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Music

HEATED MELODIES

Directed by Nassim Nakad

In the hottest place on earth, making music, even playing the blues, is a political and religious challenge!

Nassim Nakad's "Heated Melodies" poses the question of "What happens to an artistic community when a country's legal system is comprised of British Common Law, French and Egyptian Civil Law and Islamic Law?"

Music is a universal language. Composing it, producing it and performing it is a challenge that requires a lot of diligence. That is the art of the musician.

In some countries the difficulties are exacerbated by political and religious acceptance-rules & laws-which impact the ability of the musician to be an artist at all. Kuwait is one of the countries!

The music community in Kuwait is growing, but it remains mostly underground as it fights the cultural and government restrictions placed upon it. Not all music is welcomed in Kuwait.

While classical music is mostly accepted, the underground scene is packed with musicians and bands playing contemporary genres including Rock, Metal, Blues and more, and are comprised of members who have helped to highlight the issue by participating in this production.

As Wikipedia and Wikiislam explain, Kuwait law and the Sharia law struggle with an artistic society that is westernizing.

Heated Melodies highlights the challenges of such a society and the stereotyping of musicians and musical genres. The film additionally explores the difference between the acceptance of males vs. females within the context of religious beliefs and musical performance.

DVD / 2017 / 40 minutes

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MADEMOISELLE PARADIS

Director: Barbara Albert

Set in 18th century Vienna, this is the true story of Maria Theresia von Paradis, a gifted piano player and close friend of Mozart, who lost her eye-sight as a child. Desperate to cure their talented daughter, the Paradis entrust Maria to Dr. Mesmer, a forward-thinking-physician who gives her the care and attention that she requires. With the doctor's innovative techniques of magnetism, Maria slowly recovers her sight. But this miracle comes at a price as the woman progressively starts to lose her gift for music. Faced with a heavy dilemma, Mademoiselle Paradis will have to choose: an ordinary life in the light or an extraordinary life in darkness, as a virtuoso.

DVD (German & French with English subtitles) / 2017 / 97 minutes

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OLANCHO

Directors: Chris Valdes, Ted Griswold

Olancho is the story of the most lawless province in Honduras, the most murderous country in the world. It is the story of a group of musicians who perform for the powerful drug cartels there. Their songs glorify the traffickers who have destroyed their country, and who sometimes threaten the lives of their loved ones. But in a world where the cartels wield the most power, do the musicians have any other choice?

DVD (Spanish with English subtitles) / 2017 / 70 minutes

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ROARING ABYSS

By Quino Pinero

Ethiopia has over eighty different cultures. With live recordings of music, this film is a voyage of discovery across mountains, deserts and forests to find the last interpreters of traditional Ethiopian music. It is a search for authenticity which is increasingly being pushed aside by electronics and mainstream culture...

A sound journey across the mountains, deserts and forests of Ethiopia and its cultural universe. Roaring Abyss will take you through an extensive and previously unpublished collection of music recordings of invaluable importance for the transmission and preservation of the African heritage.

Ethiopia's music scene is known for its distinctive genre of Ethio-Jazz, a blend of western musical sounds, Armenian introduced brass instruments, and Ethiopia's traditional folk and religious music. Most focus on Ethiopian music highlights the country's modern musical output, music that utilizes keyboards, synthesizers, and drum machines.

DVD (English & Amharic with English Subtitles) / 2017 / 87 minutes

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BARNEGIE HALL

Hosted by Verlon Thompson

Celebrated songwriter and virtuoso picker Verlon Thompson sits down with some of the most inspiring and talented writer/performers in the world for honest conversation, laughter and musical insights in an extraordinary series of 13 musical journeys.

Each episode is intimately filmed at Barnegie Hall, a very special location with its heart rooted in Country and Americana music. The 13 program series explores how some of the greatest hits of all time were crafted and includes personal musical performances by the guests, as well as intimate duets performed along with host Verlon Thompson.

