Rostropovich: L'archet Indomptable

Prepared, shot, and edited over a period of five years from 1976 to 1981, the three-part series Glenn Gould Plays Bach has so far only been seen via the limited parameters of television transmission. Now, for the first time, this testment is made available with a sound and picture reporduction faithful to our original conception. 　　Glenn Gould's first recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations in 1955 had made his name legendary. This film, shot in New York in April and May 1981, marks his life--as if interpolated between the two peaceful Arias and the two recordings, the one opening, the other closing his career--with a symbol of cyclic perfection. 　　——Bruno Monsaingeon

"Les Pianos De La Nuit" is a collection of piano recitals performed live in the heart of Provence during the International Piano Festival of La Roque D'Antheron in July and August 2002. Conceived specifically for DVD release, these virtuoso performances by contemporary artists can claim authoritative status as classic 21st-century archival footage. R. Strauss Ständchen, Op. 17 No. 2 Serenade Till Eulenspiegel, Op. 28 Godowsky Studies after Chopin’s Studies No. 47 Badinage No. 28 Study in Octaves No. 22 Study for the Left Hand Debussy L’Isle joyeuse Hummel Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 11 Liszt Totentanz, S 525 Ligeti L’Escalier du diable (No. 13 from: Études pour piano II) Saint-Saëns Study in the Form of a Waltz, Op. 52 No. 6 Tchaikovsky Pas de deux from “The Sleeping Beauty” Adagio Variation I : Désiré Variation II : Aurore Coda Alkan “20 Years” from the Grand Sonata, Op. 33 “The Four Ages” Delibes Pizzicato Polka from “Sylvia”

A retrospective of the life and work of Glenn Gould, Hereafter synthesizes an incredible wealth of archival material from various sources.

Swing, Sing and Think is a chronicle of the young French pianist David Fray's recording sessions of three of Bach's famous clavier concertos. Each chapter features a few minutes of Fray at home in Paris explicating his interpretation of the score at his piano, followed by rehearsal and recording sessions he conducts with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, one of the finest chamber orchestras in Europe.

This documentary introduces the unbelievable talents of Valeriy Sokolov. A short introduction gives way to concert footage guaranteed to amaze. The repertoire includes Beethoven's 7th Violin sonata, Prokofiev's 2nd sonata, Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and Miroslav Skorikh's Spanish Danse.

Part Two of the legendary trilogy of television films on Bach with Glenn Gould, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, now for the first time together in a 3 DVD set. An Art of the Fugue (1980), a CBC-Clasart co-production which contains discussions and performances of fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, the later use of the fugue by other composers, and performances of fugues 2, 4 and 15 from The Art of the Fugue.

A film written and directed by Bruno Monsaingeon. Drawing on archival performance footage and interviews, The Art of Violin evokes the vast panorama of the world of the violin in the 20th century and its most outstanding performers. It is hard to express the explosions of joy occasioned by the discovery of long sought-out but undreamed-of archives, such as some silent - and later resynchronised - film footage, or the few brief moments of Chausson's Poeme played by Ginette Neveu, the silent yet moving (in every sense of the word)images of Kreisler and Ysaye, the awe of a young Menuhin, the superb single camera shot of David Oistrakh performing the cadenza from Shostakovich's First Concerto. Contributions from Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel, Hilary Hahn, Laurent Korcia, Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman, and Mstislav Rostropovich, Produced by Pierre-Olivier Bardet & Stephen Wright.

Bruno Monsaingeon wrote and directed this 144-minute French documentary about Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who died August 1, 1997. Black-and-white performance clips from the 1930s are combined with later Mosfilm color footage, while Richter's personal history is revealed in digital video interviews shot two years before his death.