Bach & Friends

Song for Hope

2022

When diagnosed with terminal cancer, a world renowned trumpet player uses music to give hope from concert stages to mountain tops, proving art is essential to survival.

El corazón del Teatro Real

2018

Documentary about an emblematic institution of the Spanish Arts, Madrid's Teatro Real, or Royal Theatre, released to celebrate it's 2nd centenary anniversary.

The Winners

1999

A searching, melancholy Dutch documentary about the lives of four classical musicians who won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, a victory that did not prove a guaranteed ticket to the top of the classical music world.

Bach: A Passionate Life

2013

John Eliot Gardiner goes in search of Bach the man and the musician. The famous portrait of Bach portrays a grumpy 62-year-old man in a wig and formal coat, yet his greatest works were composed 20 years earlier in an almost unrivalled blaze of creativity. We reveal a complex and passionate artist; a warm and convivial family man at the same time a rebellious spirit struggling with the hierarchies of state and church who wrote timeless music that is today known world-wide. Gardiner undertakes a 'Bach Tour' of Germany, and sifts the relatively few clues we have - some newly-found. Most of all, he uses the music to reveal the real Bach.

What Difference Does It Make?

2014

A documentary that explores the challenges that a life in music can bring.

Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Here to Make Music

1989

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.

The Sound of Identity

2020

In the spotlight of global media coverage, the first transgender woman ever to perform as Don Giovanni in a professional opera, makes her historic debut in one of the reddest states in the U.S.

Jiří Bělohlávek: But I just love conducting so much

2019

A Modern Man

2017

You could be forgiven for mistaking Charlie Siem for James Bond. Whether he's driving an orange Porsche to his cliff-top Monaco mansion, ordering martinis or looking suave in a designer suit, he is a man on a mission. It isn't to hunt down SPECTRE, but to find perfection in everything he does. Whether it's performing on stage, recording albums, or selecting a suit, Charlie demands the best, of himself and others. Despite an entourage dubbed ‘Charlie's Angels', he's lonesome, and complains that people can't relate to him. Danish filmmaker Eva Mulvad, with patience and panache, delves into this life of privilege to find commonalities of ambition and desire.

Alexander Albrecht

1974

4

2015

A documentary on one of the world’s most exciting string quartets – the Quatuor Ébène – draws viewers into the musicians’ struggle with interpretational details, with colleague-friends – and with themselves.

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

2017

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.