The opera production sent ripples through art and society even before the curtain was lifted. Leaflets were distributed, signatures were collected and musicians left the orchestra pit in disgust, all because of disagreements over the bold new interpretation of Wagner’s Ring Cycle by conductor Pierre Boulez. The conservative press turned against the politically critical and anti-capitalist interpretation of Richard Wagner’s major work, The Ring of the Nibelung. After Ingmar Bergmann had turned down the invitation, the festival hired 31-year-old television and film director Patrice Chéreau, a relative unknown who had only directed two operas previously, by Rossini and Offenbach. Chéreau’s submitted concept for the multi-part, many hours long Ring Cycle had fitted on a single typewritten page. Once hired, he had just four months to prepare the monumental dramatic work.

Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival in 1976 were set to focus on a new production of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In the foyer of the Festspielhaus for the supposedly joyous start of events, Bayreuth’s regular patronage were highly displeased and vocal about what they termed “degenerate art”. Other criticism of the production included “puppet theatre” and a “brutal violation”, while Wagner was said to be “turning in his grave“. In Mannheim and Heidelberg, citizens’ initiatives were founded with the slogan “site security for Wotan” and attempts were made to disrupt the opening performance with booing. There were even sporadic scuffles and fistfights.

For his own staging, Patrice Chéreau was strongly influenced by the socio-political writings of Richard Wagner that were penned around the time of his work on the Ring Cycle. Far from leftist ideology, these were an attempt from Wagner to lend a mythological foundation to an epoch and to capture the sentiments of the time. In Chéreau’s hands, the Ring Cycle became an allegory of the industrial age in the second half of the 19th century, with all the political implications that this entailed. His unprecedented approach was to understand the Ring of the Nibelung as “a description of the terrible perversions of society that is rooted in this preservation of power” and to unmask this through the “mechanisms of a strong state and the opposition”. In particular, the Altwagnerians (who opposed any modernisation of Richard Wagner’s works) and right-wing conservative circles were vexed by this new interpretative approach. Despite the overwhelming hostility, festival director Wolfgang Wagner and the directorial team stayed true to their concept and gave over the stage to their own concept of art.

The “Centenary Ring” was a fulfilment of Richard Wagner’s dictum that the Ring Cycle should represent a musical synthesis of the arts. With the staging, set design and lighting, costumes, musical interpretation and, last but not least, the exceptional singing of the numerous soloists and choir, a legend was born. When the curtain came down, the Franco-German project was already being celebrated as a musical triumph, and in time the production would be celebrated as an event of the century.

The film shows excerpts from this unforgettable opera event. Contemporary witnesses look back and comment on events both on and off the boards. Soprano Dame Gwyneth Jones, contralto Hanna Schwarz and tenor Heinz Zednik were on stage as it unfolded; French director Vincent Huguet tells of his collaboration with Patrice Chéreau, whose assistant he would later become. The young singer Anna Prohaska, frequent Wagner singer Günther Groissböck and director Barrie Kosky have dealt at length with the Centenary Ring and talk about their impressions. The interviewees also include writer Friedrich Dieckmann, who authored one of the most important reviews of the events in Bayreuth.

In April of 1975, a piece of music history is made in London’s Fairfield Hall: the legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who is gradually going blind, wants to leave a legacy to the world. Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto has accompanied him throughout his life. At Fairfield Hall, Rubinstein brings it to life a final time in his warm-hearted, lyrical style.

For this occasion, Arthur Rubinstein returns to London, where he made his debut 63 years earlier. Now 88 years old, he is a living legend, on a par with the great composers like Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky. It is the finale of a lifetime of achievement and a grandiose performance from a past master.

Rubenstein dominated the world stage for three quarters of a century and lived life to the fullest as a connoisseur, globetrotter and notorious womaniser. Although he claimed to practice as little as possible, he would go on to become one of the most important pianists of the 20th century and described himself as “the happiest man I ever met in my life”.

In Farewell to Chopin Daniel Barenboim confesses that at the age of just 14, he smoked his first cigar and drank his first vodka together with Rubinstein. His constant companion Annabelle Weidenfeld recalls his incredible charm, and youngest daughter Alina Rubinstein remembers the charismatic but often absent father whom she “wouldn’t trade for anyone in the world”. Rarely seen archive recordings provide fascinating insights into the family life of the Rubinsteins, while the master at the keys also has his own say.

No audience is present for this legendary concert recording – the performance is exclusively for the cameras. Together with the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor André Previn, Rubinstein is every bit the lustrous piano icon: upright and elegant in his tailcoat, he is enthroned at his instrument. The maestro’s playing is generous, luminous, supple, rhapsodic. Seemingly effortlessly, he evokes his singing and breathing “Rubinstein tone” that is venerated to this day. At almost 90 years of age, this exceptional musician and interpreter of Chopin is as captivating as ever: he is buoyant, a little mischievous. His audience always loved him for these qualities – and he loved them back.

The performance of La Traviata at the 2005 Salzburg Festival drew attention from all over the world: it is not the first time on stage together for Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón in the leading roles – but it is here in Salzburg that they finally rise to superstardom. Each are brilliant on their own, but under the direction of Willy Decker, they shine above all as a couple, playing to the fantasies of the audience. Opera stars had never before been so up-close and personal, and had never been so present in the media. Previously unseen rehearsal scenes and interviews with Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Thomas Hampson and Willy Decker bring this magic moment of music to life. 

With her first prize at the legendary 1965 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, she took the world by storm. In the early rounds already, Martha Argerich is the undisputed star of the event. People queue up for hours to buy tickets for her concerts, there are reports of fisticuffs outside the booking offices. Her only serious competitor is the Brazilian pianist Arthur Moreira Lima, he too can thrill both his audiences and the jury. The rivalry between the two of them makes for heated disputes and divides the jury. The “Magic Moments of Music” series brings back memories of the birth of a legend named Martha Argerich.