PAGANINI'S DAEMON
NEW FILM
from Christopher Nupen
"Your Paganini film is, in my opinion, the best that we have seen. Congratulations."
- Edward Neill. Paganini Institute, Genoa.
Get the DVD Here => www.Allegrofilms.com/Paganini
ALICE SOMMER HERZ
A NEW PRIZE-WINNING FILM
from Christopher Nupen
A few days before her 107th birthday, Alice Sommer Herz is again attracting widespread international attention. She has a short film riding high on YouTube, a best-selling book published in seven languages and now our 53-minute film, EVERYTHING IS A PRESENT, has won its third international accolade: The Czech Television Prize at Golden Prague.
Both EVERYTHING IS A PRESENT and our previous prize-winning film with Alice Sommer, WE WANT THE LIGHT are available on DVD through our website:
www.Allegrofilms.com/Alice
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The first signs that EVERYTHING IS A PRESENT might have an extra-ordinary impact in the world came from the reactions of many delegates at the Midem Avant Première Screenings in Cannes, confirmed by the words which followed in the leading Swiss newspaper, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung — more words than the critic gave to any other film shown during the entire four days — and ending with:
"This film is a plea for humanity and the power of music and, finally, a Must for every television station with any self-respect." ("Ein Plädoyer für die Menschlichkeit und die Kraft der Musik. Und eigentlich ein Muss für jeden Fernsehsender, der etwas auf sich hält.")
Next came the broadcast, in prime time (20:00), on BBC Television on Holocaust Memorial Day which set up resonances that are still echoing around the world.
Next, the film won the World Documentary Bronze Medal at the New York Film and Television Festival.
Then, a nomination in the highest category (The Social Award) at Rose d'Or in Lucerne and now the Czech Television Prize in Prague.
Alice Sommer is one of the most exceptional and most inspiring people on the face of the earth — that is a view shared by hundreds of thousands of people in the world because of her best-selling book, A GARDEN OF EDEN IN HELL and her leading role in WE WANT THE LIGHT which won her an international following.
Her story has a message for nearly everybody: a message of hope, courage, optimism, tenacity and human dignity at its most impressive — a message of survival in the most appalling circumstances.
From the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (Germany's oldest music magazine, founded by Robert Schumann):
"Es ist ein wichtiger Film, den Christopher Nupen mit ihr gedreht hat. Auch ihn zu sehen ist ein Geschenk". ("Christopher Nupen has made an important film with her. Even to see it is a present").
EVERYTHING IS A PRESENT is available from the Allegro website http://www.Allegrofilms.com/Alice at £19.99.
WE WANT THE LIGHT at £24.95.
Packing and postage (world-wide) included.
Gigi Sommer wins the hearts of all who are lucky enough to discover her.
Christopher Nupen
The Tchaikovsky DVD, released on 9 November for the first time, is hitting the right spot with the press and the critics.
Favourable articles have appeared in 10 newspapers/magazines and reviews have been promised in 18.
It will be Editors Choice (which used to be called DVD of the Month) in Classic FM Magazine and John Pitt, the editor of New Classics, after describing the films as impeccably crafted and moving, ends his review with, “Meticulously researched and directed, these films are another triumph for Christopher Nupen, who has shown himself the music documentary master with his outstanding films....”
More soon, I hope
With thanks for your interest
Here are the BBC showing dates:
A new DVD release from Allegro Films.
Two films with a combined duration of 2 hours and 36 minutes.
Our first release for 12 months
When Tower Records went bust the event robbed the world of an affectionately remembered haven where hundreds of thousands of people sought comfort and solace in the magic and the mystery of music. We enjoyed walking through those doors.
Allegro Films watched the demise of Tower Records with apprehension because the world used to possess hundreds of record shops staffed by dedicated people who had enthusiasm for their subject and the sort of knowledge that can only come with real enthusiasm. We knew how important those shops and those people were.
We were right to worry. The dwindling retail outlets have had a powerfully diminishing effect on the sales of DVDs and that is an unhappy story.
Why? Because, with television retreating from its commitment to music, DVD has replaced TV as the best medium we have for remembering our artists and their music. There are many reasons for this: among them that DVD is not in a hurry while television is always in a hurry, that, unlike television, DVDs are viewed at times to suit the viewer, and viewed repeatedly, that the viewer has instant access to any part of the disc, that DVD can be stopped and started anywhere, that DVD is capable of carrying subtitles in multiple languages and that DVD, unlike VHS, has a long life.
These are just some of the advantages.
But nobody buys a DVD until she, or he, knows of its existence and sees or learns something which attracts interest or offers promise. That made us cautious in the new circumstances but we are now venturing forth again with a new DVD release which we hope will attract interest and offer promise. Its title is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It runs for 156 minutes and contains two films, Tchaikovsky’s women (71 minutes) and Fate (85 minutes). The release date is 26 October. Distribution is by Select Video Distribution in the United Kingdom and Naxos worldwide.
The first film is concerned with both the women in his private life (his mother Alexandra, his governess Fanny Durbach, the Belgian opera singer Désirée Artôt and Nadezhdza von Meck, and the women in his early music, Katerina Kabanove in The Storm, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Francesca in Francesca da Rimini, Odette in Lake and, above all, Tatyana in Evgeny Onegin..
In his early years nearly all of Tchaikovsky's best music is inspired by his powerful identification with these vulnerable young women. The second film traces Tchaikovsky’s shift from the fate of his young heroines to his own fate, the idea of fate as a governing force in our lives and his expression of that idea in Manfred and the last three symphonies.
Cynthia Harvey, a ballerina with the Royal Ballet, plays Katerina, Juliet and Odette. Mark Silver, also of the Royal Ballet, dances Prince Siegfried and Helen Field, of English National Opera and Welsh National Opera sings Tatyana. Mozart’s Donna Anna, who had a major impact on Tchaikovsky at the age of 13 also makes a brief appearance, sung by the Swedish soprano Clarry Bartha.
The orchestra is the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy whose dedication, commitment and deep understanding of his compatriot’s music contributes an important quality to these films.
