GIUSEPPE SINOPOLI AND THE DRESDEN STAATSKAPELLE (PAL)

The Two Eyes of Horus & Dreampaths of Music
A musical journey - combining western music with the
ancient Egyptian culture

SCHÖNBERG: Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4;
R. STRAUSS: Metamorphosen; SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish", Op. 97; WAGNER: Prelude to Parsifal; BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 7, Op. 92

Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Picture Format: 4:3
Menu Languages: D, F, GB, SP
Subtitle Languages: D, F, SP, IT
Region Code: 2, 5
Running Time: 90 + 86 mins
DVD9/PAL

Cat. no.: 100 502

Arthaus presents a strong programme specially chosen and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli, presented in two films using stunning natural images shot on location in Egypt and elsewhere.

Giuseppe Sinopoli, the conductor, composer, teacher, physician and archaeologist, died at the age of 55 in 2001 while at the podium conducting Verdi's Aida in Berlin. Labelled the "spirited thoroughbred of a musician" by Wolfgang Wagner, he was fascinated by Egyptology and it was his passion which prompted him to conceive this television project combining his passions - the music of Western European culture and the art and philosophy of Pharaonic Egypt.

In the film Two Eyes of Horus Giuseppe Sinopoli conducts two famous twentieth-century pieces for string orchestra - Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen - and relates them to the myths of the ancient Egyptian world. The music performances are visualised with resplendent footage shot on location in Egypt and each piece is preceded by a documentary sequence in which Sinopoli explains his ideas.

The second part Dreampaths of Music features performances of Schumann's Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish"), the prelude to Wagner's Parsifal and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7. For Sinopoli, these pieces form a thought-provoking journey in music from West to East. Pat Gavin, who has won countless awards for his innovative electronic graphics, worked with Barrie Gavin to add a striking visual element to this extraordinary cultural journey, one linked by images of rivers and water, from the Rhine Valley to the Nile.