Julian Bream

The Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.

Broadcast on 1 February 1956, composer Arthur Benjamin's Mañana was the first opera commissioned by the BBC. "The small Andalusian village comes to life in a sequence of short scenes introducing its inhabitants: a group of gossiping washerwomen, the prying eyes of the old rich widow looking down from her window, the neglected boy playing in the square, the pickpocket at work, the lazy man stretched out snoring in the midday sun, the Wise Man who mends china and writes letters for the poor and is fed in turn by the community. What will happen on the day when his food is given to a boy wrongly imprisoned in the local gaol and the Wise Man goes hungry? His anger is such that he prophesies the end of the world for mañana (tomorrow morning) and the credulous village repents and makes ready to meet its doom." —George R. Foa

Series of informal masterclasses held at the Wiltshire home of the renowned guitarist Julian Bream.

A documentary by Tony Palmer on English composer Sir William Walton (1902–1983), made shortly before his death. The film includes the only full-length interview ever recorded with Walton. Filmed at his home on Ischia and in Oxford, London & Oldham, it includes contributions from Laurence Olivier, Sacheverell Sitwell and Lady Susana Walton. Specially performed extracts of his music are conducted by Simon Rattle in his first substantial contribution to television when he was in his early 20s, with Simon Preston, Julian Bream, Yvonne Kenny, Yehudi Menuhin, Iona Brown, John Shirley-Quirk, Elgar Howarth & Ralph Kirshbaum, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford & Los Paraguayos.

A portrait of one of England's greatest composers. Winner of the Prix Italia.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Aldeburgh Festival and the opening by The Queen of the new concert hall at Snape.

This documentary is an informal portrait of the great modern composer Igor Stravinsky. Proudly American, though still very much an Old World figure with a long and alert memory for people and events in music, literature and art, Stravinsky is depicted here conducting the CBC Symphony Orchestra in a recording of his Symphony of Psalms.

Julian Bream, considered by many as the greatest classic guitarist of the 20th century, tells the remarkable story of his life in music. Over three hours of material, illustrated with over one hour of complete musical performances, includes contributions from John Williams, Peter Pears, Igor Stravinsky, William Walton, George Malcolm, Richard Rodney Bennett and Ali Akbar Khan. Julian’s influence has resulted in a repertoire rich in contributions from Britten, Walton, Henze, Takemitsu, Tippett, Rawsthorne, Lennox Berkeley and countless others. He enthusiastically communicates his musical passions which are celebrated in this generously documented DVD. Highlights include Julian’s coming out of retirement for a performance of Britten’s Nocturnal, written for the guitarist, and an emotional return to the composer’s home in Aldeburgh, and an exclusive BBC Radio 3 recording of Richard Rodney Bennett’s Sonata for Solo Guitar.