Keeping Score series

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present a special Bluray re-issue of their groundbreaking episode of Rite of Spring from the Keeping Score series, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky's revolutionary ballet score, presented in stunning Dolby TrueHD 96k upsampled audio.

“Funny thing about revolutions, you never know when or where they’re gonna start. They can be social or political or artistic, and very often it's these artistic or cultural revolutions, revolutions in taste, really, that seem to predict other violent changes in society. That's exactly the case with the Rite of Spring.” With these words Michael Tilson Thomas opens the groundbreaking episode from the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score series.

In 1913, with Europe on the brink of war, a fashionable Parisian audience reacted with hostile frenzy to the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s new work. The ballet’s shocking music and dance provoked a riot that evening and was soon recognised as perhaps the most revolutionary piece of the 20th century, a reputation it maintains to this day.

In this Blu-ray, MTT and SFS take you from the salons of St. Petersburg to the villages where Stravinsky found inspiration in the earthy power of Russian folk music and dance.

MTT then retraces Stravinsky's journey to the cultural crossroads of pre-war Paris. There, in collaboration with the great impresario Diaghilev and his star dancer Nijinsky, Stravinsky developed the shocking, erotic, and violent evocation of pagan Russia that became Rite of Spring.

Presented for the first time on Blu-ray disc, Keeping Score: Stravinsky features a thought provoking documentary and a brilliant live concert performance of Rite of Spring along with music from The Firebird. The documentary is filmed in standard-definition 16:9 widescreen, with concert performances filmed in high-definition 16:9 widescreen, and presented in optional 5.1 surround sound with Dolby TrueHD 96k upsampling.

The latest instalment in MTT’s and SFS’s engaging Keeping Score series explores the life and works of Gustav Mahler, in two documentaries and two live performances.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present the latest instalment in their acclaimed Keeping Score series, exploring the life and music of Gustav Mahler. In the year marking both the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death and the founding of the San Francisco Symphony, ‘Mahler: Origins and Legacy’, focuses on the enigmatic composer with two one-hour documentaries and two live performances. “Gustav Mahler was a visionary musician,” says MTT. “In his compositions he made reference to many styles, building his huge symphonies from materials abstracted from songs, dances and marches from many cultures. His symphonies, or worlds, as he called them, represent the many ways that people make music and why they make music. In Keeping Score: Mahler, we walk in his footsteps, visit the places and sounds that influenced his life.”

Keeping Score: Mahler is designed to engage, educate and entertain viewers of all musical backgrounds, from classical music enthusiasts to those hearing Mahler’s music for the first time. With MTT and SFS firmly established among the leading interpreters of Mahler’s music, these programmes are a fitting culmination to their decade-long Mahler recording project. To coincide with its release, MTT and SFS will embark on a three-week European tour performing Mahler’s works including Prague and Vienna where there will be special screenings of Keeping Score: Mahler.

The latest instalment in MTT’s and SFS’s engaging Keeping Score series explores the life and works of Gustav Mahler, in two documentaries and two live performances.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present the latest instalment in their acclaimed Keeping Score series, exploring the life and music of Gustav Mahler. In the year marking both the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death and the founding of the San Francisco Symphony, ‘Mahler: Origins and Legacy’, focuses on the enigmatic composer with two one-hour documentaries and two live performances. “Gustav Mahler was a visionary musician,” says MTT. “In his compositions he made reference to many styles, building his huge symphonies from materials abstracted from songs, dances and marches from many cultures. His symphonies, or worlds, as he called them, represent the many ways that people make music and why they make music. In Keeping Score: Mahler, we walk in his footsteps, visit the places and sounds that influenced his life.”

Keeping Score: Mahler is designed to engage, educate and entertain viewers of all musical backgrounds, from classical music enthusiasts to those hearing Mahler’s music for the first time. With MTT and SFS firmly established among the leading interpreters of Mahler’s music, these programmes are a fitting culmination to their decade-long Mahler recording project. To coincide with its release, MTT and SFS will embark on a three-week European tour performing Mahler’s works including Prague and Vienna where there will be special screenings of Keeping Score: Mahler.

Following the success of the enlightening first series of Keeping Score, MTT and SFS return with three further programmes that combine one-hour documentaries with live concert performances. The new programmes explore the music and stories behind the music.

Each of the three DVDs in Keeping Score Series 2 features a documentary episode - with MTT guiding us through the composers’ perspectives and influences - coupled with a live concert performance of each work. The programmes are designed to engage and entertain viewers of all levels of musical background. With outstanding production values, they are released on DVD and Blu-Ray HD formats, making SFS the first orchestra to distribute its product on Blu-Ray disc.

Was Hector Berlioz writing music to get over his obsession with his distant love, Harriet Smithson? Was this symphony his way of saying goodbye, or even seeking revenge? Or was it instead his impassioned valentine to a woman he could not forget?

In 1827, Berlioz saw Harriet Smithson for the first time, playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. Hopelessly smitten, he turned his entire life upside down to meet her. Frantic months turned into years when he suddenly heard rumors about Harriet and another man. Believing himself cured, he wrote a ‘fantastic’ symphony complete with a special theme, the idée fixe, to represent his former obsession.