2 DVDs / 2016 / 390 minutes

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BORBETOMAGUS - A POLLOCK OF SOUND

By Jef Mertens

A Pollock of Sound is the first feature-length documentary about the legendary improv / noise group Borbetomagus.

Filmmaker Jef Mertens brings a raw, urgent, and unpolished vision focusing on a band that has spent almost four decades defining and redefining not just their music, but the boundaries of music itself.

Band members Don Dietrich, Donald Miller, and Jim Sauter tell their story with the help of artists, writers, photographers, and filmmakers that include noted critic Byron Coley, drummer Chris Corsano, guitarist Thurston Moore, groundbreaking Japanese noise unit Hijokaidan, and Switzerland's masters of "cracked electronics," Voice Crack. Includes never-before-seen archival footage, amazing photographic finds, and previously unreleased recordings.

Borbetomagus formed in 1979 when saxophone players Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich joined with electric guitarist Donald Miller. Bass guitarist Adam Nodelman was briefly a member, and they have occasionally collaborated with others. Their aggressive music has been described as a huge, overpowering, take-no-prisoners mass of sound.

DVD (Color, Black and White) / 2016 / 63 minutes

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FINDING JOSEPH I: THE HR FROM BAD BRAINS DOCUMENTARY

Directed by James Lathos

"Finding Joseph I" is a documentary film chronicling the eccentric life of punk rock reggae singer, Paul "HR" Hudson from Bad Brains. The charismatic front-man's explosive live performances helped pioneer hardcore punk while delivering an enlightening message of positive mental attitude.

HR's heavy devotion to the Rastafarian faith guided him in a spiritual direction, leaving the band several times to explore his love for reggae music.

Over the years HR's increasingly unpredictable and abnormal behavior has many convinced that he his suffering from mental illness. Finding Joseph I illustrates the true story behind the legendary lead singer's life, career and struggles with never before seen archival footage, photography and exclusive interviews.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 91 minutes

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JUDY COLLINS - A LOVE LETTER TO SONDHEIM

Music history would not be the same without the work of Stephen Sondheim. Included in his work, Sondheim scored A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods, and he wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.

Music history would not be the same without the work of Judy Collins who hit the charts with such songs as Turn Turn Turn, Send in the Clowns, Hard Lovin' Loser, Both Sides Now, Chelsea Morning just to name a few.

It was pure magic when Collins decided to perform the work of Sondheim in a live performance of love and admiration... and when directors Pierre Lamoureux and Francois Lamoureux recorded the performance, that in itself made history, too!

"A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim" was filmed in May 2016 at The Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, CO. Collins took the audience through Sondheim's remarkable treasure-trove of music, interweaving stories of Broadway with her personal anecdotes.

All orchestrations are by Jonathan Tunick, who has been orchestrating Stephen Sondheim's musicals for decades. Tunicks's orchestration was used by Collins for "Send in the Clowns, " and brought Sondheim his only chart topping song in his esteemed history.

Collins is joined on the program by the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Glen Cortese.

DVD / 2016 / 90 minutes

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MALI BLUES

By Lutz Gregor
With Fatoumata "Fatou" Diawara, Bassekou Kouyate, Master Soumy & Ahmed Ag Kaedi

The West African country of Mali is a birthplace of the blues, a musical tradition later carried by the transatlantic slave trade to America's cotton fields. Yet today, the music and musicians of Mali are in grave danger. As fundamentalist Islam and sharia law become more widespread, dance and secular music are prohibited, musical instruments are destroyed, and musicians are forced to flee their homeland.

The vibrant documentary MALI BLUES follows four artists: Fatoumata "Fatou" Diawara is a rising star on the global pop scene (memorably featured in Abderrahmane Sissako's acclaimed drama Timbuktu). Bassekou Kouyate is a celebrated ngoni player and traditional griot. Master Soumy is a young street rapper influenced by hip-hop. Ahmed Ag Kaedi is the leader of the Tuareg band Amanar and a guitar virtuoso. Each combines rich musical traditions with contemporary influences, using their music to stand up to extremism and inspire tolerance and peace.

