Stars: The Monteverdi Choir, The English Baroque Soloists, London Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Endellion Quartet, Kenneth Branagh

Summary: A programme which looks at the life and works of Mozart and Bach with music conducted by John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Colin Davis.

The lives of two legendary composers are portrayed and examined through a set of performances and interviews as part of the BBC's Great Composers television series. Among the interviewees are the pianist Joanna MacGregor, conductors Sir Georg Solti and Sir Colin Davis, and the eminent musicologist and author of 'The Classic Style', Charles Rosen.

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The BBC TV series Great Composers, broadcast in 1997, takes an introductory look at key figures of European classical music. Bach (1685-1750) is a difficult composer to survey historically, partly because his life as a professional musician was restricted to several provincial German towns. Yet the vast body of music he produced is well covered, with a representative sample performed mainly on instruments of Bach's day. There's also consideration of his cultural importance as the effective progenitor of modern European music and enough anecdotal evidence to suggest a lively, combative personality in his own right. The life of Mozart (1756-1791) is easier to document, with his years as a child prodigy travelling the European cultural circuit, the difficult adolescent years in Salzburg and Paris and the rise and fall of his freelance career in Vienna all amply illustrated here. Again, a well-chosen selection of music, accompanied by thought-provoking comments from a range of musicians and historians, gently exploding the myth of the Amadeusfilm in the process. This is informal, informing, and worth acquiring.

On the DVD:The disc offers crisp Dolby 2.0 stereo and 4:3 ratio, with generous and well-chosen access points--13 for Bach, 16 for Mozart. Subtitles are offered in five languages, and you'll need to select the English option so that the German and Italian speaking contributors come with translation. Those with DVD-ROM can additionally access up-to-date articles on these composers. --Richard Whitehouse

Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Detailed Chapter Selector Screens in 5 Languages
Subtitles:	English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Year:	2001
Release Date:	July 16, 2001
Runtime:	118 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	8573 88071 2
Label:	N V C Arts / B B C
Keywords:	Great, Music, Mozart, Bach, Classical, Solo, Performing, Composers, Arts, Instruments
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts