# Free documentaries available to stream



## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

I would like this thread to be a compilation of classical music related documentaries that can be streamed online for free. No other stipulations.

Thanks!


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

*Alan Hovhaness*

Public broadcasting, circa 1984

Part I: 



Part II: 



Part III:


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

William Walton: At the Haunted End of Day

Alfred Schnittke: The unreal world of Alfred Schnittke:

Part I
PartII
Part III

Sviatoslav Richter: The Enigma


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## Tallisman (May 7, 2017)

Some excellent documentaries on Mahler symphonies:





(you should be able to find the 3 other parts from there)


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

I know this guy...


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the 20th Century


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## WildThing (Feb 21, 2017)

Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

cimirro said:


> [video]
> I know this guy...


This is not how it should work. You have to wait for someone else to post it, then offer modest thanks. Otherwise it looks like narcissism.:tiphat:


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

eugeneonagain said:


> This is not how it should work. You have to wait for someone else to post it, then offer modest thanks. Otherwise it looks like narcissism.:tiphat:


Sorry, I understood the theme was "Free documentaries available to stream"

And no, I can't wait someone post it, because probably more than 90% of this forum speaks only about composers who are already dead.

Believe or not, one day Beethoven needed money to live, and now I'm in the same situation, the difference is Beethoven is now dead, while I'm still living and needing to work hard to have my money. 
Now it is easy to speak about Beethoven. And maybe it will be easy to speak about me and several other people in 200 years, who knows?
Anyway I have no interest in what people will say about me in 200 years, I'm living right now and 200 years is beyond the standard human life as far as I know.
I prefer, as a musician, to be able to show my works everywhere and if someone shows any interest that is good, if they have no interest at all, they can stop to waste their time with my name.

So, it is not about being narcissism, it is about being in necessity for make a living as a musician in a world where only money rules no matter how good or bad you are.
By the way, I never had any real help for my career as musician, no famous teachers to sign a recommendation letter to a competition in the students days, and I was born in a poor family. Right now I'm still dealing with a terrible country for living and I'm desperately trying to find a place where my work can be better received - here in Brazil is only "Samba in February" and "Sexual Funk/rap/hiphop" the rest of the year.
So, to me, no matter if people think I'm narcissist or anything like this, 
Any critics made by someone who do not offer any help nor pay any attention to my work is not of my interest - I really have no time to care about it.

Sorry
and here is my documentary again




Thank you modestly Artur, what would be of myself without "me"?

All the best
Artur Cimirro


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

cimirro said:


> I know this guy...


How cool! I look forward to watching it. I just read your Wikipedia page and you recording projects look excellent.

^^^EDIT: Sorry, I didn't see your above post prior to this one. I agree with most of what you said. I strongly agree that we need to be supporting living artists. I, personally, make an effort to do so. I would much rather give my money to working pianist-composer than to the estate of Vladimir Horowitz. This forum has always been fairly "dead composer"-focused but there are definitely pockets that focus on living composers and working musicians. I'm glad you are around; it helps that you are pushing my drug of choice - piano music. Looking at your recordings, I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I have never even _heard_ of KAROL TAUSIG, ALEKSANDER MICHALOWSKI, GÉZA ZICHY, or TIVADAR SZÁNTÓ... I wish the recordings were more easily available...


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## cimirro (Sep 6, 2016)

Selby said:


> How cool! I look forward to watching it. I just read your Wikipedia page and you recording projects look excellent.


Thank you Selby,
I wish all the people would understand my acts here as you just did


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

cimirro said:


> Sorry, I understood the theme was "Free documentaries available to stream"
> 
> And no, I can't wait someone post it, because probably more than 90% of this forum speaks only about composers who are already dead.
> 
> ...


I fully support your decision to post this documentary. Thank you for sharing it and I look forward to watching it soon. I agree with you that musicians have to promote themselves, and there shouldn't be any sense of shame associated with that. In fact, Beethoven was very aggressive about promoting his works, writing to many aristocrats and asking them to subscribe to his Missa Solemnis and other works. Ever since the decline of the patronage system, that's what a freelance artist has to do in a capitalist society.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

eugeneonagain said:


> This is not how it should work. You have to wait for someone else to post it, then offer modest thanks. Otherwise it looks like narcissism.:tiphat:


If people are not allowed to promote themself they won't get far, well done Arthur.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Bettina said:


> I fully support your decision to post this documentary. Thank you for sharing it and I look forward to watching it soon. I agree with you that musicians have to promote themselves, and there shouldn't be any sense of shame associated with that. In fact, Beethoven was very aggressive about promoting his works, writing to many aristocrats and asking them to subscribe to his Missa Solemnis and other works. Ever since the decline of the patronage system, that's what a freelance artist has to do in a capitalist society.


