A directed tour by Simon Rattle. This series is a fascinating introduction to and an overview of orchestral music of the twentieth century. Each one-hour program features 35 minutes of specially-collected music at the performance, with Maestro Sir Simon Rattle conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. His concise and accessible introductions to the music, illustrated with documentary material and atmospheric images filmed on location in England, Europe and the USA, help the viewer discover a sonic world full of suspense and beauty. Dance on the volcano deals with the root of modernity. Based on Wagner's Tristan and Isolde, Rattle shows the dissolution of tonality in Arnold Schönberg's early works to twelve-tone music by Anton Webern. Works by Wagner, Schönberg, Mahler, Webern and Berg City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Head: Sir Simon Rattle