Beyond the Grace Note (2020)

Karajan: Portrait of a Maestro

An account of the life and work of controversial German orchestra conductor Herbert von Karajan (1908-89), celebrated as one of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century.

Jiří Bělohlávek: But I just love conducting so much

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The Conductor

Leonard Bernstein’s protégée Marin Alsop reveals how she smashed the glass ceiling to become an internationally renowned conductor.

Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided

One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.

Conductivity

Conductivity is a film about creative leadership told through the story of three young conductors at the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland; I-Han Fu (Taiwan), Emilia Hoving (Finland) and James Kahane (France). When stepping on the podium, they are put under a magnifying glass. Conductor training, in essence, is leadership training. The film gives a unique viewpoint to follow the students, as this is the first film about conductor training at the Sibelius Academy.

Karajan: Beauty As I See It

With a career that includes a 35-year tenure as composer of the Berlin Philharmonic and record sales topping 200 million, Herbert von Karajan is one of the most legendary figures in 20th-century classical music. Comprised of archival footage, performance highlights and interviews with the likes of Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christa Ludwig and Seiji Ozawa, this retrospective chronicles the life and times of the iconic Austrian maestro.

The Art of Conducting: Great Conductors of the Past

Documentary about sixteen great conductors of the 20th century.

Bach pour tous

A musical journey in the footsteps of conductor Michel Brun, an atypical character, an atheist, who nevertheless plays sacred music, and who devotes his life to Johann Sebastian Bach. With the musicians of the Ensemble Baroque de Toulouse.

Sex, Maracas & Chihuahuas

A joyful tale filled with music. The rise of radio. The jazz big bands. The legendary clubs and ballrooms. The soundtracks of the great musical films and TV shows. Sex and romance, gangsters, luxury cars and palm trees. From Barcelona to New York, with a stop in Cuba. The birth of Las Vegas. The sound of the maracas. Chihuahuas everywhere. The incredible life story of Xavier Cugat (1900-90).

Herbert von Karajan: Maestro for the Screen

Documentary on conductor Herbert van Karajan, focusing on his early adoption of audio and video recording technology and his impetus to make use of it to preserve his musical legacy for future generations.

Muhai Tang - In The Ocean Of Music

MUHAI TANG – IN THE OCEAN OF MUSIC is a portrait of Chinese conductor Muhai Tang’s extraordinary life. Born in 1949, the founding year of the People’s Republic of China, and raised during the Cultural Revolution, it seemed as if he would have to abandon his dream of a career in music. However, his talent, perseverance and the support of Herbert von Karajan ultimately brought him to the world’s concert halls. Today, Muhai Tang is a global nomad. A wanderer between the worlds which he unites with music. His personal history, interspersed with historical caesurae, is typical for Chinese of his generation. He gained access to western culture early on through music. Muhai Tang’s life and work are exemplary of a changing China and the enrichment of the world by an artist between East and West.

Hearts and Flowers

A flirtatious hotel orchestra leader provokes conflict.

What the Fly !?

A lizard conductor leads his symphony orchestra when suddenly he encounters a noise that disturbs the course of his majestic work.

The Castle of Sand

Two detectives are tasked to investigate the murder of an old man, found bludgeoned to death in a Tokyo rail yard.

A Singing Girl

A girl (Alice Babs) from the country moves to Stockholm to become a singer.

To Joy

Two violinists in the same orchestra fall in love and get married, but they can't get along.

Unfaithfully Yours

Before he left for a brief European visit, symphony conductor Sir Alfred De Carter casually asked his staid brother-in-law August to look out for his young wife, Daphne, during his absence. August has hired a private detective to keep tabs on her. But when the private eye's report suggests Daphne might have been canoodling with his secretary, Sir Alfred begins to imagine how he might take his revenge.

Days of Happiness

Emma, a talented conductor and rising star on the Montreal scene, has a complicated relationship with her father and agent Patrick. She has to face up to her emotions and decide whether she wants to successfully combine her career with her love affair with Naëlle, a recently separated cellist and mother of a young son.

Dead Again

In 1949, composer Roman Strauss is executed for the murder of his wife. In 1990s Los Angeles, a detective comes across a mute amnesiac woman who is somehow linked to the Strauss murder.

Maestro

An aspiring conductor finds himself in his dream position, conducting an orchestra that doesn't exist.

The Hollywood Bowl

Tom is conducting a symphony at the Hollywood Bowl when Jerry comes out to co-conduct.

Orchestra Rehearsal

An orchestra assembles for a rehearsal in an ancient chapel under the inquisitive eyes of a TV documentary crew, but an uprising breaks out.

The Hidden Face

A Spanish orchestra conductor deals with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend.

Maestro!

Due to the economic recession, the orchestra is shut down. The members hear later that the orchestra will be reformed. Only some of the members, who have not yet been rehired, gather for the orchestra. For the first time since they disbanded the orchestra plays together, but they sound horrible. At that time, the conductor Tetsusaburo Tendou appears in front of them.

Hidden Face

Su-yeon, a cellist in an orchestra led by her fiancé and conductor Sung-jin, disappears one day, leaving behind only a video recording. Sung-jin is devastated over the loss of Su-yeon, but feels a strong attraction to Mi-ju, a cellist who fills in for his fiancée. Then one rainy night, Sung-jin and Mi-ju get swept away by their mutual desires for each other and commit an unforgivable act at Su-yeon’s house. Meanwhile, Su-yeon, who is thought to have gone missing, remains trapped in a secret room inside her house, and watches the naked truth unravel before her.

