Poorhouse International: Programme News
The Piano Tuner
From an Amish family in Tasmania to a Chinese Australian widow in Darwin, piano tuner Martin Tucker encounters people across Australia. Through his craft the audience is introduced to a network of community, soul connection and listening, bound together by the vanishing skill of a piano tuner committed to his calling. Once upon a time Australia was home to the largest number of pianos in the world. Acoustic instruments are now falling out of f
Kyrie-Gloria Masses by J.S. Bach
These Masses BWV 234, 235 and 233 consist of the first two sections of the Mass ordinary. They were performed by Hans-Christoph Rademann and members of the JSB (Junges Stuttgarter Bach-) Ensemble 2026 in the Bach church at Arnstadt where the composer began his career as organist in 1703. The soloists Yeree Suh, Sopran, Marie Henriette Reinhold, Mezzo, Guy Cutting, Tenor, and Peter Harvey, Baritone, are all well known soloists, specializing in
Rostropovich: The Genius of the Cello
Just in time to commemorate the 100th birthday of Mstislav Rostropovich in March 2027 the rights in this unmissable portrait by award winning filmmaker John Bridcut are now available again.
John Bricut focusses on major events in the musician´s life, who was a cellist in a class of his own, “set new challenges to the virtuosity of cellists”, and more importantly, helped to create a wealth of material for th
Bach's Passion Oratorio
For almost 150 years, a mysterious libretto for a Passion oratorio has been the subject of Bach research. Harpsichordist, conductor and Bach researcher Alexander Grychtolik has reconstructed and completed this non-existing Passion oratorio on the basis of Picander´s libretto as Bach might have composed it. Performed by Il Gardellino, conducted by Alexander Grychtolik, at the Thüringer Bachwochen.
The Hollywood Blacklist: The Survivors Tell Their Stories
Expelled from Hollywood by the McCarthy witch hunt and accused of “Un-American Activities” as communist sympathisers, the cream of American cinema went into exile in Europe. In the 1950s and 60s “blacklisted” screenwriters participated in the golden age of Italian cinema or worked in Paris and London. Directors Marie-Dominique Montel and Christopher Jones base their documentary on a multi-voiced narrative, which is made
Pieces of Beethoven
For the Beethoven Centennary in 2027 director Sheila Hayman, best known for “Fanny: The Other Mendelssohn” (2023), brings together scientists, musicologists and top musicians to reassemble the scattered legacy of the composer, creating a new image of the man and the artist.
From fragments of his hair, groundbreaking DNA analysis by Tristan Begg at the University at Leuwen unlocks the mystery of his deafness and final illnes
Behind the Symphony
A new ongoing series featuring Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra exploring the lives and works of composers.
The first four episodes focus on Gustav Mahler and his first Symphony, Ludwig van Beethoven and his 7th Symphony, Aron Copland and his third Symphony and Hector Berlioz and his Symphonie Fantastique. What makes these documentaries so extraordinary to watch is the charisma of the presenting artist, Sir Anto
Dream, Touch, Believe - Michael Naranjo
Michael Naranjo lost his eyesight and the use of one hand in the Vietnam war. Yet, the Indigenous Pueblo artist creates sculptures coveted by collectors worldwide. The shadow-like bronzes treasured for their haunting beauty are prominently displayed in homes, museums, and grand institutions like the White House and Vatican. But it’s Naranjo’s life story that continues to spark hope within people of all walks of life. Dream Touch Be
Breaking Bach
Choreographer Kim Brandstrup invited dancers with a background in street and break-dance as well as hip hop to engage with the complexity of Bach´s music performed live by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in fresh innovative ways. The much-acclaimed première was recorded at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2025. This is the direct outcome of the orchestra´s residency at Acland Burghley School in Camden
Inside the Rose International Dance Prize
Thanks to a large anonymous donation, London's Sadler's Wells launched a new biennial dance prize awarding the £ 40,000 prize money to the best original dance production created anywhere in the world in the last couple of years. Whether exploring identity, climate, resilience, or tradition, each finalist's piece pushes choreography in thrilling new directions. Featuring commentary from the finalists, Kyle Abraham (AN UNTITLED LOVE), Marc
Two Oratorios for Easter
These are two masterpieces of church music performed by Vox Luminis and recorded at the Georgenkirche Eisenach.
