Variations V

In Vienna's Musikverein, Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic celebrates Ludwig Van Beethoven's 200th birthday with a joyful performance of his Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major. Maestro Bernstein conducts the orchestra from the keyboard in this historic concert.

In 1969 Swedish television was split into two channels and to celebrate this satirical revue was made.

Nobel Laureate Harry Martinson's famous poem consists of 103 cantos and relates the tragedy of a space ship which, originally bound for Mars with a cargo of colonists from the ravaged Earth, is ejected from the solar system after an accident and into an existential struggle.

Eight vignettes on a variety of topics, including a baby growing up, Charlie Chaplin, Birgit Nilsson, the racing track at Le Mans, erotic cleanliness, French literature, and a black woman in a cupboard in the neighborhood of Farsta near Stockholm.

"The Folding Castle" - a musical drama - Built in blue, lasts longer than you think, can withstand being watch. The shadow of the cloud is slowly eroding, the edges of the giant mountain. The dust of the fairy tale grinds the raw diamonds of life. A story by Gunnel Linde, to music by Bengt Hallberg, choreographer by Tyyne Talvo Cramér, starring Alice Babs.

This set was recorded in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Herbert von Karajan is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest conductors of the 20th century, and around 1970 he was at his peak.

A comprehensive portrait of one of the 20th century's most brilliant and charismatic conductors working with three great orchestras: The Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and the Vienna Philharmonic, performing works by Beethoven, Mozart and Bruckner. Kubelik didn't arrive on the podium trailing clouds of glory like von Karajan or Leonard Bernstein. He seemed to just appear there, shyly and without fanfare. His 'bed hair' curling outward, making his head look like the letter w. His appearance and demeanor suggested that a timid, tentative performance was likely. Then he'd rip into a taut and crisp Eroica or an effervescent, crystalline Prague Symphony.

Performed like a series of vaudeville scenes that overlap, Antic Meet consists of ten playful and comedic numbers. The curtains opened with Cunningham moving among the other dancers as a clown-like figure "who falls in love with a society whose rules he doesn't know," and concludes much in the same way, as he attempts to keep up with the dancers, each with their own movements, as they dance diagonally across the stage. Cage provided the musical accompaniment, using a version of Concert for Piano and Orchestra, and Rauschenberg designed the costumes, which included fur coats and parachute dresses over black leotards.

From the euphoric first to the solemn sixth, the Brandenburg Concertos features some of Bach's finest and most popular orchestral music. Münchener Bach-Orchester ; Karl Richter, conductor and harpsichord. Recorded Apr. 1-10, 1970, Schloss Schleissheim No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 -- No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 -- No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048 -- No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049 -- No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 -- No. 6 in B flat major, BWV 1051. Apr. 1-10, 1970. Orchestra: Münchener Bach-Orchester - Conductor: Karl Richter - Violin: Otto Büchner - Trumpet: Pierre Thibaud - Recorder: Hans-Martin Linde - Recorder: Günter Höller - Oboe: Manfred Clement - Flute: Paul Meisen - Viola: Herbert Blendinger - Viola: Ingo Sinnhoffer - Viola Da Gamba: Hans Dieter Kruse - Viola Da Gamba: Oswald Uhl - Cello: Peter Steiner - Double Bass: Franz Ortner

Karl Richter leads Gundula Janowitz and Hermann Prey in Bach’s monumental B minor Mass The work was filmed in the splendid Baroque abbey church of Diessen in Bavaria, which dates from Bach's time. Messe in h-moll Mass in B minor BWV 232 Gundula Janowitz · Hertha Töpper Horst R. Laubenthal · Hermann Prey Münchener Bach-Chor Münchener Bach-Orchester Karl Richter Directed by Arne Arnbom