Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
His playing too advanced for small-town churches, his cantatas far more complex than those of his contemporaries (and thus under-appreciated), Bach initially found his genius thwarted. This program surveys the amazing achievements of the man of whom...
Richard Wagner
In Lohengrin, Wagner links arias with recitatives - unbroken musical continuity is born. In Tristan und Isolde, he changes the very role of the orchestra. And in The Ring of the Niebelungen, he invents the leitmotif. This program charts the fortunes...
Johann Sebastian Bach: a documentary portrait
This first-class documentary biography of Bach shows us the places and the documents of his life: the houses in which he lived, the organs on which he played, the report cards he got in school, and the letters he wrote to excuse his innovations and ...
The great composers: Handel
A German-born English composer, George Frederick Handel was one of the last of the Baroque masters. He was known chiefly as an opera composer and producer, but his fame today rests mainly on his English oratorios, especially THE MESSIAH. His music h...
The great composers: J. S. Bach
This program details the events and influences that shaped the development of Johann Sebastian Bach. Combined with stunning period images, paintings and feature film inserts, the program explores the life and times of Bach against a background of or...
The great composers: Beethoven
This film details the events and influences that shaped the development of Ludwig van Beethoven. Combined with stunning period images, paintings and feature film inserts, this program explores the life and times of Beethoven against a background of ...