Jan Dismas Zelenka´s MISSA PASCHALIS ZWV 7 is a wonderful example for his “stile misto”, remarkable for polyphonic consistency and fulness of harmonic recourse, much admired by J. S. Bach. J. S. Bach´s EASTER ORATORIO BWV 249 is an exceptional work as the recitatives and arias are sung by four biblical
The Arvo Pärt Project
Arvo Pärt, one of the world's most performed living composers of classical music, turns 90 this year. In order to give audiences an idea of the depth of his thinking and his evolution as a composer, Poorhouse International put together three programmes produced by Estonian Public Broadcaster (ERR). They are TINTINNABULI FOREST (59'), Arvo Pärt DIARIES (34') and the Arvo Pärt's 3RD SYMPHONY (28'), conducted by Paavo Järvi an
Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me
When Felix was still a child, his Jewish father Abraham had him baptised Felix Mendelssohn, adding the surname Bartholdy. That mixed Christian/Jewish identity gave rise to Felix's life-long struggle, to integrate these two worlds in his music. A century later Nazi Germany banned his music as 'Jewish', and his descendants were caught up in a frantic attempt to prove that their “mixed blood” was Aryan enough to avoid deportation. Dec
Art in the Twenty-First Century - Season 12
Art21 is the only arts series on PBS, and Season 12 with three new episodes is now available.
Episode 1 BETWEEN THE WORLDS features internationally renowned artists Sophie Calle, Dyani White Hawk, Lubaina Himid and Tuan Andrew Nguyen. Episode 2 REALMS OF THE REAL shows how artists Njidela Akunyill Crosby, Ragnar Kjartansson, Candice Lin and Tomás Saraceno push everyday materials and historical truths into the fantastical, absurd
Kazu Hiro
A make-up artist in a league of his own. Gary Oldman would not accept the part if Kazu Hiro didn´t create the Churchill prosthetics for DARKEST HOUR, which earned him his first Oscar. When he turned Charlize Theron into news anchor Megyn Kelly for BOMBSHELL, he won his second, after having already clinched three BAFTAS including one for turning Jim Carrey into the Grinch. His latest venture into the cinema was turning Bradley Cooper into
The Mahabharata
When Peter Brook´s iconic masterpiece THE MAHABHARATA was first seen on television at the beginning of the 90s, it was hailed as ‘the television event of the decade’ and broadcast all over the world. Peter Brook sadly passed away in 2022, but his son Simon secured funding for remastering the material. The stunningly restored series of (six episodes at 55 minutes) will now be available again in UHD for another generation of te
Peter Brook: Showman & Shaman
Peter Brook was without doubt one of the great stage and film directors of the post WW2 era. Ever curious and with a restless mind, he brought a new vision to Shakespeare´s plays, directed opera and created a box office hit with IRMA LA DOUCE in London and on Broadway. To celebrate his 100th anniversary in 2025, Reiner Moritz, who was deeply involved in making Brook´s filming of THE MAHABHARATA come true, is making a documentary, t
Karl Jenkins: The Composer behind the Moustache
With more than three thousand performances world-wide for his earlier oratorio THE ARMED MAN, Karl Jenkins is probably the best known and most played classical composer of our time. Well known from his time with Soft Machine and very successful with advertisers, Karl Jenkins polarizes music lovers. Some think he is not a serious composer, others point to the emotional impact of his music and the tunes one can hum on the way home. As Norman Leb
L'univers de Frank Martin
The Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) was the 10th child of a well to do pastor in Geneva. He showed great musical talent, and we hear his first known composition at the age of nine, celebrating his mother´s birthday. The first encounter with Bach´s ST. MATTHEW PASSION at the age of twelve made him decide to become a composer. After studies in Geneva, he lived in Zurich, Rome and Paris before he returned to Geneva as an accom
Forgotten Female Composers
This is a web series in 8 parts of 5:30 minutes each, reminding us of composers who have unjustly faded into obscurity, beginning with Hildegard von Bingen and ending with Ethel Smyth, who is most famous for her MARCH OF THE WOMEN, and Alma Mahler, whose husband forbade her to become a fully-fledged composer. This series is also part of the international transmedia installation ‘An Orchestra of One´s Own' and invites you to use it
The Cleveland Orchestra: Farrenc & Mussorsky
Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Cleveland Orchestra
Louise Farrenc was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, chamber music and a wealth of piano music. A pupil of Ignaz Moscheles and Johann Nepomuk Hummel, she also showed talent for composition so that her parents let her study composition with Anton Reicha at the age of fifteen. Her th
The King and the Composer
The Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in May 2023 began with the Anthem I WAS GLAD, a choral setting of Psalm 122, originally composed for the crowning of Edward VIII in 1902. The composer was Hubert Parry, best known for this Anthem and the song JERUSALEM.
