Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

Mar 23, 2017

2h 10m

★ 10.0

A documentary about the composer of the Adagio for Strings

Overview

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.

Genres

Music

History

Documentary

Production Companies

Zen Violence Films

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty Trailers

Cast

Self

Thomas Hampson

Self

Leonard Slatkin

Self

Marin Alsop

Self

John Corigliano

Self

Jenny Oaks Baker

Every year, the Berliner Philharmoniker hold a kind of classical-music fête with a bright, cheerful concert to end the season. In 2009 about 22,000 people had come together at the Berlin Waldbühne to enjoy the traditional summer picnic concert. The theme of the evening was “Russian rhythms”, and star conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Yefim Bronfman, one of the most famous pianists in the world today, presented a superb selection of Russian music. Repertoire Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, op. 71, Overture, The Christmas Tree, March, Pas de deux (Intrada) Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor, op. 30 Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps Lincke: Berliner Luft

0.0

Karel Svoboda: Šťastná léta

Jan 16, 2020

No overview available.

6.8

Facing the Music

Jul 7, 2001

Anne Boyd, one of Australia's leading contemporary composers, teaches music at the publicly funded University of Sydney. This documentary chronicles a year in the life of an academic department that's under the financial gun.

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0.0

Tibor Frešo

Jan 1, 1976

No overview available.

7.0

Beethoven · Missa Solemnis (Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann)

Mar 7, 2011

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9.0

Beethoven · Missa Solemnis (Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan)

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No overview available.

5.0

Songs of Love from Hawaii

Oct 30, 2024

Embark on a mesmerizing musical journey through the multi-faceted history of Korean American immigrants in Hawaiʻi with SONGS OF LOVE, a captivating reverie of song and history.

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0.0

Mozart's Requiem

Sep 24, 2023

Witness an epic, heart-rending journey of the soul, as Opera North, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Jazzart Dance Theatre and Cape Town Opera combine for a powerful performance. Filmed at Leeds Grand Theatre, this unforgettable contemporary dance staging of Mozart’s great choral lament is choreographed by Dane Hurst and conducted by Garry Walker. Featuring soloists Ellie Laugharne, Ann Taylor, Mongezi Mosoaka and Simon Shibambu alongside the Chorus and Orchestra of Opera North.

7.0

Aida - Arena di Verona

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The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.

0.0

Brahms: Complete Symphonies

Jan 28, 2014

After the great success of his Beethoven cycle, Christian Thielemann now turns with his new orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, to the symphonic work of Johannes Brahms. Bonus features include: an extensive 52 minute interview with Christian Thielemann on Brahms' Symphonies and provides and in-depth look into his interpretation of Brahms.

7.1

TÁR

Sep 23, 2022

As celebrated conductor Lydia Tár starts rehearsals for a career-defining symphony, the consequences of her past choices begin to echo in the present.

0.0

Pierre Fournier: Classic Archive

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Part of the 'Classic Archive series, this programme features full-length, complete musical performances coupled with encore material as well as rare bonus footage.

0.0

Winter Allegro

Invalid Date

No overview available.

6.4

Paris Blues

Sep 27, 1961

During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls and must decide between music and love.

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0.0

Bin nur ein Jonny

Jan 31, 2008

No overview available.

0.0

Beethoven Missa Solemnis

Jan 1, 2012

With this performance of the Missa solemnis Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Honorary Guest Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, once more attained the status of a living legend, due mostly to his wide-ranging expertise of music from the Baroque and Classical era. The highly acclaimed soloists are Marlis Petersen (Soprano), twice the singer of the year by the renowned Opernwelt magazine, Elisabeth Kulman (Alto), Werner Güra (Tenor), winner of the BBC Music Magazine Award for the best vocal performance, and Gerald Finley (Bass), Grammy-Awardwinner for the best opera recording. They are accompanied by the famous Netherlands Radio Choir.

7.0

Die Deutschmeister

Aug 11, 1955

Young Stanzi who is visiting Vienna helps a young corporal and musician to become famous for his marching song "Die Deutschmeister".

7.0

Mr. Holland's Opus

Dec 29, 1995

In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but generations of students inspired through his teaching, Holland must redefine his life's purpose.

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0.0

Storočnica – Eugen Suchoň

Jan 1, 2014

No overview available.

5.5

Bauçà

Jan 2, 2009

Changing colors according to the music.

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Samuel Barber: Absolute Beauty Trailers