DVD (Color) / 2016 / 93 minutes

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SCENESTERS: MUSIC, MAYHEM & MELROSE AVE. A DOCUMENTARY 1985-1990

Directed by Desi Benjamin

Many music scenes are best known for a type of music that emanated from that scene. 1985-1990 Los Angeles was very different...

SCENESTERS captures the moment in time when Punk, Glam, Hard Rock, Alternative, Garage, and Metal all collided and meshed in Los Angeles in the mid 80s.

Featured are the first-hand accounts of people who were completely submerged in the culture... people who changed the rules of fashion, set the scene, and made Melrose Avenue ground zero for bands like Guns N Roses, Jane's Addiction, and The Red Chili Peppers.

This ushered in a lifestyle of hard living and lots of partying. Hear from those SCENESTERS who lived through it all to tell tales of the legendary LA scene 1985-1990. Among those interviewed are: Paul Roessler, Bruce Duff, Bernie Bernstein, Bryan Forsythe, Taime Downe, Greg Steele, Susan Hyatt, Abby Travis, Brian Grillo, Kevin Kipnis, Josh Feilds, Debra Diament, Dukey Flyswatter, Pat, Munzingo, Chreistopher Thorn, Joseph Brooks, and Micheal Stewart, all participants in the scene... all scenesters themselves...

Intertwined within these extensive interviews is a soundtrack that digs deep into the music, providing an inside listen to this most unique time in rock genre development and evolution. Included are

The Fell Popes-2am @ 9th and grand
T.S.O.L.-Sound Of Laughter
Motley Crue-Live Wire
Van Halen-316
AC-DC-Let There Be Rock
The Ramones-I Wanna Be Sedated
The Cult-She Sells Sactuary
Wire-A Touching Display
Elvis Costello and the Attractions-Pump It Up
B-52's-Rock Lobster
Britny Fox-Long Way To Love
Specimen-The Beauty of Poison
Faster Pussycat-Where There Is A Whip
New York Dolls-Personality Crisis
The Ramones-Blitzkrieg Bop
The Dead Boys-Sonic Reducer
Hanoi Rocks-Tragedy
Aerosmith-No Surprise
The Germs-Caught In My Eye
The Sex Pistols-God Save The Queen
Devo-That's Good
Poison-Talk Dirty To Me
Depeche Mode-Everything Counts
Culture Club-i'll Tumble 4 U
Bauhaus-Bella Lugosi Dead
Celebrity Skin-Hello
New York Dolls-Pills

DVD (Color, Black and White) / 2016 / 81 minutes

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VINCE GIORDANO: THERE'S A FUTURE IN THE PAST

Directors: Dave Davidson & Amber Edwards

What does it take to keep Jazz Age music going strong in the 21st century? Two words: Vince Giordano -- a bandleader, musician, historian, scholar, collector, and NYC institution. For nearly 40 years, Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks have brought the joyful syncopation of the 1920s and '30s to life with their virtuosity, vintage musical instruments, and more than 60,000 period band arrangements. This beautifully crafted documentary offers an intimate and energetic portrait of a truly devoted musician and preservationist, taking us behind the scenes of the recording of HBO's Grammy award-winning Boardwalk Empire soundtrack, and alongside Giordano as he shares his passion for hot jazz with a new generation of music and swing-dance fans. - Jacob Burns Film Center

DVD / 2016 / 90 minutes

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I DREAM OF WIRES

Director: Robert Fantinatto and Jason Amm

I Dream of Wires is a documentary about the rise, fall and rebirth of the machine that shaped electronic music: the modular synthesizer. The film explores the synthesizer's remarkable history, revealing how innovators like Robert Moog, working at Columbia University's Computer Music Center, helped built the foundation for the machine. It shows how cheap foreign imports destroyed the synthesizer's reputation. And it tracks the phenomenal resurgence of high end modular synthesizers being used by a new generation of musicians, many of them the progenitors of the electronic dance music genre.

Inventors, musicians and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer - for many, it's an all-consuming passion. Established musicians such as Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), Gary Numan, Morton Subotnick, Carl Craig and John Foxx show off their systems and explain why they opt to use this volatile but ultimately rewarding technology.

