Summary: This program from the Famous Composers series introduces the life and work of German composer Richard Strauss, born to a horn player, Franz Strauss, in 1864. The film sheds light on Strauss' childhood in Munich, which revolved around the boy's musical education. His father's conservative tastes played a large role in shaping the composer, but also kept him away from the important influence of...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program from the Famous Composers series introduces the life and work of Russian-born composer Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky. The film provides an overview of Stravinsky's childhood, which involved a sound musical education but pressure from his parents to pursue law, and the surrounding political turmoil in Russia. Not until Stravinsky's father died did he fully shift his concentration from...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This installment of the Famous Composers series introduces the life and work of French composer Joseph-Maurice Ravel. Opening with pictures and a description of the composer's birthplace, the seaport of Ciboure in Basque country, the film characterizes Ravel's childhood and family as modest but pleasant. He entered the Conservatoire de Paris at 14, and while he was a piano major, he was also...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
View online at AVOD
Summary: This overview of the life and work of Gustav Mahler from the Famous Composers series opens by introducing the composer's parents and the political and social landscape of nineteenth century Bohemia. The film follows the young Mahler's musical education at the Vienna Conservatory and his general education, both supported by his father, Bernard Mahler. By the age of 20, Mahler secured steady work...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: This installment of the Famous Composers series offers an overview of the life and work of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, born in Tuscany to a historically musical family. The film characterizes the young Puccini as a talented but disinterested student until he was inspired by a performance of Verdi's Aida to pursue opera. Following the composer to the Milan Conservatory, the program traces...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This program from the Famous Composers series provides an overview of the life and work of Finnish composer Jan Sibelius. The video contextualizes the composer's childhood and his later musical production in light of Romantic Nationalism and political atmosphere in Finland. Following Sibelius to Helsinki and then Berlin, the film details both the building of his family and their home, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007