self
Portrait of an exceptional musical talent and one of opera’s biggest stars, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. With interviews from her illustrious friends and colleagues from the world of classical music: Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, Gustavo Dudamel and more.
In a small street in Brussels there is an unusual concentration of pianists: on one side, the house of Martha Argerich; on the other, that of the Tiempo-Lechners, four generations of pianistic prodigies. At just fourteen years old, Natasha Binder is the heir to a dynasty, her last great promise.
Self
An atypical family portrait, directed by 34-year old Stéphanie Argerich, the daughter of pianists Martha Argerich and Stephen Kovacevich. The filmmaker follows her mother in particular, during concerts and in moments of greater intimacy, searching for answers that might shed light on the private spaces of a family that has always lived in the limelight of the international stage, where gaiety and madness rub shoulders with an absolute and overwhelming passion: music.
Pianist
At one of her rare appearances with orchestra, Martha Argerich, the grande dame of the piano, joined forces with world-famous cellist Mischa Maisky and the fabulous Lucerne Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of a newly commissioned work by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin – “Romantic Offering”, a double concerto for piano, cello and orchestra dedicated to its very first soloists. The programme was rounded off by late-Romantic masterpieces by César Franck, Antonín Dvo?ák and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of renowned maestro Neeme Järvi.
Riccardo Chailly conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and pianist Martha Argerich in this 2006 celebration of the work of Robert Schumann (1810-1856), filmed at Leipzig, Germany's famed Gewandhaus. Selections include Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor, "Von Fremden Ländern und Menschen" from "Kinderszenen" and Symphony no. 4 in D Minor.
herself
Martha Argerich is the last remaining pianist of legend. A wild child and a rebel at heart, this legendary Argentinean musician is surrounded by an aura of mystery: some find her too uncompromising, others generous and beautiful, yet to all she is without doubt incredibly talented. Thanks to these "evening talks", Georges Gachot lifts a corner of the veil: Martha Argerich shares with us her memories, confides in us her doubts, and transmits to us her incredible appetite for music making. Images of Argentina, rehearsals in the concert hall or at home, excerpts of recent concerts and archival clips complete this unique film on one of the most secretive and endearing artists of our time.
The Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 2 & 7 performed by Seiji Ozawa, who turned 80!
Bonus content includes valuable footage of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (piano: Martha Argerich
) from the Celebrating Seiji at 80! Gala Concert performance!
