Famous Composers: The Life and Work of Frederic Chopin - DVD

Ravel was born in the little seaside town of Ciboure in French Basque country near the Spanish border. His mother had also been born in Ciboure but his father was a Swiss engineer and a naturalized French citizen. Ravel lived most of his life in Paris, following his music studies there and becoming one of the greatest of French composers and in spite of his relatively small output one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. The video traces his life and his musical development and ends with an overview of his works

Stravinsky was born into a musical family in the little town of Lermontov near St Petersburg. His father was principal bass singer at the opera there, so music was part of his life. He studied at the St Petersburg conservatioire under Rimsky Korsakov and was soon making an impression with his compositions. He had early successes with his ballet music for Diaghilev and over a long and productive life went on to become arguably the greatest composer of the twentieth century. The video traces his eventful life and ends with a brief overview of his compositions.

Tchaikovsky was born into a modest family on the bottom rank of the Russian aristocracy. His father was a mining engineer and after an early education from a French governess Tchaikovsky was sent to the School of Jurisprudence in St Petersburg Conservatory opened shortly afterwards and as one of it's first graduates he launched into the doubtful career of music composition. His gifts were soon recognised and he went on to achieve extraordinary international acclaim. The video traces his career and ends with an overview of his works.