Familiar with Parry tunes since his childhood, the composer has become one of King Charles´ favourite musicians. Some years before he became King, Charles pr
Making Infinity
The ancient Chinese tale of Zhi Yin tells of two strangers from different lands who find in each other a soulmate through the music of the Gu Qin, a traditional Chinese instrument. With each pluck of the strings the other sees the beauty of flowing waters and far away mountains, forming a bond between the men that will never be broken. Taking inspiration from this ancient tale, ONE INFINITY is a cross-cultural collaboration between maste
Titus Brooks-Heagins: Portraits
This documentary explores the work of photographer Titus Brooks-Heagins, and the challenging question his photos pose about the systemic and casual exclusions and neglect of society's most vulnerable communities of colour in America. Humanizing, reverend and confrontational, Titus' photographs document the overlooked people who, usually through some intersection of poverty, race or gender/sexual identity, exist as outsiders. He describes his w
Shakespeare at the RSC and Globe
Between The Globe and The Royal Shakespeare Company all but one of the Bard´s plays have been staged by highly acclaimed directors with star-studded casts and recorded for cinema and/or television. Here is something for everybody, conventional and modern interpretations, all of them entertaining and thought provoking like Shakespeare intended. Gripping performances will always find their audiences on television. Don´t believe that
The Pilgrimage of Gilbert & George
Gilbert & George, two-people-one-artist, have been at the forefront of British art for over half a century. By unpacking their long and literal walk through life – repeatedly likened to a Pilgrimage – largely in their voices, with few other commentators, the film offers a rare, deep and captivating insight into their extra-ordinary and profound search for life through art. It is an incredibly vivid, honest and human, firs
Michael Tippett - The Shadow and the Light
A portrait by award winning John Bridcut featuring the life and work of Sir Michael Tippett who died a quarter of a century ago in 1989. Tippett created a new sound through his sprung, syncopated rhythms or the ecstatic, life-enhancing nature of his melodies and harmonies. He embraced music of the past, while at the same time striking out in novel and unusual directions. The film illustrates one of the composer´s core beliefs that only t
Five Times a Stranger
A biography of artist Stavros Kotoulas and a saga of migration from Greece to Albania during the Civil War, from Hungary to Austria, from Greece to Sweden and back. Revisiting all the places he had been to with his daughter, born in Sweden, Kotoulas concluded that the world has learnt nothing from history, which right now repeats itself.
The Cleveland Orchestra: Thomas Ades, An Artist's Voice
The Cleveland Orchestra presents The Exterminating Angel Symphony by Thomas Adès and Symphony No. 5 by Sibelius in their ongoing Artist´s Voice series. This is a rare occasion to hear a contemporary composer talk about his piece, and conductor Franz Welser-Möst describes how Sibelius came into his own.