Meanwhile, a new generation of dance and electronica artists including Clark, James Holden and Factory Floor explain why they've embraced the sound and physicality of modular synthesizers. Innovative companies like Modcan and Doepfer, driven by a desire to revive modular synthesizers, discuss how they planted the seeds that have grown into a major cottage industry. What started out as a "vintage-revival scene" in the '90s has evolved into an underground phenomena, with users and aficionados craving ever more wild and innovative sounds and interfaces.

Today, the modular synthesizer is no longer an esoteric curiosity or even a mere music instrument - it is an essential tool for radical new sounds and a bona-fide subculture.

DVD / 2015 / 96 minutes

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TALENT HAS HUNGER

Director: Josh Aronson

Talent Has Hunger is an inspiring film about the power of music to consume, enhance, and propel lives. Filmed over 7 years, the film is a window into the mysterious world of the artist, the passion that can grip and sustain a young player from childhood through the last days of life and the years of sacrifice and dedication a budding artist needs to fulfill one's talent. The film focuses on the challenges of guiding gifted young people through the struggles of mastering the cello. Through the words and actions of master cello teacher, Paul Katz, it's clear that this deep study of music not only prepares wonderful musicians, but builds self-esteem and a cultural and aesthetic character that will be profoundly important throughout his students' lives.

DVD / 2015 / 82 minutes

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ZYDECO CROSSROADS: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

From Filmmaker Robert Mugge and WXPN "World Cafe" host David Dye comes a musical journey from Philadelphia to Lafayette and exploration into Louisiana's Creole music community!

During the latter half of 2014, music filmmaker Robert Mugge and his partner Diana Zelman worked with executives Roger LaMay and Bruce Warren of Philadelphia public radio station WXPN and their "World Cafe" host and producer David Dye to document and assist WXPN's exploration of the Creole culture of Southwest Louisiana through its yearlong Zydeco Crossroads project.

The film portion of the project documented concerts by zydeco artists C.J. Chenier and Rosie Ledet in the Philadelphia area and followed XPN staff to Lafayette, Louisiana where concerts were staged featuring additional top zydeco artists Buckwheat Zydeco, Nathan Williams, Chubby Carrier, Rockin' Dopsie, Jr., Major Handy, Creole United, Soul Creole, Lil' Nate Williams, Chris Ardoin, and Corey Arceneaux, along with collaborating Mississippi blues artist Vasti Jackson.

Also documented were David Dye's interviews with most of the key performing artists and with zydeco club owner Sid Williams, zydeco historian Michael Tisserand, and zydeco deejay Herman Fuselier of Lafayette public radio station KRVS.

DVD / 2015 / 87 minutes

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EAST PUNK MEMORIES

By Lucile Chaufour

"You're just a street kid, you'll never be a Party Secretary!"

"Maybe you don't even exist, you don't want this life anymore!"

"Communist drug, no seduction needed!"

When the Hungarian punk band QSS launched into their anthemic song "Communist Drug" from the 1984 album Kommunista Kabito (or "Communist Stunning"), these explosive lyrics resonated in hearts and eardrums across the country.

How do those same musicians feel, thirty years after the fall of communism in Hungary, about the role their music played in their country's history?

Fellow musician and contributor to the Hungarian punk record label Makhno Records, Lucile Chaufour is uniquely suited to find out. In EAST PUNK MEMORIES she takes viewers into the little-known subculture behind the mohawks.

Candid, home movie-esque Super 8mm footage that Chaufour filmed in Hungary during punk's heyday is paired with contemporary interviews of the same musicians today. They bring a generation of experience to this resonant discussion of the position their music and culture has played in their country's political evolution with the passage of time.

EAST PUNK MEMORIES includes interviews with musicians Kelemen Balazs, Toth Miklos, Mozsik Imre, Marton Attila, Papp Zoltan Gyorgy, Vanyi Tamas, Rupaszov Tamas, Horvath Attila, Erds Jozsef, Vojtko Dezs, Asztalos Ildiko and Torjek Tunde while their punk bands Aurora, Bandanas, CPG, ETA, Kretens and Modells rock out on the pulsing, thrashing and cannily dissenting soundtrack.

