Music

This program covers the start of the International Music Festivals and Venice's role as host to Hindemith, Schoenberg, Bartok, and Stravinsky; the rise to fame of Malipiero, Nono, and Maderna; and the role of today's avant-gardists. Live performances in the Albrizzi Palace and on the Lido. (52 minutes)

Copland himself is the key explicator of his own extraordinary musical career, from piano lessons in Brooklyn and study with Nadia Boulanger, a fling as a wild-eyed modernist, and finally to his preeminence in the American musical world. The program features a wealth of Copland music, including ballet sequences with Agnes de Mille dancing in Rodeo and Martha Graham in Appalachian Spring, scenes of Copland conducting, and interviews with Leonard Bernstein and Ned Rorem, who said of Copland, He invented out of whole cloth what it means to be American." Written by Vivian Perlis and produced by Ruth Leon. (58 minutes)"

The enduring power of a single song across continents and time-and the ironic story of how that song was written by a man who traded in slaves-is examined in this program with Bill Moyers. One of the most popular and enduring hymns in the English language, its lyrics were written in the 18th century by the captain of an English slave ship. In the 19th century, the song successfully crossed the Atlantic, as Southern masters and slaves adopted the hymn as their own. Since then, Amazing Grace" has been adapted by scores of performers for a plethora of styles, from country music to gospel to folk. The program features some of these performers as they express what the hymn means to them. Judy Collins sings in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, the very place where she taped her hit recording of the song. She talks about how this song, above all others, carried her through the depths of her alcoholism. Jessye Norman sends "Amazing Grace" soaring across the footlights at New York City's Manhattan Center stage. While in Nashville, Johnny Cash visits a prison and talks about the hymn's impact on prisoners. The folk singer, Jean Ritchie, shares a reunion of her extended family in Kentucky where everyone rejoices together. "Amazing Grace" is also a featured song in the repertory of the Boys Choir of Harlem, which is featured performing the hymn in both New York and Japan. (80 minutes)"

Why is Amazing Grace" the most-performed hymn in the English language? In this DVD, 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 the history of the hymn and some of its notable singers as they reflect on what "Amazing Grace" means to them. Country singer Johnny Cash, opera singer Jessye Norman, folksingers Judy Collins and Jean Ritchie, gospel singer Marion Williams, shape-note singers from Georgia and Alabama, and the Boys Choir of Harlem are featured. (80 minutes plus introduction and chapters) The original VHS version is copyright 1990; the enhanced DVD is copyright 2003."

To pursue new directions in music, Schoenberg bravely abandoned traditional tonal arrangements, composing atonal works that would eventually lead to the development of his unique Twelve-Tone System. In this program, musicologists David Rosen and Michel Fischer discuss the dramatic technical changes as well as the historical contexts of Schoenberg's music. Historic performances include Pierre Boulez conducting Moses and Aaron and Transfigured Night, Op. 4; Glenn Gould's interpretations of Pieces for Piano, Op. 25; Erich Leinsdorf conducting Chamber Symphony No. 1; Jeffrey Tate conducting Chamber Symphony No. 2; and extracts from A Survivor from Warsaw and Pierrot Lunaire. (27 minutes)

J. S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 takes on new life in this Emmy-nominated Discovery Concert(tm). Conductor George Marriner Maull and the Philharmonic Orchestra of New Jersey create an interactive experience through which spectators become intimate with the concerto's third movement and the structure of a fugue. Engaging the live audience in spirited conversation, Maull cajoles them into listening carefully to excerpts played by the orchestra and offering candid responses. A listening guide accompanies the program-providing a visual means with which to follow the music-as well as a study guide with helpful exercises and a vocabulary list for teachers. Both guides are available online. (58 minutes)

This program discusses the instruments in the bass section of an orchestra-particularly the double bass. We see how the double bass, originally developed as an accompanying instrument, was used more prominently by such musical notables as double bass virtuoso and conductor Serge Kussevitzky-mentor of the late Leonard Bernstein. Music by Haydn and others illustrates the use of other bass instruments, including the tuba, bass cornet, serpent, ophicleide, bass saxophone, and bass horn. (28 minutes)

In the 11th century, European musicians tried to make their instruments sound like the human voice. Instead of plucking the strings, they began drawing a piece of wood or bone across them to sustain the tone. By Elizabethan times, the viol was the aristocrat of bowed instruments, while the violin was considered fit only for pubs and parties. This program shows how fashions as well as musical instruments changed. (30 minutes)

The Rhapsody in B Minor requires a range of sensibilities, from lightheartedness to a propensity for shock value. In this program, virtuoso pianist Martino Tirimo leads an engaging master class at London's Royal Academy of Music-pushing his students to find the essence of the Brahms piece, while encouraging each performer to craft his or her individual approach. Artists from the United States, Europe, and Asia take part in this liberating and instructive session. (30 minutes)

The development of brass instruments from the lowly cowhorn. Although trumpet fanfares and brass bands are relatively recent in the history of music, even the bone or wooden ancestors of the trumpet were associated with royalty, pomp, or war. David Munrow explains how pitch variations are achieved with these brasses. (30 minutes)

Beginning with the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, this program provides a detailed look inside that most distinctly American of film traditions, the musical comedy. Interviews with dancer Cyd Charisse, famous for her starring roles in MGM musicals, and Hermes Pan, renowned choreographer and collaborator with Fred Astaire, help to illuminate the advent and evolution of the genre. Excerpts and behind-the-scenes accounts from Singin' in the Rain, 42nd Street, Second Chorus, Flying Down to Rio, The Wizard of Oz, and many other films are included. Specific topics include the impact of the Hays Code, the influence of African-American dance styles, and the decline of the musical during the 1960s. Not available in French-speaking Canada. (52 minutes)

Written by 16th-century Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, The Peony Pavilion is a 19-hour epic opera in 57 episodes that tells a story of youth and love literally triumphing over death. This program follows director Chen Shi-Zheng and the Shanghai Kunju Opera Troupe in their monumental effort of staging the entire production, an event that had not occurred in nearly four centuries. Despite resistance by the Chinese government and the project's inherent difficulties, the debut at the Lincoln Center was an overwhelming success. Coverage of rehearsals, set construction, and costume preparation is combined with interviews with Chen Shi-Zheng and his musical director Zhou Ming, who place this masterpiece in its historical and cultural context. (53 minutes)

What the painters and poets of the Impressionist movement sought to capture in their media, the French composer Debussy realized in music. This program looks at the techniques Debussy used to create pictures in tones and how he sought to express mood and melody in dramatically new ways. Among the selections featured are Herbert von Karajan conducting Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun and La Mer, Leonard Bernstein conducting Iberia, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli performing Sails, Samson Francois performing L'Isle Joyeuse, and Alain Kremski performing Pagodas. (27 minutes)

How musical space" is used to create drama in classical pieces is explored by examining this famous work of American composer Aaron Copland. Mixing small musical steps with giant leaps between notes and chords, the orchestra shows how Copland developed a musical piece full of surprises and the dissonant sounds for which he is noted. (15 minutes)"

One of Debussy's impressionistic Estampes, La soiree dans Grenade vividly recalls the landscapes and architecture of Spain and the Far East. Virtuoso pianist Martino Tirimo directs a thrilling master class in this program-enabling the diverse group of students gathered at London's Royal Academy of Music to achieve the atmospheric tonality that Debussy intended. Artists from the United States, Europe, and Asia visibly benefit from Tirimo's exceptional guidance. (30 minutes)