Ken Burns is an Academy Award–nominated documentary filmmaker who has directed and produced nearly 20 films over the past three decades. Several of his works have been the highest-rated programs in American public television history and have earned him innumerable film and television awards as well as over 20 honorary degrees. Nonesuch has released the soundtracks for two of Burns’s most popular works: Baseball and The Civil War.
Ken Burns is an Academy Award–nominated documentary filmmaker who has directed and produced nearly 20 films over the past three decades. Burns was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1953 and, fittingly, his first documentary deals with the history of the Brooklyn Bridge. Other notable Burns documentaries include The Civil War, Jazz, The National Parks, The War (about World War II), and Baseball. Several of his works have been the highest-rated programs in American public television history and have earned him innumerable film and television awards as well as over 20 honorary degrees.
Nonesuch has released the soundtracks for two of Burns’s most popular works: Baseball and The Civil War. The music for the latter, especially the main theme, “Ashokan Farewell,” has been highly praised and is often mistaken for a Civil War–era tune because of its highly evocative use in the film.