BBC Music

Session from Andy Irvine and Paul Brady, recorded in the seventies

Composer, conductor and one of the greatest pianists in the history of music, Rachmaninov seems to be the model of the essential romantic artist - sad, obsessed with death, isolated from homeland and culture. Yet at the same time he was a convivial friend and devoted family man. This portrait, written by British composer Gerard McBurney , presents the paradoxes and contrasts of a mysterious creative personality, drawing on previously unseen home movies of the composer. With pianists Howard Shelley and Hilary Macnamara.

In the late 19th century, the popular music tradition of operetta swept the world and found a permanent home in central Europe - Vienna and Budapest in particular. Mark Steyn traces the history of this musical form, from Johann Strauss , through Lehar, Kalman and Robert Stolz to the present day where its inheritors include the most popular figure in musical theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Producer Simon Broughton says the film aims "to demonstrate that operetta is not as frothy and trivial as usually perceived, but does comment in its own way on the state of the world which created it". It questions whether popular contemporary musicals, such as Evita, Cats and Phantom of the Opera, are the new operettas of today.

Katia and Marielle Labeque are international concert pianists, who gave 140 concerts in 90 cities last year. They have helped to revitalise the piano duet as a concert medium and have fought to break down barriers to make all kinds of music accessible to all kinds of audiences. They play what they want to play - classical composers at rock concerts and modern music and jazz to their classical audiences. This film was shot on tour with the duo in Europe.

Amsterdam is still one of the most open and tolerant cities in Europe, a home to original creators from all over the world. Dutch composer Louis Andriessen is one of the most exciting artists to come out of the city since the war, and has collaborated with performance artist Robert Wilson and film-maker Peter Greenaway. In this film his former student, the controversial composer Steve Martland paints a portrait of a uniquely inventive and often anarchic figure.

Called "indispensable" by American composer John Cage , Satie (1866-1925) is for many simply the composer of the Gymnopedie used in countless advertisements, films and even sleep therapy. In this film, contemporary artists and composers tell the story of his life and work - among them Tom Phillips , Carla Bley , Philip Glass, Gavin Bryars , Joanna MacGregor and Kurt Schwertsik. After a period as a Montmartre bohemian, Satie became much sought-after and collaborated with artists like Picasso, Braque and Picabia, the photographer Man Ray and director Rene Clair. The programme contains performances of some of his most important works.