What Killed the Great and Not So Great Composers? - MD J.W.Lewis Jr. - 2010

From a personally assembled database of 13,859 classical musicians, What Killed the Great and not so Great Composers delves into the medical histories of a wide variety of composers from both a musical and medical standpoint. Biographies of musicians from Johann Sebastian Bach of the Baroque period to Benjamin Britten of the Modern era explore in depth their illnesses and the impact their diseases had on musical productivity. Other chapters referenced to specific composers are devoted to such diverse ailments as deafness, mental disorders, sexually transmitted diseases, surgery and war injuries, to name a few. A unique section of statistics and demographics analyzes various aspects of composers' lives such as their longevity related to contemporaneous nonmusical populations, the incidence of various illnesses they experienced over the centuries and the type of medical problems suffered by the so-called top 100 classical musicians. Although a precise and complete accounting of the great composers' ailments may never be possible, a general understanding of the medical problems experienced by these unique individuals, nevertheless, can heighten one's appreciation of their creative processes despite the hardships imposed by their physical and mental illnesses. Although some individuals surrendered to their disabilities for a variety of reasons, others were able to rise above their infirmities and produce the wonderful music mankind has enjoyed through the centuries.

The Genius of Mozart - Arts, Biography Documentary published by BBC in 2004 - English narration

The story begins with the composer's father Leopold with whom Mozart conducted a passionate and tortured correspondence. It is Leopold who knows Mozart's secrets. And there is another voice: that of the music itself. Music is the key to unlocking the emotions of Mozart, starting in this film with the great piano works. Without this key, how can we ever understand the emotions that gave birth to some of the most beautiful sounds the world has ever heard? The first great phase of Mozart's brief life was that of the travelling child prodigy - gifted as a performer and writer of music - who grew into the genius who, working within the restrictions of his time, began to rewrite the musical rules.But there was another facet to Mozart - the adult thinker aware of the bigger picture, passionately attached to the progressive values of the Enlightenment - impressively well-read, a speaker of most European languages (even a little English), an Austrian Catholic, a Freemason and above all a composer at the height of his formidable powers, determined to succeed in the most difficult and lucrative area of all - Opera. Towards the end of his life, Mozart mastered the language of instrumental and orchestral writing - and how both love and loss provoked in him an extraordinary burst of creativity. This was essentially crystallised in three ambitious works that changed the future course of music: his last, great trilogy of symphonies - numbers 39, 40 and 41 - which he wrote in six short weeks. 

New video cartoon: the grievous life of a Soviet composer

March 6, 2013 by Norman Lebrecht 5 Comments Mieczyslaw Weinberg was the composer who was closest to Dmitri Shostakovich in every sense – friendship, style, adjoining apartments. Weinberg’s music is steadily gaining recognition, but his life story remains obscure. Canada’s Arc ensemble attempts to piece it together in an animated film, just posted on Youtube. You view it here first.

                 














Director James Murdoch, illustrations by Thomas Dannenberg. Image courtesy Toccata Classics
Sourse  http://www.artsjournal.com/slippeddisc/2013/03/new-video-cartoon-the-grievous-life-of-a-soviet-composer.html

At the Piano Interviews with 21st-Century Pianists - C.Benser - 2011

In At the Piano: Interviews with 21st-Century Pianists, Caroline Benser explores the kaleidoscopic world of 21st-century pianism through a series of extended interviews with eight major pianists: Leif Ove Andsnes, Jonathan Biss, Simone Dinnerstein, Marc-André Hamelin, Stephen Hough, Steven Osborne, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Yuja Wang.

The Story of Classical Music - Junior Non-Fiction Naxos AudioBook (UK version) - 2004

This lively recording is a perfect way to introduce classical music to the entire family. It looks at the music through the lives of the great composers and their environment, from the churches and cathedrals that produced the familiar sound of Gregorian chant, to Johann Sebastian Bach, the family man composing for the glory of God, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the child prodigy, genius and prankster who wrote some of the finest music ever yet was buried in a pauper’s grave. The story will be taken to the composers of the twenty-first century. This unusual and special production by the two most important brand names in classical music includes more than 100 musical examples taken from the extensive Naxos catalogue.

Gramophone Magazine - №3 March 2013