LEAVING HOME: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century, Vol. 2: Rhythm (NTSC)

Volume 2 - Rhythm:
A Conducted Tour by Sir Simon Rattle
and The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Soloists including: Anne Sofie von Otter, Peter Donohoe,
Jeanne Loriod, Rex Lawson

Excerpts from: STRAVINSKY: Le Sacre du Printemps; VARÈSE: Ionisation; LIGETI: Atmosphères; REICH: Music for Piece of Wood; BOULEZ: Rituel in Memoriam Bruno Maderna; MESSIAEN: Turangalîla Symphony; MAHLER: Das Lied von der Erde; NANCARROW: Piano Roll No. 21

Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Picture Format: 4:3
Special Features: Biographies of the Composers, Audio Tracks
Languages: GB, D
Menu Languages: GB, D, F
Subtitles Languages: F, SP, IT, JP
Region Code: 0 worldwide
Running Time: 50 mins (+ 80 mins audio)
DVD5 / NTSC

Cat no.: 102 035

Written and presented by Sir Simon Rattle, the foremost British conductor of our day, this series forms a fascinating introduction to, and overview of, the music of the 20th century. Each of the seven programmes features over thirty minutes of specially-shot music in performance, with Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Simon Rattle leads viewers on an exhilarating journey through the music of our time, explaining the chief musical developments from Mahler to the present day. Each programme is illustrated with evocative imagery, archive film and photographs and the featured music is set within the broader context of artistic and social change.

Why "Leaving Home"? The story of twentieth-century music is one of leave-takings in many ways. As a wealth of talented composers searched for new creative responses to the world around them, many made departures from the solid 'home' foundations of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music - tonal harmony, melody, regular rhythm and metre. Many had to literally leave home, displaced by political upheavals. A remarkable diversity of expression developed - not all of the difficult or discordant variety commonly associated with modern music. The range is wide and this series samples the work of over thirty composers, discovering new and challenging sounds as well as some unexpectedly familiar music.

In Volume 2, we see how music in the West freed itself form the dominance of melody and explores the richness of musical pulse for its own sake. Starting with the driving power of Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps, Sir Simon Rattle takes viewers on a vibrant sensory Journey.