This uniquely cross-sectional approach to culture combines great art with great music, and examines the connections between the two. Each piece of music from the carefully chosen selection takes on a new dimension and provides a musical context to the work of leading painters and sculptors. This fascinating series, with a colour booklet including a chronology of the principal artistic and political developments of the period, broadens our view of the music itself.
Sumptuous but somehow unsettling, the works of Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) constitute a unique fusion of painting with the decorative arts. Studded with glittering ornamentation and jewel-like motifs, his portrayals of embracing figures and elegant women in their finery are among the most spell-binding images in the history of art. On this audio, the world of Klimt is given a musical perspective with a carefully chosen selection of pieces by the finest composers of his time. In the booklet, Hugh Griffith provides explanatory notes on his life and musical environment.