The Cleveland Orchestra: Franz in Vienna
September 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schoenberg's birth. Conductor Franz Welser-Möst contrasts Mozart´s Divertimento No.2, KV 131, written by the 16-year-old with the mature Arnold Schoenberg´s Variations for Orchestra op. 31 in this concert of the Cleveland Orchestra. A Divertimento, he explains, is entertainment with a lot of dance music. Schoenberg´s Variations are varying a twelve-tone melody, but und
The Cleveland Orchestra: Mahler's Symphony No. 2
The New York Times titled „Mahler´s Resurrection Manuscript Settles in Cleveland. Dr. Herbert Kloiber, one of the orchestra´s Trustees, bought it at a Sotheby’s auction and donated it to The Cleveland Orchestra. When it was first exhibited at Severance Hall, musical director Franz Welser-Möst conducted two performances of the piece and had this to say: “To see Mahler´s handwriting on the page and to fol
The Cleveland Orchestra: Blomstedt, The Seeker
Herbert Blomstedt is a long standing and treasured friend and collaborator of the Cleveland Orchestra. A man whose faith, spirituality and communion with music imbue every rehearsal. In this concert he conducts Nielsen´s Symphony No. 4 (The Inextinguishable). Through conversation with those who know and adore him, this episode of In Focus provides a glimpse into how he elicits great performances from orchestras across the globe and insis
The Diamond Couple
* Special Jury Award for Inspirational Filmmaking at the 2024 Arizona International Film Festival
In 2021, inside a Los Angeles apartment, Morrie recounts the final moments of his wife, Betty, who passed away at 103 in 2019. At the age of 108, Morrie has only one wish: to recover the memories shared with Betty during their 79 year union. As a meditation on the power of memory, the film offers a vision of aging that emphasizes not loss,
Three by Rocio Molina
Guitar Trilogy partnering with composer and guitarist Rafael Riqueni. Rocío Molina is probably the best known Flamenco dancer world-wide with many awards including a Silver Lion for Dance at the Venice Biennale and The UK National Dance Award for “outstanding female modern dance”. She creates scenic events while respecting the essence of the Flamenco style. Riqueni is considered one of the “Maestros” in the guita
Peculiar - An Evening of Flamenco
Ana Morales has become a superstar of Flamenco. Afficionados know her from many appearances in touring shows and Carlos Saura´s Iberia. She is now designing and choreographing her own programmes in which she presents a new form of Flamenco using light design, drums, harp, electronic soundscapes instead of the traditional guitar only. This live recording from Nîmes 2023 unites the who is who of Flamenco with Ana Morales, Antonio Mol
The Last Faust
The fictional adaptation of Goethe´s Faust in both parts is set in 2059 at Silicon Valley. Dr. Goodfellow has succeeded Dr. Faust at the helm of Winstone Inc., abiding by the pact Dr. Faust had made with Mephisto. He realizes too late that uncontrolled progress will ultimately destroy mankind.
Director and author Philipp Humm has this to say about the human condition: “I believe it will be hard to mitigate the downsides wit
Jamie Wyeth and the Unflinching Eye
Jamie Wyeth was brought up in a world of paintings and studios, grandson of illustrator and painter N. C. Wyeth and son of Andrew Wyeth. At the age of 20 he had his first one-man show in New York. He is an artist whose pencil and brush seem at times to be on the pulse of current events with portraits of political figures like J. F. Kennedy and those of the entertainment world like Rudolf Nureyev, Andy Warhol and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But at o
Franz Weiser-Möst: From Richard Strauss to George Walker
In a programme showcasing the breadth and variety of 20 th century music, Franz Welser-Möst leads The Cleveland Orchestra and Soprano Latonia Moore in George Walker´s Lilacs (1995) as well as an extended suite from Richard Strauss´ Der Rosenkavalier (1911) compiled by the conductor himself. This episode of In Focus will examine Welser-Möst´s long-standing connection to the music of Strauss and provide an indepth loo
Hans van Manen - Moving to Music
A portrait of one of the world’s great choreographers with 150 ballets to his credit and at 90 still going strong. The filmmaker successfully made the choreographer talk about his inspiration, his muses, the way he conceives dance and how he transmits his ideas. Carefully selected clips demonstrate the filmmakers’ findings and contributions such as of his partner for fifty years, Henk van Dijk, dance historian Sjeng Schejen, choreo
Senar - Rachmaninoff's Summer Paradise
In time for Rachmaninoff's 150th birthday filmmaker Roberta Pedrini provides a biography based on the composer's wonderfully situated Bauhaus Villa on Lake Lucerne. Senar is an acronym of Sergej and Natalja R. Here he created the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini and his Symphony No. 3. of which we hear excerpts. Francesco Piemontesi plays part of piano sonata No.2 and a transcript of Vocalise. Contributors include conductors Gianandrea
