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The Trout (1970)
Character: Self
Christopher Nupen's record of the concert given by five young musicians in the new Queen Elizabeth Hall at London's South Bank, in 1969. The Trout is an exuberant explosion of youthful enjoyment in music: first from Schubert himself, who wrote his famous Trout quintet when he was 22 years old, and then from five young artists of the highest rank. They pick up the spirit of Schubert's music magnificently, both in preparation and rehearsal, and in their 1969 performance of the work, which has become one of the most remembered ever given. Includes personal introductions by Christopher Nupen and Jacqueline du Pré and features the legendary 1969 performance of The Trout with Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline du Pré, Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta.
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We Want the Light (2004)
Character: Self
The struggles of the world’s Jewish people over the course of several centuries are expressed and explored through the music they inspired in this documentary from the BBC and Opus Arte. We Want the Light brings together harrowing tales from Holocaust survivors with performances of music by such legendary composers as Mahler, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Interviews with: Alice Sommer Herz, Jacques Stroumsa, Evgeny Kissin, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Zubin Mehta, Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, Toby Perlman, Michael Haas, Elyakim Ha’etzni, Norman Lebrecht, Margaret Brearley, Paul Lawrence Rose, Daniel Barenboim, Yirmiyahu Yovel, Uri Toeplitz & Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. Featuring: Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Cologne Cathedral Children’s Choir & Cologne Opera Chorus.
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The Greatest Love and the Greatest Sorrow (1994)
Character: Self
The Greatest Love and the Greatest Sorrow is a film which sets out to bring the viewer closer, not to the details of Schubert's life, but to the spirit of what he was trying to express with what he called his creative gift and with which he tried "to brighten the world". The film begins with the funeral of Beethoven, at which Schubert was a torch-bearer, His story is told almost entirely in music written in the twenty months that remained to him after that date, together with quotations from Schubert's letters, diaries and the words that he chose to set in some of his songs. Includes personal introductions by Christopher Nupen and Jacqueline du Pré and features the legendary 1969 performance of The Trout with Daniel Barenboim, Itzhak Perlman, Jacqueline du Pré, Pinchas Zukerman and Zubin Mehta.
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Ein unfassbarer Pianist: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (2020)
Character: Self
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli – a name that provokes almost a sense of awe and intimidation, even among his pianoplaying peers. It is a name that represents the highest degree of perfection, a quest for beauty that surpasses that of any other piano virtuoso. However Michelangeli also had a reputation for cancelling concerts at short notice and was consequently portrayed in the media as a somewhat neurotic artist. This documentary is the result of a 30-year search that has resulted in unusual interviews with those who knew him, and has also uncovered a wealth of new archive material: We get to experience Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli as he has never been seen before – and more importantly, as he has never been heard before. We also witness the maestro’s struggle back to his former perfection after suffering a devastating heart attack.
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Vladimir Ashkenazy: The Vital Juices Are Russian (1970)
Character: Himself
This film is a portrait film of Vladimir Ashkenazy directed by Christopher Nupen. It includes sequences with Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim, Edo de Waart and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. There is music by Beethoven, Chopin, César Franck and Stravinsky. It is also a closely observed account of one of the most demanding and rewarding of all professions. In 1972, after seeing it, Ingmar Bergman said it was the best documentary he had seen about a living musician.
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Alexander Scriabin – Towards the Light / Calculation and Ecstasy (1996)
Character: Himself
Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) born in Moscow, was an innovative, mystical, avant-garde Russian pianist and composer. This film explores Scriabin’s profound vision of art's unity — where music, movement, light and colour merge to create transcendent experiences. Some claim Scriabin pioneered atonality before Schoenberg. Key works: Poème, Op. 32 No. 1 (1903) and Vers la flamme, Op. 72 (1914). Featuring commentary from esteemed musicians like Eduard Artemyev, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Vladimir Horowitz, Artist: Hermann Nitsch, conductor Mikhail Pletnev and insights from Scriabin’s daughter: Marina Scriabine, this documentary offers a unique glimpse into the life and works of one of music’s most enigmatic figures. Shot across stunning locales in Switzerland, Italy and Russia, enriched with Scriabin’s own writings and rare archival materials. The highlight includes a historic recording of Scriabin himself, playing his Poem Op. 32 No. 1 on a Welte Mignon player-piano, recorded in 1908.
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Beethoven Piano Concertos 1-5 (1974)
Character: Himself
These recordings, filmed in March and April 1974 for the BBC, occurred at the tail end of the old performance era and the very start of the new. Vladimir Ashkenazy was a graduate of the same Soviet school of piano playing that produced Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Lazar Berman and a host of others of that era. There are simularities that unite them, including a broad romanticism, a degree of Lisztian showmanship coupled with periods of introspection, powerful technique that occasionally borders on pounding and an intellectual streak that produces some deeply insightful playing. Ashkenazy was younger than the others, more modern in his playing.
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Mozart: Great Piano Concertos Vol. I (2005)
Character: Self - Piano & Conductor (Concerto No. 12)
Mitsuko Uchida piano | Homero Francesch piano
Mozarteum Orchestra, Salzburg; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; German Chamber Philharmonic
Jeffrey Tate, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gerd Albrecht
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Elgar: The Man Behind the Mask (2010)
Character: Self
The composer of Land of Hope and Glory is often regarded as the quintessential English gentleman. But Elgar's image of hearty nobility was deliberately contrived. In this revelatory portrait of a musical genius, John Bridcut explores the secret conflicts in Elgar's nature which produced some of Britain's greatest music. Featuring specially filmed performances by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
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Double Concerto (1966)
Character: Himself
Documentary film about Vladimir Ashkenazy's and Daniel Barenboim's 1966 performance of Mozart's Concerto for 2 Pianos in E-flat major with the English Chamber Orchestra, featuring the full performance as well as biographical information and a look at the rehearsal process.
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