The Romantic movement-a reaction against the orderliness of 18th-century classicism and 19th-century industrialization-strove above all for self-expression. The Romantics composed for themselves and the new bourgeois audiences that now frequented concert halls and were acquiring pianos for their living rooms. Chopin's A-Flat Polonaise is performed in Chopin's house outside Warsaw, Mendelssohn's Elijah and Brahms' Requiem in the halls where they had...

This program covers the wealth of music during the age of Elizabeth I in England and its spread from the Church and the courts to the middle classes; the emergence of opera in Italy and France; the celebration of St. Cecilia; Elizabethan madrigals. Music of Byrd, Purcell, Monteverdi, and Lully is performed by Anthony Rooley and the Consort of Musicke, the Taverners Choir, London, and the Zurich Opera. Contents include excerpts from: Morley's Fire,...

The French Revolution ushered in a century of nationalism and political change throughout Europe; composers identified with causes and expressed them in music. Performances include Berlioz' Requiem, conducted by Leonard Bernstein; Wagner's Meistersinger with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra; Verdi's Requiem with the La Scala Opera Company. Contents include excerpts from: Berlioz' Requiem; Liszt's Legend, Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Themes; Verdi's "Va...

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...

Until the 19th century, fashionable Russian audiences preferred Western music. Then came Glinka, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Scriabin, and Tchaikovsky. This program covers the distance from folk tradition to the founding of the Russian style of music by Glinka. Performers include James Galway, Osipov's Balalaika Orchestra, and the Kirov, Bolshoi, and Royal Ballets. Contents include excerpts from: Glinka's Russlan and Ludmilla...

Filmed at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach himself was the organist; the placement of choirs makes Bach's choral intentions clear in a way no recording or concert performance can. With Regina Werner, Rosemarie Lang, Peter Schreier, Siegfried Lorenz, Theo Adam, and the Choir of St. Thomas Church, Leipzig.

This installment of the Famous Composers series offers an introduction to the life and work of German composer Wilhelm Richard Wagner. Wagner's musical interests were initiated by his stepfather's involvement in theater, an influence that remained important to the composer and his philosophy of "the total work of art." His adult life is characterized by a tumultuous marriage, troublesome debt, and political exile. The film explores his socialist politics...

This introduction to the life and music of Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn from the Famous Composers series begins by contextualizing life in the eighteenth century Austro-Hungarian empire. Born to a wheelright and community leader, Haydn grew up with the folk culture and song presented to him by his parents. His talented was recognized early, and the film follows young Haydn to St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, where he struggled as a choirboy....

Why is "Amazing Grace" the most-performed hymn in the English language? In this film, Bill Moyers seeks to understand the enduring power that has carried this song across continents and through time-and the compelling story of the slaver-turned-preacher who wrote it. This disc includes the full-length program Amazing Grace as well as a special video introduction by Mr. Moyers and a menu of chapters, ten segments derived from the program that spotlight...

This program from the Famous Composers series provides an overview of the tumultuous life and influential work of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, born to a large family with a history of military service. The film details Tchaikovsky's early loss of his mother, and how it influenced him greatly throughout his life. His musical education at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory distanced the composer from both his family, who wished him to...