Chamber Music

Appalachian Journey / Ma, Meyer, O'Connor

Evgeny Kissin: The Gift of Music

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 1, The Music Garden / The Sound of the Carceri (Cello Suites 1 & 2)

"The Music Garden" (60 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello. What if we created a garden inspired by Bach? In their quest for the answer, Yo-Yo Ma and garden designer Julie Moir Messervy journey from Boston to Toronto, across bureaucratic miles of frustration and through seasons of changing hope. Their remarkable tale is movingly documented by filmmaker Kevin McMahon. "The Sound of the Carceri" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 2 for Unaccompanied Cello. Imagine Giovanni Piranesi's dazzling "carceri" (prison) etchings, the unrealized dreams of this 18th-century Italian master architect, brought to life in a computer-rendered 3-D "virtual" collaboration. In this cutting-edge film by Francois Girard, Yo-Yo Ma explores Bach's mysterious Second Suite, creating with his music a sound to match the invented spaces of our imagination.

Beethoven: "Spring" and "Kreutzer" Sonatas/Anne-Sophie Mutter - A Life with Beethoven

Martha Argerich and Friends

A rare filmed performance of one of the greatest pianists of all times, Martha Argerich. Argerich is almost as well known for her reclusive nature as she is for her exciting performances. In this DVD release we are privileged to have captured Martha Argerich at her peak in three separate duets. These collaborations present an involved musical conversation unmatched by any solo performance. Martha Argerich and Nicolas Economou perform Mozart's "Piano Sonata for Four Hands in D major, K. 381," and then, together with Mischa Maisky, Argerich plays Schuman's "Phantasiestücke op.73, No. 1-3." Finally, Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire perform two pieces; Rachmaninov's "Suite for Two Pianos no. 2, Op.17" and Ravel's "La Valse." This DVD release includes the unique feature of optional on-screen analysis of the music being performed as well as subtitle display of the mood and tempo. An in-depth biography of each of the performers is included, as are on-screen liner notes, a glossary of musical terms and contemporary history of the compositions. This remastered footage was originally filmed in 1982, and the music was remixed from the original multitrack tapes to a 5.1 dolby digital mix. Audio options include the original non-compressed stereo mix.

At the Heart of Chamber Music

This DVD provides music lovers a guide for understanding the language of chamber music, and offers musicians techniques that may enable thyem to play better.

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 2, Falling Down Stairs / Sarabande (Cello Suites 3 & 4)

"Falling Down Stairs" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 3 for Unaccompanied Cello. Although he knew the music well, Mark Morris had never thought to choreograph a dance based on Bach's "Third Suite." He felt the music was complete in itself. But through a close collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, an astonishing dance emerges, a true three-way collaboration between musician, dancers and filmmaker Barbara Willis Sweete. "Sarabande" (56 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 4 for Unaccompanied Cello. A great musician instinctively builds a complex and intimate relationship with his listeners. This dramatic film from director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) explores a number of such relationships, revealing the generosity of spirit and love that flow from Yo-Yo Ma's performance.

Bach - Musical Offering in C Minor / Kuijken

In the beautiful setting of the historical Fest Hall in Leipzig's old City Hall, the brothers Kuijken and Robert Kohnen give a live performance of the Musical Offering on historical instruments in an arrangement for transverse flute (Barthold Kuijken), violin (Sigiswald Kuijken), viola da gamba (Wieland Kuijken) and harpischord (Robert Kohnen).

Yo-Yo Ma - Inspired by Bach Vol. 3, Struggle for Hope / Six Gestures (Cello Suites 5 & 6)

"Struggle for Hope" (55 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 5 for Unaccompanied Cello. Master Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando sets out on a journey to discover, through traditional Japanese dance, the universality and emotion of Bach's Fifth Suite. The result is this revelatory, cross-cultural and trans-oceanic collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma, sensitively documented by filmmaker Niv Fichman. "Six Gestures" (53 min.) features Bach's Suite No. 6 for Unaccompanied Cello. Bach and ice dance? Yo-Yo Ma believes that world champion ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have done for their sport what Bach did for the cello--that is, to dramatically redefine the artistic possibilities and to shatter all preconceptions. This mesmerizing film by Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park) explores the outcome of this unlikely collaboration, with Bach himself as the dramatic counterpoint.

The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra - Four Bach Suites

The music of the Eighteenth century features delicate textures and refinement as well as expressiveness and energy. This was the age of the smaller chamber orchestra, and Bach was one of the compositional geniuses of the century. In this recording, the award-winning Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, which specializes in authentic renditions on fine reproduction period instruments, performs four delightful Bach suites, including No. 1 in C, No. 2 in B Minor and Nos. 3 and 4 in D Major. 70 minutes.