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 twentieth century. Special Features: Biographies of the Composers, additional Audio Tracks, Picture Galleries and a filmed concert performance of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Gruppen Dancing on a Volcano – the musical revolution in Vienna at the turn of the 19th to the 20th century Richard Wagner, Arnold Schönberg, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Alban Berg Rhythm – when music in the west freed itself from the dominance of melody and explored the richness of musical pulse for its own sake. Igor Stravinsky, György Ligeti, Pierre Boulez, Gustav Mahler, Olivier Messiaen, Conlon Nancarrow, Edgar Varèse, Steve Reich Colour – the shift away from melody towards an emphasis on tone colour or “timbre“. Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schönberg, Pierre Boulez, Olivier Messiaen, Toru Takemitsu, Maurice Ravel Three Journeys Through Dark Landscapes - the effect of fundamental political upheaval on the music of Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich and Witold Lutoslawski. The American Way – the music of young men in a young country, individualists and innovators who nevertheless learnt from the music of the past, and from the music of other cultures. George Gershwin, Charles Ives, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Morton Feldman, Aaron Copland, John Adams, Kurt Weill, Terry Riley, Leonard Bernsteinweiterlesen