Drea & Cloe

Two ambitious women, both orchestra conductors, meet in a gothic mansion and are instantly drawn to each other. But their attraction is complicated when they discover they’re rivals for the same prestigious job. What begins as a charged flirtation quickly unravels into a liquor-soaked night of head-banging, broken furniture, sharp objects, and messy confessions of love. Their volatile mix of desire and ambition turns into a darkly comic clash, where the line between romance and rivalry keeps blurring.

John Adams conducts John Adams

Like many of John Adams’ operas, Doctor Atomic is based on recent world historical events—here, the effusive Robert Oppenheimer, “father of the atomic bomb,” anxiously awaits the bomb’s first test in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Adams adapted the work into a symphony, comprising its three main acts. In the second half of the program, Adams conducts his 2015 violin concerto, Scheherazade.2, which restages the tale of the One Thousand and One Nights heroine as a strong woman navigating a patriarchial society, incarnated by the solo violin part. The work was composed specifically for Canadian-American virtuoso Leila Josefowicz and co-commissioned by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, who perform it to perfection. The evening then closes out with Tromba Lontana, an orchestral fanfare written to mark the 150th anniversary of Texas’s independence from Mexico in 1836.

Carmen Get It!

Jerry runs into the Metropolitan Opera, trying to evade Tom.

Fujimi Orchestra: Cold Front Conductor

Tonoin Kei, a musical genius, becomes the new conductor of Fujimi, clashing with the group's leader, Morimura Yuuki, who is unaware of Kei's feelings for him.

Rambling 'Round Radio Row #5

The Happines Boys Billy Jones and Earnie Hare are invited to a party, but separate themselves from the rest of the guests, so they can not be urged to perform. However, they are watching the other guests from radio doing their stuff: song team Reece & Dunn, as well as the Funnyboners are singing, Smith Ballew and Frances Langford are exchanging love songs, Arthur Tracy tries his luck with a girl, just to find out that she prefers Bing Crosby and 4 orchestra leaders are trying to find out, who the best conductor is, by conducting a piece of recorded music....

The Marching Band

Diagnosed with leukemia, a successful orchestra conductor learns that he is adopted, and his younger brother is in a village marching band. The conductor decides to help them win a regional contest.

Lost Cinemas of Greater Des Moines

Nearly an hour of amazing footage, pictures, music, and stories about Des Moines' moviegoing past that will surely make you see our town in an entirely new light.

A Skin So Soft

Jean-François, Ronald, Alexis, Cédric, Benoit and Maxim are gladiators of modern times. From the strongman to the top-class bodybuilder, to the veteran who has become a trainer, they all share the same definition and obsession with overcoming their limitations. They are waiting for the next competition, working hard in the gym and following extreme diets.

Spain '68

Spain, 1968. An analysis of the political and social situation of the country, suffocated by the boot of General Franco's tyrannical regime. (Filmed clandestinely in Madrid and Barcelona during the spring of 1968.)

Have You Seen the Listers?

From award-winning filmmaker Eddie Martin comes an up-to-the-minute snapshot of the life and creative processes of outspoken ‘visual freedom fighter’ Anthony Lister, Australia’s most renowned street artist.

Meeting Snowden

Moscow, Russia, December 2016. Edward Snowden, Larry Lessig and Birgitta Jónsdóttir meet for the first time in a secret place. Apparently, Russia is interfering in the US presidential elections while it mourns the death of its ambassador to Turkey. Snowden carefully chooses his interviews, so nobody really knows something about him. As the world prepares for Christmas, they gather to discuss the only issue that matters, their common struggle: how to save democracy.

Wrestling's Last Rebel

"Wrestling's Last Rebel" is the definitive look at the life and career of Bruiser Brody told by the people who knew him best. Bruiser Brody was the most unpredictable and charismatic wrestler of all time. Independent, blood, guts, and box office, no one matched Bruiser Brody. Many have tried but there will never be another like him. From becoming a star in the United States to an international mega-star in Japan, Bruiser Brody marched to the beat of his own drum and did things his way. With a rebellious spirit running through his veins, Brody carved out a niche as an independent wrestler before the indies ever existed.

Little Richard: Keep on Rockin'

Keep On Rockin', aka Little Richard: Keep On Rockin' (USA video title) is a film of a 1969 Little Richard concert at the Sweet Toronto Peace Festival, originally released in 1970. Richard performs a number of his greatest hits, including "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Long Tall Sally," and "Tutti Frutti." The film is in color.

Displaced Perssons

Per Persson left Sweden 40 years ago. In Pakistan he fell in love and became the father of two daughters. Trouble starts when the girls grow up and the family decides to emigrate to Sweden. When they end up living in a caravan outside Hässleholm, all their expectations are dashed.

Understanding Lennon/McCartney

This 5-part series is the most intimate, comprehensive biography ever made on John and Paul. Told almost entirely through their own words and music, with information culled from a variety of direct sources and compiled in a way that has never been done before, it directly challenges many of the dominant narratives in Beatles mythology.

Ole Paus – Låt for låt

The satirist, singer and writer Ole Paus has died. Fortunately, Norwegian public broadcasting have many memories from his more than 50 year long career.

The world according to Lieberman or God in a cage

Scientist Efim Lieberman, one of the founders of biophysics, shocked many with his eccentricity. But his contribution to science cannot be underestimated. Together with his colleague Vladimir Skulachev, he proved Mitchell's hypothesis about energy exchange in a cell. This was the second most fundamental discovery, after the discovery of the DNA double helix. In the late 70s, Efim Lieberman created a theory of the quantum computer and the quantum nature of consciousness, many decades ahead of time. And at the end of his life, he sets himself the task of creating new knowledge that unites all sciences and religion.