Yup, the world has changed. It used to be that artists, musicians and writers produced their work and then sent it off to other people to publish/promote it. One can still follow that route, but you no longer have to, in the modern world of the internet, self-publishing, online art sales etc. Nowadays though, you have to promote yourself, absolutely shamelessly; it's got nothing to do with narcissism and everything to do with sound business sense.

Looking around the web, I am struck time and again by just what a death grip the big publishers and media had on human creativity until recently. There is great stuff out there that I never would have heard of had it not been for things like YouTube.

The only problem is that I have a cap on my internet data and can download only so much. 
But I will be sure to watch Cimirro's doccie later this month.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Sound business...blah blah. You can't even make a mild joke without people going all PR.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Scriabin - Calculation and Ecstasy

Granville Bantock - The Forgotten Man of British Music


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

eugeneonagain said:


> Sound business...blah blah. You can't even make a mild joke without people going all PR.


I'm sorry if some of us overreacted. For us freelance musicians who are struggling to make a living (such as myself and Cimirro), we are sometimes rather sensitive about these issues! Now I see that you intended your remark as a lighthearted comment and maybe I took it too seriously.


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## regenmusic (Oct 23, 2014)

There are some other ones in this channel.


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## Guest (Jul 6, 2017)

This first class documentary is available (don't know for how long) on the great Carlos Kleiber!


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)




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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

I do not intend to start intellectual discord or instigate an argument, however learned it might be. Here are some lectures that I get a lot out of.

http://www.openculture.com/2012/03/leonard_bernsteins_masterful_lectures_on_music.html


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

John Ogdon: Living with Genius


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2017)

Omicron9 said:


>


I watched this film some time ago and the quality wasn't good. But it didn't really tell me much about Richter; that happened recently when I read an archived New York Times article (title forgotten) about Richter and learned that he was regarded as "a promiscuous homosexual". I couldn't imagine that shy pianist, with 'constraint' and formality as significant a part of his mien, displaying that kind of decadence. You certainly didn't get that impression from the documentary! In this respect he was similar to Leonard Bernstein - yet with him you wouldn't be at all surprised! He was a gregarious party animal with loads of friends, but Richter kept his life totally private.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> ...when I read an archived New York Times article (title forgotten) about Richter and learned that he was regarded as "a promiscuous homosexual". I couldn't imagine that shy pianist, with 'constraint' and formality as significant a part of his mien, *displaying that kind of decadence*. You certainly didn't get that impression from the documentary!


Decadence? That's not right.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> Decadence? That's not right.


Think again. Doesn't apply just to homosexuality, either.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> Think again. Doesn't apply just to homosexuality, either.


Well you might have to explain it in regard to that original post because you refer to him being a homosexual (not sure about the promiscuous bit because he hid it) and then you said you didn't expect that sort of 'decadence'. So, if I have it completely wrong, what did it mean?


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2017)

eugeneonagain said:


> Well you might have to explain it in regard to that original post because you refer to him being a homosexual (not sure about the promiscuous bit because he hid it) and then you said you didn't expect that sort of 'decadence'. So, if I have it completely wrong, what did it mean?


I was surprised to learn about this in relation to the cool, intensely private and sedate Richter. "Promiscuity" *is* decadence.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

CountenanceAnglaise said:


> I was surprised to learn about this in relation to the cool, intensely private and sedate Richter. "Promiscuity" *is* decadence.


Okay I see. Even then that's a matter of opinion really, since decadence means: a state of decay; though commonly applied to an idea of 'moral vigour' in the context you employed it.

Let's drop it.


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## Resurrexit (Apr 1, 2014)

Furtwängler Documentary


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I just found this on archive.org:

Are my Ears Wrong? A Profile of Charles Ives

It's probably a BBC Open University module from the 1970s. They were always good. The sound is a bit dickey though...so it could add a layer of confusion as to how the music actually sounds!


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

A fascinating documentary about the three Britten solo cello suites.


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## Botschaft (Aug 4, 2017)

Other such documentaries can be found on the same channel.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

What a great thread. Thanks to all who've added to it.


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## Marcos (May 3, 2021)

An old thread, but one worth resurrecting. Actually, a lot of the previous links still work.

Julian Bream (RIP): 
Guitarra! 



My Life In Music: 



Masterclass: 



BBC Tribute:


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Marcos said:


> An old thread, but one worth resurrecting. Actually, a lot of the previous links still work.
> 
> Julian Bream (RIP):
> Guitarra!
> ...


Nice that you used Julian's Villa-Lobos album as your Avatar!. Great album too!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

The 7 part series on modern music hosted by Simon Rattle is one of my favorites. It's called Leaving Home. And there are great documentaries on Schoenberg, Berg, and Sibelius. Also the philosophical doc about Schoenberg and Wittgenstein is very interesting.


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