Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann

Movie - 2017, 2h 15m

Known for his mournful "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber was never quite fashionable. This acclaimed film is a probing exploration of his music and melancholia. Performance, oral history, musicology, and biography combine to explore the life and music of one of America’s greatest composers. Features Thomas Hampson, Leonard Slatkin, Marin Alsop and many more of the world's leading experts on Barber's music, with tributes from composers Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Virgil Thomson and William Schuman. The film was broadcast on PBS, and screened at nine film festivals internationally, with three best-of awards. It was named a Recording of the Year 2017 by MusicWeb International.

Movie - 2024, 2h 15m

With an original staging of text and music, Orlando follows the trail of one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance: Orlando di Lasso (also known as Roland de Lassus). His life and masterful oeuvre continue to move people to this day. Although he was a European star at the time, di Lasso had to endure the indignities of his social status as a servant. This documentary explores the relationship between art and power, musically accompanied by the ensemble La Tempête.

Movie - 2021, 2h 15m

A prolific composer and one of the most celebrated poets in Brazilian music, Paulo César Pinheiro is the author of Canto das Três Raças and O Poder da Criação, among other samba, samba-enredo and song classics. Partner of Baden Powell, Tom Jobim and Edu Lobo, was created by Elis Regina, Clara Nunes and Maria Bethânia. Here, sitting on his couch, he reflects on human nature and leads a journey that evokes and involves big names in MPB, covering half a century of music, from the height of the festival era to the period of protest songs against the military dictatorship.

Movie - 2026, 2h 15m

An early morning phone call in 2017 changed the lives of two teenage brothers bonded by their love of percussion. One died tragically in a car accident while the other determined to make sense of his loss through music.

Movie - 2008, 2h 15m

An outstanding cinematic experience with brilliant storytelling, gripping performances, and rich character development.

Movie - 2024, 2h 15m

The Wonder Commission is a new music commission of The Well, composed by Dr. Brian Raphael Nabors and performed by the Antigone Music Collective. Inspiration for the new music emerges from Nabors' conversation with writer, physicist, and professor at MIT, Alan Lightman. The music also integrates the voices of youth from UpSpring's Summer 360 camp for unhoused youth and their questions about science, wonder, and hope.