DVD (Color) / 2014 / 51 minutes

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GIVING UP THE GHOSTS: CLOSING TIME AT DOC'S MUSIC HALL

Robert Mugge's feature-length music documentary, GIVING UP THE GHOSTS: Closing Time at Doc's Music Hall, explores the twin careers of respected physician and musician Dr. John Peterson and the music and arts venue he owned and helped operate in downtown Muncie, Indiana from 1992 to 2012.

The film centers around a final music hall concert by Doc and his house band performing Doc's original songs along with covers of assorted jazz (Shadowfax), rock (The Doors, The Animals), soul (The Temptations, The Isley Brothers), and pop (Paul Simon, Lionel Richie, Judy Garland) favorites.

In interviews, Doc and others discuss his early success in the music business, his later innovative merging of traditional and alternative medicines, and his purchase and restoration of a downtown Muncie building both to provide an outlet for the work of young artists and musicians and to help invigorate Muncie's abandoned downtown.

The film also includes discussion of the ghosts many claim to have seen and heard in the building over the years (presumed to be deceased actors who performed in the city's multiple theaters during earlier decades) and a ceremony intended to "free" them, now that the venue was shutting down.

DVD / 2014 / 80 minutes

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IT'S GONNA BLOW!!! SAN DIEGO'S MUSIC UNDERGROUND 1986-1996

By Bill Perrine

A film about community, hype, and musical incest.

It's Gonna Blow!!! is the story of San Diego's legendary 1990's music scene and its brief, ill-fated reign as the 'next Seattle'. A motley community of musicians with a do-it-yourself ethos and an aversion to mainstream culture develop their idiosyncratic sounds in the isolation of San Diego, but soon find themselves at the center of bidding wars and expense account lunches. What happens when the outcasts become the next big thing?

Drawing from previously unseen performance footage and interviews with over sixty musicians, promoters and artists such as John Reis (Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu), Justin Pearson (The Locust, Swing Kids), Rob Crow (Pinback, Heavy Vegetable), Luke Jenner (The Rapture), Pall Jenkins (Three Mile Pilot, Black Heart Procession), Tom Delonge (Blink-182), Mario Rubalcaba (Clikatat Ikatowi, Off!), the film explores the birth of San Diego's innovative post-hardcore scene and its early 90s 'Next Seattle' hype.

Featuring interviews and performances from Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, Trumans Water, the Locust, Three Mile Pilot, Heavy Vegetable, Blink 182, Crash Worship, No Knife, Heroin, Antioch Arrow, Boilermaker, Clikatat Ikatowi, Unbroken, Fishwife, Tanner, Physics, Pitchfork, Creedle, Swing Kids, Sub Society, Neighborhood Watch, Inch, Funeral March, Amenity and others.

DVD / 2014 / 86 minutes

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MERCEDES SOSA: THE VOICE OF LATIN AMERICA

Director: Rodrigo H. Vila

In 1960s, prior to her fame and international acclaim, Mercedes Sosa defied expectations by drafting, together with four other young musicians, the "Manifesto del Nuevo Cancionero" ("The New Songbook Manifesto"). How did this manifesto make an impact on youth culture in Argentina and future generations of Latin Americans? How much did the "Nuevo Cancionero" influence the development of the "Nueva Trova Cubana," the folk-music revolution driven by its message of social and political change? How did Sosa's ideology affect the politics of both emerging and developed countries? Apart from the millions of records she sold, the thousands of international concerts, her countless fans and detractors, Mercedes Sosa left behind an indelible legacy, an ideal that has not become a reality yet but which keeps pushing forward. Mercedes Sosa, The Voice of Latin America is an intimate and informative journey into the world of a ground-breaking artist and activist.

