Trace the Depression-era movement of populism in American art, based in the notion that high art should speak to the broad, general population, and learn how Copland’s Symphony No. 3 captured the euphoric mood of the country following victories over the Depression, fascism, and Japanese imperialism. Note also how the artistic politics of the postwar decades relegated the Symphony to temporary obscurity in an era that sought to purge music of self-expressive...

At once an invaluable photographic record of life in Weimer Berlin and a timeless demonstration of the cinema's ability to enthrall on a purely visceral level, Berlin, Symphony of a Great City (Berlin, die Symphonie der Grosstadt) offers a kaleidoscopic view of a single day in the life of a bustling metropolis. Carl Mayer (The Last Laugh), influenced by the naturalistic Kammerspiel movement, envisioned "a melody of pictures" sprung from daily reality...

Delve into the 19th-century movement within Russia to create a distinctively Russian national art. With his Symphony No. 1 as a point of reference, learn how Mily Balakirev personified the quest for an authentic Russian musical aesthetic. Observe how this quest reflected a geopolitical conflict within Russia between pro-Western and "Slavophile"schools of thought, and see how Balakirev gathered around him a group of young composers who would change...

Explore the extraordinary industrial and economic rise of the United States in the 19th century, a phenomenon celebrated in the Chicago Columbian Exposition of 1893, one of the most spectacular world’s fairs ever held. Witness the historic participation of Antonin Dvork, and uncover the impact on American music of Dvork’s residency in the U.S., which produced his symphony entitled From the New World, and pointed toward the creation of a uniquely...

In this stylish heist noir from director Jacques Deray, master director of the French crime film, five men pool their money to go in on one huge narcotics deal.

DARE TO DRUM tells the story of rock star composer Stewart Copeland, drummer for The Police, teaming up with D’Drum, a Texas-based world percussion group, and Maestro Jaap van Zweden with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra to create groundbreaking work, both on and off the screen. In 2011, after three years of composing, rehearsals, recording sessions, and trips to Bali and Java, "Gamelan D'Drum" - a musical synthesis of pitch, rhythm, and orchestration...

In this "absolutely singular autobiographical film opera" (Time out), Majewski presents a stunning, intimate, and ultimately magical work. Accompanied by the Polish National Symphony Orchestra and the Silesian Opera Chorus, Majewski creates a soaring, theatrical Eden in which life goes on, love blooms, and nature has the final say.

The ability to transmit sound in stereo transformed the music of life into a rich symphony of sound. For over 100 years, enthusiasts and scientists have worked to create the ideal listening experience. From Thomas Edison's early phonograph to today's digital revolution, we examine this multi-billion dollar business.

PICTURING A METROPOLIS is part of the film retrospective UNSEEN CINEMA that explores long-forgotten American experimental cinema.. Since the beginning of cinema, filmmakers have been infatuated with capturing on film dynamic images of New York City. Avant-garde experiments pop up in the most unlikely of places including turn of the 20th century actualities, and commercial and radical newsreels. City symphonies are represented by the landmark American...

In fifteen linked chapters shot in locations ranging from Moscow to New York to Istanbul, COUNTING merges city symphony, diary film, and personal/political essay to create a vivid portrait of contemporary life. COUNTING measures street life, light and time, noting not only surveillance and overdevelopment but resistance and its phantoms as manifested in music, animals and everyday magic Winner of Best Cinematographer at **DOC LA**. Official Selection...