Claudio Arrau

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Academician and piano expert David Dubal narrates this absorbing documentary chronicling the instrument's history and featuring some of the 20th century's finest pianists via archival film clips. Among the keyboard virtuosos are Vladimir Horowitz, Claudio Arrau, Van Cliburn and Glenn Gould. Extras include Arrau's 1983 performance of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 4, accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra under maestro Riccardo Muti.

This moving documentary chronicles the life and musical career of renowned Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, from his birth in 1903 to his success on the world stage as he stunned audiences with his powerful interpretive technique and vast repertoire. In 1984, Arrau returned to Chile for a final series of concerts, capped off by a performance of composer Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 5 ("Emperor") in Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral.

The film tells the cultural story of Berlin during the Weimar Republic through interviews with a number of persons who were involved in literature, film, art, and music during the period. It includes interviews with Christopher Isherwood, Louise Brooks, Lotte Eisner, Elisabeth Bergner, Francis Lederer, Carl Zuckmayer, Gregor Piatigorsky, Claudio Arrau, Rudolf Kolisch, Mischa Spoliansky, Herbert Bayer, Mrs. Walter Gropius, and Arthur Koestler.

Newsreel covering a concert tour by Claudio Arrau, featuring performances at Carnegie Hall in New York and later at the Municipal Theatre in Santiago. The newsreel includes a mention of the sponsor, El Interamericano, whose weekly flights from Buenos Aires to New York made the pianist’s tour possible.