DVD (English, Spanish, Portuguese and French with English Subtitles) / 2013 / 93 minutes

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SPEAK THE MUSIC: ROBERT MANN AND THE MYSTERIES OF CHAMBER MUSIC

Director: Allan Miller

Robert Mann has been a vital force in the world of music for more than seventy years. As founder and first violinist of the Julliard String Quartet, and as a soloist, composer, teacher, and conductor, Mann has brought a refreshing sense of adventure and discovery to chamber music performance, master classes, and orchestral performances worldwide.

In Speak the Music, the 93-year-old Mann shares personal anecdotes from his childhood and musical training, archival performance footage, candid interviews and glimpses into his private lessons with today's most promising violinists. A living legend, Robert Mann is in turn, funny, angry, tactful, persistent, and always searching for the most human expression he finds inside the music. Speak the Music pulls no punches: Mann describes the dark side of quartet life, including often intense differences with colleagues.

Featuring rare rehearsal and dazzling performance excerpts from Mann's 50 years with the Juilliard String Quartet, Speak the Music is at once an exciting insight into the art and personality of a monumental chamber musician, and the story of the growing importance of chamber music in the second half of the 20th century.

Featuring: Elliott Carter, Stephen Hough, pianist; Joel Krosnick, cellist; Maestro Seiji Ozawa; violinist, Itzhak Perlman; Nicholas Mann, Lisa Mann Matos, Lucy Rowan Mann; Dean Robert Yekovich, Rice Institute of Music; Peter Winograd, violinist; David Geber, cellist; Maria Lambros, violist.

DVD / 2013 / 56 minutes

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WAGNER'S JEWS

Director: Hilan Warshaw

Richard Wagner was notoriously anti-Semitic, and his writings on the Jews were later embraced by Hitler and the Nazis. But many of Wagner's closest associates were Jews- young musicians who became personally devoted to him, and provided crucial help to his career. Even as Wagner called for the elimination of the Jews from German life, many of his most active supporters were Jewish, as he himself noted with surprise.

They included piano prodigy Carl Tausig; Hermann Levi, a rabbi's son who conducted the premiere of Wagner's 'Parsifal'; Angelo Neumann, who produced Wagner's works throughout Europe; and Joseph Rubinstein, a pianist who lived with the Wagner family for years and committed suicide when Wagner died.

Filmed on location in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, Wagner's Jews interweaves archival sources, visual re-enactments, interviews, and performances by Wagner's Jewish colleagues - the first such performances on film.

Parallel to the historical narrative, the film explores the ongoing controversy over performing Wagner's music in Israel. In a different form, the questions dividing Wagner's Jewish acquaintances still resonate today: is it possible to separate artworks from the hatreds of their creator? Can art transcend prejudice and bigotry, and the weight of history?

Featuring Zubin Mehta, Music Director, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Yossi Beilin, Israeli politician and negotiator of the Oslo peace accords; Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, Conductor Laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra; Uri Hanoch, Deputy Chairman, Central Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel; Jonathan Livny, President, Israel Wagner Society; Dina Porat, Chief Historian, Yad Vashem; Professor, Tel Aviv University; and many others.

DVD / 2013 / 55 minutes

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IN SEARCH OF BLIND JOE DEATH: THE SAGA OF JOHN FAHEY

Directorr: James Cullingham

Known as the father of American Primitive Guitar, many consider John Fahey to be a foundational figure in American folk music. As both musician and musicologist, Fahey made a fundamental contribution to our understanding and appreciation of such music genres as Delta blues, Appalachian bluegrass and New Orleans jazz. In Search of Blind Joe Death combines interviews, performances and archival footage with animation in a kinetic, musically charged tribute to a tremendously influential composer, guitarist, author and provocateur. Interviewees include Pete Townshend, Joey Burns of Calexico, Chris Funk of The Decemberists and renowned radio personality Dr. Demento, aka Barry Hansen.

DVD / 2012 / 57 minutes

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ORCHESTRA OF EXILES

Director: Josh Aronson

One Polish violinist. 70 Jewish musicians. Together they fought the Nazis with the only weapon they had: Music.

