Paul Smaczny Movies

The Orchestra Mozart - a group of chamber musicians put together by Claudio Abbado in 2004, and including such giants as Alois Posch, Michala Petri, Jacques Zoon and Ottavio Dantone - headlines this classical interpretation of Johan Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concertos 1-6. Violinist Giuliano Carmignola provides added instrumental support. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This volume - one in a series of releases entitled Discovering Masterpieces of Classical Music - introduces unschooled viewers to the work of Richard Strauss, with a documentary on the Alpine Symphony emceed by music journalist Habakuk Traber, and a performance of that orchestral work by the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. Giuseppe Sinopoli conducts. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The performance release Kurt Masur: A Life in Music - The Anniversary Gala from Leipzig finds noted European conductor Masur leading the MDR Radio Choir and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig symphony in renditions of works by Moniuszko, Dvorak, Dukas, Bizet and other composers. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Pianist Stefan Vladar and the Kammerorchester Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach perform the acclaimed works of legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in a mesmerizing stage show captured live in Berlin on November 13, 2005. Compositions featured in this release include "Divertimento in E Flat Major, K113", "Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 20 in D minor, K. 466", and "Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551 'Jupiter'". ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the early-mid 1990s, a unique and special friendship blossomed between two brilliant minds: that of renowned symphony conductor and classical pianist David Barenboim, and that of the late Edward Said, a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University. The former was a Jew, the latter not only Palestinian but a vociferous Palestinian activist, yet incredibly, the two men forged a deep-rooted and enduring bond that transcended the boundaries and limitations of two cultures traditionally at violent odds with one another. The story grows increasingly wondrous with the knowledge that the men worked in unison to expand their transcendent camaraderie into the cultural realm, and there breached harmonization in the Middle East with stunning efficacy. They began with Barenboim's decision to conduct symphonies in the West Bank, then collaborated on the creation of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a musical ensemble balanced equally between Israeli and Palestinian artists - an accomplishment that many hoped would serve as a harbinger of future achievements in the beleaguered Middle East. With his documentary portrait Knowledge is the Beginning, filmmaker Paul Smaczny chronicles the pair's awe-inspiring accomplishments, including the debut of the West-Eastern in Weimar on the 250th anniversary of Goethe's birth, Barenboim's trips to Jerusalem and Ramallah (and his reception of the Wolf Prize) and the orchestral ensemble's 2005 tour. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This program consists of a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9) under the conduction of Claudio Abbado. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Celebrate 300 years of musical history in this release that offers the works of some of the world's most acclaimed composers as conducted and performed by the some of the most renowned contemporary musicians and conductors. Some of the twelve compositions featured on this release include Maurice Ravel's "Piano Concerto for the Left Hand as performed by pianist Elisso Virsaladze with conductor Nikolai Alekseev, Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme: Act II: Quando me'n vo (Musette's Waltz)" as performed by soprano Anna Netrebko with conductor Yuri Temirkanov, and Camille Saint-Saens' " Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28" as performed by violinist Victor Tretyakov with conductor Nikolai Alekseev. Additional music is provided by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide