Online Piano Films

Watch and listen online to films on pianos, pianists, and piano music using the links below. You may wish to visit the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library to see the longer films or others you find available online.

• The Piano
  28 minutes: In 1701, Bartolomeo Christofori, a musician employed by the Medicis, invented the first piano by modifying a harpsichord. Discusses how this instrument has changed over the years, and its inspiration for such composers as Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, and Bartók.

• In the steps of Chopin: a portrait by Byron Janis
  60 minutes: Pianist Byron Janis reviews the life of composer Frédéric Chopin and performs some of his most famous works. Illustrates important places in Chopin’s life and examines his relationship with novelist George Sand.

• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
  60 minutes: Begins with a 30 min. segment in which Dudley Moore, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Barry Douglas discuss Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, followed by Douglas’s performance of the concerto with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

• Glenn Gould: A Portrait in the First Person
  24 minutes: A compilation of Glenn Gould film clips featuring him in performance and interviews.

More online films on music