DVD Videos

The premiere production was a decided audience success and a more or less unanimous press acknowledged the music as original. “The first act works excellently. After this one would swear that Carl Nielsen was born to write opéra comique. So smooth, so dexterous, such a quick turn of phrase, such aptness in the dialogue, with fine phrases and droll ideas; equally felicitous in the treatment of the text, the singing roles, the instruments of the orchestra. In the craft of music, it is a fully-fledged master who holds the pen; one’s thoughts can only resort to Verdi in ‘Falstaff’ to find a parallel.” Nationaltidende (1906)

Newly discovered in the archives of Danish Television.

The DVD also includes an interview with the great Maestro. Black & White, Mono, 37 minutes (plus 8-minute interview).

These are four great symphonies that have all played a special role in the close collaboration between the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and conductor Thomas Dausgaard. The symphonies are recorded in the beautiful Koncerthuset in Copenhagen. The Danish National Symphony Orchestra is specialized in Scandinavian repertoire.

Bonus material: In a series of interviews, Thomas Dausgaard explains his close collaboration with the orchestra, the concerts and the four great yet altogether very different masterpieces by Brahms, Dvorak, Sibelius and Nielsen.

Running Time Total: 168 minutes

Picture 16:9, HD

DVD: DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo

Subtitles Bonus: English, French, German, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Italian

On This Planet transcends the limits of conventional opera and presents a new artistic idiom that is ideal for the DVD medium.

Anders Nordentoft’s past as a rock musician is combined with his classical training in a brand new musical universe where the concept of crossover is no longer adequate as a label. On This Planet is a new artistic idiom. Thomas Sandberg is well known in Scandinavia as an unusual mixture of performance artist, percussionist, clown and sound artist. Together with Athelas Sinfonietta Copenhagen he creates a symbiosis of the human voice and instrumental sound where texts by Anders Nordentoft and the West Indian poet Derek Walcott meet. With On This Planet we enter the same universe as Twin Peaks and Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom, where anything can happen and nothing is what it seems. This suspense-filled universe is given musical nerve by Anders Nordentoft in a mixture of rock, jazz, blues and modern composition music, and on stage Martin Tulinius has created a unique unity of video, computer graphics, sound and light – just as the music mixes different genres.

MICHAEL NYMAN – COMPOSER IN PROGRESS

A portrait by SILVIA BECK, featuring STEVE REICH and VOLKER SCHLÖNDORFF

This film is about a very special moment in the famous composer’s artistic life. Composing with innovative minimalism for films as memorable as “The Draughtsman’s Contract”, “The Ogre”, “Man on Wire”, and most famously for Campion’s “The Piano”, he has reached an international audience. But now, Michael Nyman is about to become a filmmaker himself. Featuring unprecedented access to the composer and his working life, this film shows one of the great composers of our time in all his diversity and endless energy. From London to Berlin, in Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal this film is also a journey through the musical world today. It shows Michael Nyman, the musician, in his concerts with The Michael Nyman Band and live collaborations with other internationally known musicians or orchestras. But throughout his journeys, this film discovers Nyman’s increasing passion for filming and photography. Witnessing the development of Nyman’s visual works from the very fi rst moment of inspiration, this film gives a unique insight into Michael Nyman’s very personal views, his thoughts and emotions; his world.

MICHAEL NYMAN IN CONCERT

The Michael Nyman Band live at Studio Halle Michael Nyman, who is famous for his Oscar nominated film score for Jane Campion’s film “The Piano”, is without doubt one of the great contemporary composers. Fitting the theme of the Handel-Year 2009, Michael Nyman celebrated the German premiere of his newest composition “The Musicologist Scores” in Handel’s hometown Halle. In that piece the composer looks deeply into the subject of Handel’s work. Furthermore, many other of Nyman’s works were performed. All over the world the powerful, energetic playing of The Michael Nyman Band - developed under Nyman‘s leadership over a period of three decades - brings his works to sparkling life and has long since become a characteristic feature of his music.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo (Doc), PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 (Concert)

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: 1 x DVD 5, 1 x DVD 9 / NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP (Doc)

Running Time: 52 mins (Doc), 86 mins (Concert)

FSK: 0

Featuring STEVE REICH and VOLKER SCHLÖNDORFF

The film is about a very special moment in the famous composers artistic life. Composing with innovative minimalism for films as memorable as “The Draughtsman’s Contract”, “The Ogre”, “Man on Wire”, and most famously for Campion´s “The Piano”, he has reached an international audience. But now, Michael Nyman is about to become a filmmaker himself. At first it was documenting, „collecting moments“, Michael Nyman was „just curious about the visual world out there“ but right now this turns into an art process. Featuring unprecedented access to the composer and his working life, this film shows one of the great composers of our time in all his diversity and endless energy.

From London to Berlin, in Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal this film is also a journey through the musical world today. It shows Michael Nyman, the musician, in his concerts with the Michael Nyman Band and live collaborations with other internationally known musicians or orchestras. But throughout his journeys, this film discovers Nymans increasing passion for filming and photography. Witnessing the development of Nyman´s visual works from the very moment of inspiration right through to his editing of the footage and the combination of the visuals with his music, this fi lm gives a unique insight into Michael Nyman´s very personal views, his thoughts and emotions; his world.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 5, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB (Original Language), DE, FR, ES, IT

Running Time: 52 mins

FSK: 0

Many people associate the name Michael Nyman primarily with the soundtrack for Jane Campion’s film “The Piano”, but that fails to do justice to this highly successful British artist.

The extensive oeuvre produced by composer, conductor and pianist Nyman includes not only fi lm music but also opera, songs, ballet music and orchestral works and displays an impressive musical diversity. Anyone wishing to gain an impression of this versatility would have had an opportunity to experience the Michael Nyman Band in top form at this performance. The concert offers an exciting sample of Nyman’s past work and also presents the German premiere of The Musicologist Scores, marking the climax of an engagement with the music of Georg Friedrich Handel that began in the 1960s. Using an unusual combination of saxophone, flute, brass, piano, string quartet and bass guitar, The Michael Nyman Band is the composer’s preferred ensemble for trying out all his new works. All over the world the powerful, energetic playing of the band – developed under his leadership over a period of three decades – brings his works to sparkling life and has long since become a characteristic feature of his music.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Running Time: 86 mins

FSK: 0