In honor of Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday, DW is producing a documentary titled, The Colón Ring – Wagner in Buenos Aires. The program follows the legendary opera house Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires as its members stage a never before seen 7-hour  condensed version of Wagner’s powerful musical drama, “The Ring of the Nibelung”. The film premiered to an audience of 600 at the Delphi Filmpalast in Berlin on April 14 and drew warm applause and much praise. Global audiences can look forward to the television debut on DW scheduled for May 11 and 18, just before Wagner’s birthday on May 22. The two-part documentary will be broadcast in German, English, Spanish and Arabic. The DVD and Blu-ray box set, which include the performance itself, are also scheduled for release in May. Wagner fans wanting more can go online at www.dw.de and check out Wagner 200, a multimedia special devoted to celebrating the composer and his life’s work.

 

This month has seen two DW documentaries winning prestigious European awards. “Machine Music – Four Decades of German Electronic and Dance Music” took home a Golden Dolphin at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards. Another documentary with a musical focus, “Schumann at Pier2,” won the Czech Television Prize.

“Machine Music” is all about the evolution of electronic pop music in Germany. The two-part film, by Reiner Schild and Anja Freyhoff-King, starts with German pioneer Kraftwerk in the 1970s and goes on to show the influence of German groups on international acts like Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys.

The Golden Dolphin is the fourth award for “Machine Music,” which was released in 2010 as part of the Deutsche Beats project.

“Schumman at Pier2″ is shaping up to follow in the footsteps of “Machine Music.” “Schumann” director Christian Berger and producer Bernhard Fleischer accepted the Czech Television Prize in Prague last week.

“Schumann at Pier2″ is a modern take on the four symphonies made by legendary composer Robert Schumann. The narrative follows Estonian-American conductor Paavo Järvi and members of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as they play at a converted shipyard.

This Friday (October 26) sees the official release event for “Schumann at Pier2″ at Kino International in Berlin. Audiences will be able to watch the documentary on DW as well as the European cultural channel Arte starting in November. Berlin-based C Major Entertainment plans to sell a DVD box set including recordings by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Deutsche Welle (DW) was once again recognized for its documentary “The Beethoven Project” – this time from the “Hot Bird TV Awards 2011”. “The Beethoven Project” won in the category “Best Program” at an award ceremony in Venice on November 25. More than 150 stations from 10 countries submitted entries for the awards in 10 categories. This is already the 14th award that DW has picked up for “The Beethoven Project”. The documentary is now also available on DVD from Sony Music.

“The Beethoven Project” focuses on star conductor Paavo Järvi and selected members of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. They show their enthusiasm for music – in rehearsal, in concert and behind the scenes.

On August 13, 1961, communist East Germany began building the Berlin Wall, dividing Germany for decades. To mark the 50th anniversary of this event, Deutsche Welle will be broadcasting live from the memorial service to be held in Berlin on August 13 – starting at 8:00 UTC. Guests for the live broadcast will include the Federal President of Germany, Christian Wulf, Representative of the Federal Government for Culture, Bernd Neumann, the Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit and historian Freya Klier.

In addition, DW has produced three documentaries surrounding the Wall’s construction, as well as a range of features and online content. The three documentaries will examine different facets of the Wall’s existence and be shown as part of DW-TV’s In Focus series. The Short Life of Chris Gueffroy, about the 20-year-old whose death in 1989 became synonymous with death along the Wall. The Berlin Wall will show how people lived in the divided city of Berlin. And The Lindenberg File tells the story of Udo Lindenberg’s campaign to perform a concert in East Germany that lasted eight years.

Find out more about the Berlin Wall from DW. And if you want to learn more about life in divided Germany, take a tour of the inner German border with Walled In!

DW is currently filming and producing a new documentary about the Scorpions – one of the most famous rock bands of all time. The group from Hannover is currently in the middle of their farewell tour and DW will be accompanying them along the way and filming their tour, their work in the studio and a taking a look at their private lives.

A legendary rock band is calling it quits. In 2010, the Scorpions announced a farewell tour that will take them around the world and back over three years. Big City Nights will be documenting this monumental journey and exploring the band’s fascinating history. You can find all of the information about the documentary and the tour right here. Our team will keep you updated each week with all of the latest news, audio and video clips. Welcome to the film’s website – and stay tuned for more.

The documentary “Big City Nights” will be premiered in 2012. Until then, fans will be offered exclusive material on the accompanying blog.