April 7
Danny Boy: The Ballad That Bewitched the World
How did an obscure Irish melody become one of the greatest songs of all time, recorded by music's biggest names? One hundred years after 'Danny Boy' was first published, the true story of its astonishing past is uncovered, while contributors including Gabriel Byrne, Rosanne Cash, Brian Kennedy and Barry McGuigan explain its enduring appeal and what it has come to symbolise.
The Girl From Ipanema
Written in 1962 by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes, with a later English translation by Norman Gimbel, The Girl From Ipanema defines the moment Brazil charmed the world stage with a laid-back song about a haunting woman.
It’s a vibrant musical journey to the stunning beaches, majestic mountains and buzzy clubs of Rio, where Katie meets key musicians and architects of Bossa Nova (including Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, Joyce, Daniel Jobim and Marcos Valle), witnesses intimate musical performances and uncovers the genesis and story behind Brazil’s most successful musical export.
The Girl From Ipanema is quintessential Bossa Nova, and tracing its roots reveals the fascinating story of this unique music style. Invented by a gang of young bohemians in Rio in the late 1950s, Bossa grew into a Sixties phenomenon, especially in the US where it became a youth craze and later a significant part of the modern jazz repertoire. The Girl From Ipanema as sung by Astrud Gilberto, with sax from Stan Getz, went Top 5 in the US and became a major international hit in 1964.
Nothing sums up Rio as well as the simple and seductive lyrics to The Girl From Ipanema - and as the eyes of the world look to Rio once more this summer, what better way to get to understand the city, its people and its mid-Sixties zeitgeist than through its most famous song?
April 14
James Levine: America's Maestro Y
It is widely acknowledged that the Metropolitan Opera has gone through a Renaissance over the past 30 years under the direction of James Levine. Levine is known internationally for his virtuoso piano playing, the breadth and depth of his conducting abilities, and his unceasing enthusiasm for opera. More than anyone else working in the field today, Levine has increased the visibility and popularity of opera, while preserving the integrity of the composer’s work.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1943, Levine was a child prodigy on the piano, making his debut as a soloist at the age of ten with the Cincinnati Symphony. He studied both piano and conducting at the Juilliard Academy in New York, and in 1963 was invited to be assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. Working under George Szell, Levine remained in Cleveland for five years, studying the inner workings of a major metropolitan orchestra. In 1971, he made his Metropolitan debut conducting Puccini’s Tosca. Within two years he became the Met’s principal conductor, and by 1975 was the musical director.
As both conductor and director, Levine has worked to raise the level of the ensemble as well as musicians’ individual performances. Over the years, his reputation as a demanding but fair conductor has enticed some of the world’s greatest musicians to the Met. Known for his enthusiasm and commitment, Levine has transformed the Met’s orchestra into one of the most highly valued in the country. Unlike many contemporary conductors, he spends most of the year with his orchestra. He maintains that an ensemble approach, in which the musicians have a voice in the direction of the orchestra, is necessary for a successful performance. At the heart of his directing strategy is a belief in community, and it is this that has made him famous for bringing out the finest performances in his musicians.
The Everly Brothers: Harmonies From Heaven Y
Documentary which celebrates, over the period covering the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 60s, the phenomenon of the Everly Brothers, arguably the greatest harmony duo the world has witnessed, who directly influenced the greatest and most successful bands of the 60s and 70s - The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to name but a few.
Don and Phil Everly's love of music began as children, encouraged by their father Ike. Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil sang on Ike's early morning radio shows in Iowa.
After leaving school, the brothers moved to Nashville where, under the wing of Ike Everly's friend, the highly talented musician Chet Atkins, Don and Phil signed with Cadence Records. They exploded onto the music scene in 1957 with Bye Bye Love, written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.
After Bye Bye Love came other hits, notably Wake Up Little Susie, followed by the worldwide smash hit All I Have to Do Is Dream and a long string of other great songs which also became hits.