From Academy Award nominated director Josh Aronson, Orchestra of Exiles reveals the dramatic story of Bronislaw Huberman, the celebrated Polish violinist who rescued some of the world's greatest musicians from Nazi Germany and then created one of the world's greatest orchestras, the Palestine Philharmonic (which would become the Israeli Philharmonic).

DVD-R / 2012 / 85 minutes

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PIANOMANIA

Director: Robert Cibis & Lilian Franck

As Steinway & Sons' chief technician and Master Tuner, Stefan Knupfer is dedicated to the unusual task of pairing world-class instruments with world-famous pianists. Juggling the demands of the pianist, the piano, and the piece to find the perfect match requires boundless enthusiasm, but also endless patience and nerves of steel. Pianomania is a humorous and surprisingly suspenseful peek into the clash of wills between a craftsman and the renowned pianists who rely on his talent - including Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel, Rudolf Buchbinder and Pierre-Laurent Aimand.

DVD-R (English and German with English subtitles) / 2011 / 93 minutes

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WHEN THE DRUM IS BEATING

Director: Whitney Dow

In Haiti, there is one band that has seen it all: Septentrional. For six decades this 20 piece band has been making passionate, beautiful music - a fusion of Cuban big band and Haitian voodoo beats - through dictatorships, natural disasters, coup d'etats, and chaos, navigating the ups and downs, the glory and the tragedy that is Haiti's history.

When the Drum Is Beating interweaves the extraordinary story of Septentrional with that of Haiti: from the brutality of French colonialism and the bloody revolution that brought Haitians their freedom, to the crushing foreign debt and the 15 year American occupation that ushered in the brutal dictatorship of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier. We see the hope that was created by Jean Bertrand Aristide, and the despair that followed after he was driven from power. And we are there as Haiti endures an earthquake that kills almost 300,000 people and tears apart the social fabric of the country.

Through its sweeping narrative, infectious music and tension-filled encounters, the film allows the viewer to see, feel and hear the passion, commitment and joy of Septentrional's musicians, and through them, the unique Haitian spirit.

DVD (English, Creole, With English subtitles) / 2011 / 84 minutes

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MUSIC IS HARMONY

Murray Sidlin and the National Symphony Orchestra demonstrate the creation of rich musical texture. They explain which combinations of sounds are best in given situations, and they talk about a variety of ways in which harmonies can be played.

Learning Objectives:
1) Students will become familiar with different styles of music and with the harmonic elements that are used in each.
2) Students will learn how notes combine to form music.
3) Students will become familiar with 'counterpoint' as a musical form.

DVD / 2004 / (Grades 6-12) / 29 minutes

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GREAT MASTERS: HAYDN - HIS LIFE AND MUSIC

Taught by Robert Greenberg

The music of Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) is so technically superb, so widely imitated, and so rich in both quality and quantity that almost since the moment of its creation it has summed up the Classical style.

More than any other single composer, it was Haydn who created the Classical-era symphony. And his 68 string quartets? They are the standard by which all other Classical string quartets were and are judged. No less an expert than Mozart wrote that it was from Haydn that he himself had learned how to write quartets.

And yet this gentle, creative dynamo, who penned more than 1,000 works over a 50-year career and remained musically vital well past middle age, is all too often thought of as "Papa" Haydn, an aged figure surpassed and overshadowed by Mozart and Beethoven.

2 DVDs (With Course Guidebook) / 360 minutes

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GREAT MASTERS: MOZART - HIS LIFE AND MUSIC

Taught by Robert Greenberg

He composed his first symphony at the age of 8. His middle name means "loved of God." And Austrian Emperor Joseph II accused his music of having "too many notes."

This course is a biographical and musical study of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), who composed more than 600 works of beauty and brilliance in just over 20 years.

According to Professor Robert Greenberg, Mozart's music combined the pure lyricism of song with dramatic timing, depth of expression, and technical mastery of the complexities of phrase structure and harmony that allowed him to create a body of work unique in the repertoire.

2 DVDs (With Course Guidebook) / 360 minutes

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