Great Composers: Beethoven

Great Composers: Beethoven BBC TV Great Composers Series Narrated by Kenneth Branagh Music performed by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and The Lindsays Conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt DVD Color 59 min. The Great Composers series presents the lives and works of seven musical giants from the Baroque era to the twentieth century. It examines the backgrounds, influences and relationships that make these seven composers part of the history of western music. Each composer's life and work is presented through extensive performance sequences, and through interviews with some of today's greatest artists and most respected authorities. For many people, musicians and laymen alike, Beethoven (1770-1827) is the most admired composer in the history of Western classical music - not only because of the intellectual rigor of his music, but also its expressive power. Beethoven's struggle to resist being defeated by his deafness has a parallel in his music. This program explores all aspects of Beethoven's life, the music and the man, his views on life, politics and the French Revolution. Contributors include conductors Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Michael Tilson Thomas, pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, violinst Peter Cropper from The Lindsays, musicologist Charles Rosen, sociologist Tia de Nora, director Sir Peter Hall, Beethoven expert John Suchet and Beethoven scholars Barry Cooper, Bill Meredith, Basil Deane and William Kinderman. Other films in the series: Mozart #853123 Puccini #853134 Bach # 853135 Tchaikovsky #853137 Wagner #853138 Mahler #853139