Universal Pictures (Firm)

James Galway takes us backward through time to demonstrate how ageless and universal the human impulse is to make music. Working chronologically backward from Ligeti to Gregorian chant, Galway outlines the development of Western music. The impishness in his smile and tone are quickly submerged in the depth of his commitment to music and his enthusiastic conviction that knowledge of musical history is a prerequisite to understanding and that understanding...

This program covers Mozart in Salzburg; Mozart in Vienna; Mozart's operas examined by Sir Peter Hall; the great Mozart symphonies and the Requiem Mass; and Schubert, his piano works, chamber music, and Lieder. Performers include James Galway, the Vienna Boys' Choir, Jorg Demus, and the Amadeus Quartet. Contents include excerpts from: Mozart's Dies Irae and Lachrymosa from the Requiem, Andante in C Major, Piano Concerto K414, Haffner Serenade, Piano...

Music written for public performance in concert halls and theaters required composers to keep abreast of popular styles. Music of Handel, Couperin, Scarlatti, and Rameau is performed by the English Bach Festival, Huddersfield Choral Society, American Boychoir, Academy of Ancient Music, and Wexford Opera Festival. Contents include excerpts from: Handel's Zadok the Priest, Music for the Royal Fireworks, Concerto for Organ in D Minor, Orlando, Messiah;...

This program covers Beethoven, the man who changed the course of music and aligned himself with the forces that changed the course of history. Movements or extracts from the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Symphonies, Quartets Opus 18 and 135, Fidelio, the Appassionata are performed by the Los Angeles, Berlin, and Vienna Philharmonics under Giulini, von Karajan, and Bohm. Contents include excerpts from: Quartet Opus 18 No. 1, Symphony No. 3, Fidelio, Symphony...

This program covers the impact of the Reformation on the history of music; the work of Johann Sebastian Bach; the importance of church organs and chorale singing. Music of Buxtehude and Bach is performed by James Galway, Peter Hurford, the Vienna Boys' Choir, Salvation Army Band, Hellmuth Rilling and the Stuttgart Orchestra. Contents include excerpts from: Luther's Ein' Feste Burg; Isaac's Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen; Schutz's The Lord Jesus Christ,...

This classic silent adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel stars Lon Chaney in his most famous performance, as the disfigured Phantom who falls in love with a young prima donna. Some critics consider it the greatest horror film ever made.

Music 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; Varese's Ionization; Stravinsky's...

As 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, Bohm, 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 Verklarte Nacht; Wagner's Prelude to Tristan...