Handel and His Music

Six by Sondheim

December 2013 •English

This intimate documentary explores the life and career of the stage legend Stephen Sondheim through six of his best-known songs.

Peter Dvorský

April 2022 •Slovak

Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine

January 2003 •English

An overview of Cole Porter’s musical contributions to the film Broadway Melody of 1940.

Leonard Bernstein: The Gift of Music

Invalid date •English

Leonard Bernstein narrated by legendary screen star Lauren Bacall. The movie also relies extensively on Bernstein's own words to provide the counterpoint to the abundant visual material. Highlights include excerpts of Bernstein conducting masterworks by Beethoven and Mahler, as well as of the maestro with the New York Philharmonic in Moscow in 1959 before an audience which included composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the dissident poet Boris Pasternak. It also contains never-before-seen footage, such as outtakes from televised concerts and interviews. Among these special treats: the dashing 28-year-old maestro representing the U.S. at the 1947 Prague Spring Festival – possibly the earliest extant film of Leonard Bernstein.

Women Composers

November 2018 •German

When Leipzig pianist Kyra Steckeweh realized that her repertoire almost exclusively consisted of music composed by men, she began searching for pieces written by female composers. Her research in archives, libraries, and publishing houses quickly brought to light a variety of remarkable piano pieces that have been buried in history and rarely performed.

The First Motion of the Immovable

January 2019 •French

It all begins with a childhood memory: that day when the father of the future filmmaker Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva forces him to listen to certain music that initially terrifies him; a distant echo from the past that leads him to follow the trail of his mysterious ancestor, the Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988), who claimed that his music was directly inspired by the gods.

Kosmische Brocken - Frank Zappa und die Deutschen

November 2018 •German

Till The Clouds Roll By: Real to Reel

April 2006 •English

A short documentary on Jerome Kern and the making of Till the Clouds Roll By.

Elton Medeiros - Or the Sun Shall Be Born

September 2020 •Portuguese

Beautiful tribute to the composer Elton Medeiros. Together with his last partner Vidal Assis, he sings, tells stories and moves.

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story

July 1990 •English

Biographical portrait of one of Broadway's most brilliant songwriters. Told through the use of archival material and interviews with the rich and famous that knew him, this portrait concentrates on his career and his public life events.

Music by John Williams

November 2024 •English

His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams' own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

Strings Attached

June 2020 •English

This documentary delves into the lives, on and off stage, of four young classical musicians who give up the prospect of solo careers to form The Dover Quartet. We are with them from their meeting as students at the Curtis Institute of Music, through their breakthrough win at a prestigious string quartet competition, and when they find themselves touring internationally as their careers take off.

Great Russian Composers

January 1993 •English

These biographical drama documentaries explore the lives and careers of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov and Chaliapin.

La familia Figueroa: una dinastía musical

October 2015 •Spanish

Documentary on the life and accomplishments of the members of this uniquely talented musical family. The film focuses on the Figueroa family’s history within the context of its creative universe, dating back to the 19th century. Through the use of photographs, historic film footage, recordings, sheet music, newspaper clippings, and posters, the musical trajectory of the family is brought to life and their role in transforming the musical history of Puerto Rico and the world is portrayed.

High Fidelity: The Adventures of the Guarneri String Quartet

September 1989 •English

Relationships, rehearsals, performances, hobbies, and family life of the members of the Guarneri String Quartet.

Bolero: A Global Hit

January 2019 •English

Bolero is played every 15 minutes in the world. This film tries to answer how this famous melody inspired and influenced the world pop-culture? It explores the complexity and the richness of a piece so simple in appearance: the emotions it triggers, vertigo it creates, the words it inspires.

Maestro

September 2015 •English

Maestro follows Grammy award-winning conductor Paavo Järvi and an array of brilliant musicians as they perform to sold-out music halls across the world.

The Bolero

October 1973 •English

The first part of this Academy Award-winning short consists of a behind-the-scenes look at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra as it prepares to perform Ravel's "Bolero." Individual musicians offer their thoughts as workers set up chairs and music stands; there are also comments by conductor Zubin Mehta and scenes of Mehta and the orchestra rehearsing. The rest of the film features a complete performance of "Bolero" with striking images of the orchestra as the music relentlessly approaches its climax.

Bennewitzovo kvarteto

September 2022 •Czech

Slovenská filharmónia v Dubaji

January 2021 •Slovak