This chamber opera is a collaboration between three New Zealand creatives: writer Georgia Jamieson Emms, composer Kenneth Young and Soprano Anna Leese. The plot is based on an episode in writer Janet Frame´s life. She was wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia and later released from the asylum where she spent years locked up. Rebecca Tansley with a stunning Semele to her credit shot the opera on location with singback technique. It leaves
NZ Opera´s Thomas de Mallet Burgess staged the work under the motto “witness the Wedding of the Year” at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand. The performance is full of surprises, not least a Jupiter abducting Semele on a motorbike. The NZ Opera Baroque Orchestra, the Freemasons NZ Opera Chorus and the Holy Trinity Choir are conducted by Peter Walls. Soloists include Emma Pearson, Amitai Pati, Sarah Castle, Pa
John Craxton (1922 – 2009) was one of the leading British NeoRomantic artists, preferring to be known as a “kind of Arcadian”. His paintings mirror his personal journey – essentially a sepia hue until he left London for Greece where his life, loves and art became suffused in glorious, animated and sun-drenched colour. Tony Britten´s film follows Craxton´s journey, where the artist spent most of his life and
Percival Everett is both singular and engaging. He is a major author of the contemporary literary scene as well as a brilliant academic. His work covers a large spectrum of genres and styles, from the social and political satire to more realistic texts and poetry. His latest novel THE TREE was shortlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize in 2022 (“Eerie, provocative, blackly comic Southern noir”, say the judges). Alexandre Westphal
Melbourne opera singer Tiriki Onus sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding the life of his grandfather, William Bill Onus, a charismatic Aboriginal cultural leader, entrepreneur, theatre impresario, television host and, possibly, the first indigenous filmmaker, who played a decisive part in his people´s fight for recognition. The chance discovery of an untitled 75-year-old silent film that could have been made by his grandfather sets
Between The Globe and The Royal Shakespeare Company all but one of the Bard´s plays have been staged by highly acclaimed directors with star-studded casts and recorded for cinema and/or television. Here is something for everybody, conventional and modern interpretations, all of them entertaining and thought provoking like Shakespeare intended. Gripping performances will always find their audiences on television. Don´t believe that
Peter Brook was without doubt one of the great stage and film directors of the post WW2 era. Ever curious and with a restless mind, he brought a new vision to Shakespeare´s plays, directed opera and created a box office hit with IRMA LA DOUCE in London and on Broadway. To celebrate his 100th anniversary in 2025, Reiner Moritz, who was deeply involved in making Brook´s filming of THE MAHABHARATA come true, is making a documentary, t
When Felix was still a child, his Jewish father Abraham had him baptised Felix Mendelssohn, adding the surname Bartholdy. That mixed Christian/Jewish identity gave rise to Felix's life-long struggle, to integrate these two worlds in his music. A century later Nazi Germany banned his music as 'Jewish', and his descendants were caught up in a frantic attempt to prove that their “mixed blood” was Aryan enough to avoid deportation. Dec
Just in time to commemorate the 100th birthday of Mstislav Rostropovich in March 2027 the rights in this unmissable portrait by award winning filmmaker John Bridcut are now available again. John Bricut focusses on major events in the musician´s life, who was a cellist in a class of his own, “set new challenges to the virtuosity of cellists”, and more importantly, helped to create a wealth of material for th
When Peter Brook´s iconic masterpiece THE MAHABHARATA was first seen on television at the beginning of the 90s, it was hailed as ‘the television event of the decade’ and broadcast all over the world. Peter Brook sadly passed away in 2022, but his son Simon secured funding for remastering the material. The stunningly restored series of (six episodes at 55 minutes) will now be available again in UHD for another generation of te
The Strangest of Angels
Semele
John Craxton - A Life of Gifts
Through the Writer's Mirror: Percival Everett
Ablaze
Poorhouse International: Highlight Programmes
Shakespeare at the RSC and Globe
Peter Brook: Showman & Shaman
Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me
Rostropovich: The Genius of the Cello
Poorhouse International: New Releases
The Mahabharata
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