Recorded live at the Kolner Philharmonie, 25-27 April 2000

Picture Format : NTSC · 16:9 anamorphic (widescreen)
Sound Formats: PCM Stereo · Dolby Digital 5.1 · DTS 5.1
Region Code: 0 worldwide
Subtitles: Spanish, English, German, French
Booklet Notes: English, German, French
Running Time: 90 mins (concert) + 20 mins (bonus)

* The outstanding Chicago Symphony Orchestra, under the masterful direction of Daniel Barenboim, performs at the Musik Triennale Cologne, the world’s most important festival for music of the 20th century. With great success, this truly visionary international event, set out to capture the great wealth and diversity of modern classical music.
* Performing an important, infrequently heard piece: Notations I-IV by Barenboim’s Chicago predecessor, French composer-conductor Pierre Boulez. Barenboim, who in his long and eclectic career has championed Boulez’s often impenetrable work, makes this particularly thorny composition sound, in its unapologetically modernist way, accessible.
* Claude Debussy’s gorgeous La Mer sounds graceful, full of nuance and detail.
* Manuel de Falla’s El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat), is an appealing hybrid opera-concert work, and Barenboim’s obvious affinity for it shines through. Soprano Elisabete Matos sings Falla’s solo numbers with a lovely vocal sheen.

Bonus Film: "My 20th Century: Barenboim & Boulez discuss the Music of the Last 100 Years"

For an informative, fascinating 20 minutes, the maestros discuss their approaches to music, even touching on how to deal with Richard Wagner in the 21st century.