Aaron CoplandOn the occasion of Aaron Copland's 60th birthday, Bernstein discusses his music and conducts the Philharmonic in performances of An Outdoor Overture, the "Dogmatic" movement from Statements, music from the film, Our Town, Hoe-Down from Rodeo, and baritone William Warfield sings The Boatman's Dance and I Bought Me a Cat. In conclusion, Aaron Copland conducts El Salón México.
Sergei Rachmaninoff - “Under The Influence”He was a composer, conductor and a virtuoso pianist with incredibly large hands. We examine Rachmaninoff's triumph over a three-year depression (ignited by critical reviews of his first symphony) through radical hypnosis therapy administered by Russian psychiatrist Dr. Nikolay Dahl. We feature his most enduring work, his Concerto No. 2, which he dedicated to his doctor. And we follow Rachmaninoff's career to America where Hollywood discovered his sweeping melodies and exploited them for their own use.
Thus Spoke Richard StraussLeonard Bernstein examines Richard Strauss' musical interpretation of the writings of Frederich Nietzche. The orchestra performs Thus Spake Zarathustra, a musical tonal poem about mortality and immortality, rebirth and transcendence.
The Turn of the CenturyAs we move into the 20th century, music is in transition from Romanticism to Modernism, from self-expression to Realism—or to the attempt to escape from reality to bygone eras. Performers include James Galway and the Vienna Philharmonic under Bernstein, Böhm, and von Karajan. Contents include excerpts from: Puccini’s Madama Butterfly; Debussy’s Syrinx, La Mer; Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde; Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht; Wagner’s Prelude to Tristan und Isolde; Berg’s String Quartet; Richard Strauss’ Til Eulenspiegel, Salome; Mahler’s Symphony No. 10. (58 minutes)
