Films with: Saffa, Joan

Beethoven's Eroica

San Francisco Symphony's music director, Michael Tilson Thomas, retraces Beethoven's steps through Vienna's aristocratic ballrooms and Austria's rustic villages, exploring how Beethoven channeled his fears of deafness, his admiration for Napoleon, and his obsession to prove himself the greatest composer of his time and to write the Eroica. Includes a live performance of Beethoven's Eroica by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

DVD 9171

Hector Berlioz Symphonie fantastique /

"'I feel, therefore I am.' For Hector Berlioz, and for the Romantic movement he personified, those were words to live by. But with the unprecedented outpouring of emotion in his Symphonie fantastique he almost overpowered Paris. This orchestral sonic spectacular, written to win the heart of a beautiful actress, demanded sacrifice from its author and his audience. From romantic daydreams to deadly displays of devotion, the symphony relates an 'episode in the life of an artist, ' that artist being the love-obsessed composer himself. Join Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony as they follow Berlioz to the brink in this episode of Keeping Score"--Container.

DVD 9160

Ives Holidays symphony /

"Ranging from tender sentiment to savage chaos, the music of early 20th-century composer Charles Ives explores an essentially American riddle: how can we survive the relentless assault of our own success? It was an enigma Ives embodied himself. He believed that we should all be brave enough to go it alone--yet he earned his living in insurance! In this DVD, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony unwrap the layers of Ives' to reveal a surprising musical portrait of New England. The four movements journey across the terrain of the seasons. From the intimacy of the winter hearth to the explosive concussion of the 4th of July, discover the insights Ives liberates in his music's confrontational crunch. Join Michael Tilson Thomas as he, the San Francisco Symphony, and Charles Ives belt it out over truth, beauty and the American way"--Container.

DVD 9161

Keeping score Stravinsky's Rite of spring /

Documentary about Igor Stravinsky and the places and music that inspired his ballet "The rite of spring", featuring Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony.

DVD 3