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.
In his lifetime Haydn achieved a degree of fame that easily surpassed that of Mozart and Beethoven. In Search of Haydn is an intricate portrait of Haydn's life told through performances and interviews from today's most admired classical musicians.
In Search of Beethoven offers a comprehensive documentary about the life and works of the great composer. Over 65 performances by the world's finest musicians were recorded and 100 interviews conducted in the making of this beautifully crafted film. Eleven interviews are included in the Extras and Six complete movements.
Shot over the course of a year, this intimate portrait of provocative composer John Adams presents scenes of the artist at work and at play against the backdrop of dramatic American landscapes that reflect the themes of his music. Though he has a number of credits to his name, Adams is best known for his unconventional opera "Nixon in China," which explores the former U.S. president's meeting with Mao Zedong in 1972.
Switzerland's annual Verbier Festival has become one of the premier international musical celebrations, attracting a who's who of world-renowned artists to the Swiss countryside for more than two weeks of classical music performances. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the festival, the world's greatest pianists gathered to play arrangements of classical favorites for four to 16 hands on one to eight pianos. Pianists Leif Ove Andsnes, Nicholas Angelich, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Claude Frank, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, James Levine, Mikhail Pletnev, and Staffan Scheja perform works by Mozart, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Smetana, Sousa, and Gottschalk. Also featured is Bach's "Concerto in A Minor," performed with the Verbier Birthday Festival Orchestra: Renaud Capuçon, Sarah Chang, Ilya Gringolts, Gidon Kremer, Vadim Repin, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Christian Tetzlaff, Nikolaj Znaider, Yuri Bashmet, Nobuko Imai, Mischa Maisky, Boris Pergamenschikow, and Patrick de Los Santos.
Emmy Award winning documentary, directed by Peter Rosen, about the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1989, featuring interviews with the contestants and jurists, and footage from rehearsals and performances, including by competition winner Alexei Sultanov.