A compilation of six standalone short films, each inspired by a contemporary Dutch music composition and created as part of a collaboration between Nederlandse film directors and composers for a Holland Festival presentation.

Attrazione d'Amore is a touching illustration of the unique relation that has developed between the Conductor Riccardo Chailly and his famous Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Voyage to Cythera navigates through wonderful musical quotes made of performances conducted by Berio, rehearsals, archival documents and interviews featuring Riccardo Chailly and Louis Andriessen.

STRAVINSKY-SCHÖNBERG Film 1 : The Final Chorale tells the story of Igor Stravinsky’s “Symphonies of Wind for Instruments”, a piece he composed in 1920 in memory of Claude Debussy. Using for the first time a “montage” technique juxtaposing short musical sequences and blocks of sound, Stravinsky constructed his work as a bold and majestic piece with complex tempo relations which, until today, still strike musicologists, musicians and audiences alike by their originality. The chorale at the close of the piece explodes in an apotheosis of eclecticism. Frank Scheffer tells this neo-classical musical adventure in a moving documentary, taking the structure and character of the composition as the basic form for the style and editing of the film. His narration includes interviews, archival material on Stravinsky and performances by the Netherlands Wind Ensemble conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. Preview: click here Film 2 : Written in 1909, Five Orchestral Pieces is one of Arnold Schönberg’s most famous compositions, representing the revolutionary step from tonal to atonal music. In the composer’s own words, it was just "No architecture, no build up, just an uninterrupted flow of colours, rhythm and moods". Conductor Michael Gielen rehearses and performs Schoenberg's op. 16 with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. Each of the five movements is interspersed with interviews as Gielen, Carl Schorske and Charles Rosen who discuss various aspects of Schoenberg's life and works. Rosen also performs the last movement of Schoenberg's Three Piano Pieces, op. 11. Preview: click here Picture Format: 4:3 Sound Format: PCM stereo Running Time: 104 minutes Region code: All zones TV system: NTSC Languages: English – Français – Deutsch -Español – Nederlands - 日本語

PIERRE BOULEZ Eclat Directed by Frank Scheffer Sur Incises Directed by Andy Sommer Written by Hélène Jarry and Andy Sommer Film 1: Eclat is a real study of resonance written for fifteen instruments Pierre Boulez created in 1965, a glittering jewel of tightness and rationality, a riotously colorful mixture of open-form freedom and serialist order. Eclat (meaning "to burst out") is a kind of "concerto for conductor," where the musicians in the ensemble play semi-improvisational material prescribed within boxes in Boulez's score. Given this material, the conductor "composes" and controls the work via an elaborate and complex series of cues, directing the content of the music and deciding which musicians play when, as well as what they play. In this film by Frank Scheffer, Eclat is performed by the Netherlands’ Nieuw Ensemble conducted by Ed Spanjaard, coached by Boulez himself. Film 2: In A Lesson with Pierre Boulez, the composer explains with warmth, modesty and infectious enthusiasm, the hidden architecture of Sur Incises, one of his most recent works, to a non-specialized young audience. On a number of occasions, Pierre Boulez has shown that he can come up with the right words and gestures to throw a light on complex musical scores. Here he demonstrates his teaching talents in talking about his work as a composer and offers a witty exposition of the musical movements that make up its construction. This masterclass documentary is complemented by a concert with Boulez conducting the nine soloists of the Ensemble Intercontemporain, who follow him with visible pleasure through the mysteries of this spectacular piece.

ELLIOTT CARTER - A LABYRINTH OF TIME A documentary film by Frank Scheffer Picture format: NTSC 4:3 Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 Region code: 0 Languages: English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese Running time: 90 minutes No. of DVDs: 1 Comprehensive 12-page booklet contains authoritative essay, discography, photos and biographies in English * Elliott Carter represents almost a century of American music history. Throughout the world he is considered as one of the most important contemporary composers, one who finds inspiration in the clash of European tradition and American innovation. The creative period in his life spans more than 70 years and testifies of the composer's extraordinary dedication to the culture of music. * In A Labyrinth of Time, Frank Scheffer shows Carter's musical development and projects his compositions in time, in a journey led the composer himself. Beautiful pictures of the city of New York, of which Carter is a lifetime citizen, used as a metaphor, help building the juxtaposition of Carter's music and its reflection on our democratic society. * The film also features interviews with Daniel Barenboim, Charles Rosen and Pierre Boulez. Accolades afforded to this film include: - SACEM Award, Classiques en Images 2004. - Best Documentary Award, Student Prize, Golden Prague Festival 2004. "Frank Scheffer's 'A Labyrinth of Time', a study of world-renowned American composer Elliott Carter, fascinates as it illuminates." Variety "Unique insights into the composer's artistic philosophy and character."

Dutch director Frank Scheffer collaborates with Andrew Culver for a series of four short films celebrating the theories and music of avant-garde composer John Cage. In 19 QUESTIONS, Cage answers questions on a variety of subjects. In FOURTEEN, the Ives Ensemble performs Cage's composition of the same name, filmed with multiple cameras using chance operations to determine the position, angle, focus, and aperture settings of each shot. In PAYING ATTENTION, Scheffer and Culver combine separate audio and video portions from an interview with Cage. And in OVERPOPULATION AND ART WITH RYONJI, Scheffer combines the audio of Cage's spoken performance with his musical piece for four voices and percussion.

This film is a documentary about the preparation of the amazing Helicopter String Quartet which Stockhausen brought to fruition simply because he had experienced it in a dream. The composer presents the music in a very accessible way, documenting the events that led to news headlines around the world in 1995. The musicians are seen rehearsing separately, and then in the helicopters themselves as they soar over Amsterdam transmitting their music down to the concert hall. If only the film included a complete performance such as the one thousands will experience when the event is recreated in the skies of Bonn in May 2000.

川剧表演艺术家沈铁梅与作曲家郭文景跨界合作交响川剧《思凡》的整个过程，讲述了一个戏曲艺术家和一个音乐家将传统文化和交响乐相融合的创作过程。交响乐团配合川剧的锣鼓和唱腔，将交响乐与川剧完美融合，诠释出中国传统戏曲和唱词的别样意境。

《指挥马勒》于我而言是一部非常令人兴奋的电影。因为在那之前我从未想过自己会去做一部关于一个19世纪的作曲家的电影。在欧洲的音乐传统中，马勒是连接古典浪漫主义世界和崭新的现代世界的桥梁。他是我知道的最诚实的艺术家、作曲家，因为他的音乐总是直接诉说他的心声，毫不掩饰地展现他的所思所感。这些品质在如今对于一个艺术家还是非常有用的。我认为中国作曲家郭文景有着和马勒相同的品质。马勒其实也是最早的，思考范围超越欧洲、放... 导演阐述：《指挥马勒》于我而言是一部非常令人兴奋的电影。因为在那之前我从未想过自己会去做一部关于一个19世纪的作曲家的电影。在欧洲的音乐传统中，马勒是连接古典浪漫主义世界和崭新的现代世界的桥梁。他是我知道的最诚实的艺术家、作曲家，因为他的音乐总是直接诉说他的心声，毫不掩饰地展现他的所思所感。这些品质在如今对于一个艺术家还是非常有用的。我认为中国作曲家郭文景有着和马勒相同的品质。马勒其实也是最早的，思考范围超越欧洲、放眼全球的作曲家之一。他的作品之一《土地之歌》借鉴了李白的诗歌，将它转化为乐曲。这大概是最美丽的曲子之一了吧。感谢您对我的影片感兴趣。