By 1960, however, the brothers were lured away from Cadence to Warner Bros with a $1,000,000 contract. Their biggest hit followed, the self-penned Cathy's Clown, which sold 8 million copies. Remaining at Warner Bros for most of the 60s, they had further success with Walk Right Back, So Sad and the King/Greenfield-penned track Crying in the Rain.
April 21
Latin Music USA: Borderlands
The third in a four-part series revealing the deep musical and social impact of Latin music in the USA follows the historic waves of immigration across the often violent borderlands between the USA and Mexico, and reveals the dynamic role that Mexican-American music has played as it accompanied 'the largest migration in the history of the world'.
It starts on the streets of East Los Angeles, where 1950s rock legend Ritchie Valens 'crossed the tracks' to inspire other Mexican-American musicians like Los Lobos, Carlos Santana and Linda Ronstadt. But it is in the troubled borderlands, stretching 2,000 miles from Texas to California, that that music has most vividly depicted the myths and legends of an immigrant people who have demanded, and achieved, their place in American society.
Climbed Every Mountain: The Story Behind the Sound of Music Y
The Sound of Music is one of the most enduringly popular films ever made, yet behind it lies an even more astonishing family story. Sue Perkins travels to Salzburg, Ellis Island and Vermont to discover how the family made a living in America as the Trapp Family Singers and eventually bought an estate in Vermont which looks uncannily like Austria. She also discovers that the ultimate feelgood story has dark undertones and is disliked by Austrians, and witnesses the first ever performance of the musical in Salzburg itself.
Produced by George Martin Y
Produced By George Martin is a feature length profile of Sir George Martin, Britain's most celebrated record producer. The film talks about his childhood, his war experience and his early days as a music student. In the early fifties he joined EMI/Parlophone and started working on orchestral music, comedy records and music for children. Then in 1962 he signed The Beatles. Together George Martin and The Beatles revolutionized pop music and recording techniques forging probably the greatest producer / artist collaboration there will ever be. The film is in an intimate portrait of George Martin at home and at work. It features numerous classic clips of the artists he has produced and new interviews with many of them including Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Michael Palin, Jeff Beck, Rolf Harris, Cilla Black, Millicent Martin and Bernard Cribbins.
Thunder Soul N A
A precious scrap of American history, this documentary by Mark Landsman tells the story of Conrad Johnson, an inspiring music teacher at Houston's predominantly black Kashmere High School who turned the school's jazz band into a fearsomely hard-charging funk outfit in the 1970s. Most high school stage bands at the time were white ensembles playing ancient big-band numbers, which made Johnson's innovative combination of original funk tunes and big, muscular horn sections seem even more dramatic. Rehearsals for a 2008 reunion concert, honoring Johnson on his 92nd birthday, give his former students a chance to recall his impact on them as a mentor
May 12
The Secret Of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony YA precious scrap of American history, this documentary by Mark Landsman tells the story of Conrad Johnson, an inspiring music teacher at Houston's predominantly black Kashmere High School who turned the school's jazz band into a fearsomely hard-charging funk outfit in the 1970s. Most high school stage bands at the time were white ensembles playing ancient big-band numbers, which made Johnson's innovative combination of original funk tunes and big, muscular horn sections seem even more dramatic. Rehearsals for a 2008 reunion concert, honoring Johnson on his 92nd birthday, give his former students a chance to recall his impact on them as a mentor
May 12
Often cited as one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, the opening notes of the fifth symphony are among the most recognisable in the history of music, but the inspiration behind it is less clear. Many believe that Beethoven was railing against fate and his deafness in this piece, which was composed in Vienna between 1804 and 1808. In this documentary Gardiner argues that the music features a little-known, radical message expressing Beethoven’s belief in the ideals of the French Revolution, and shows how his Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique convey that message in their performance of the Fifth Symphony. To investigate Gardiner’s theory, Hislop visits the German city of Bonn, where Beethoven was born, raised and exposed to radical ideas, and Paris, where a new wave of composers were creating original compositions in a musical revolution that mirrored the political movement of the era. He also goes to Vienna, where the composer lived from 1792, visiting the apartment where he wrote the bulk of his Fifth Symphony and the Theater an der Wien, where the premiere of the work took place in 1808.
