He is the most performed contemporary composer in the world. And yet he rarely ventures out in public, prefers to keep quiet about his music, feels at home in the forests of Estonia and generates therewith – perhaps involuntarily – the impression of a recluse, which is attributed to him again and again: Arvo Pärt. In The Lost Paradise, we follow him over a period of one year in his native Estonia, to Japan and the Vatican. The documentary is framed by the stage production of Adam’s Passion, a music theater piece based on the Biblical story of the fall of Adam featuring three key works by Arvo Pärt. The world-renowned director Robert Wilson has brought this work to the stage in a former submarine factory in Tallinn. Tracing their creative process, the film offers rare and personal insights into the worlds of two of the most fascinating personalities in the international arts and music scene.
Sound of the Sidewalks
You can find them standing in walkways, in front of bars or in the Paris metro, playing rock music, classical, Latin American or Caribbean rhythms on the world’s largest public stage: the street. This series is dedicated to street musicians in Europe ‘on the road’ with artists of life, dropouts, and virtuosos. Some of the résumés that can be discovered here are incredible, touching, and yet written by life. Whether getting up in the morning in Paris in search of a suitable location for the next performance, in dispute with the local authorities in Cologne or on nightly strolls through the lonely streets of Amsterdam, the camera is always there, allowing the audience to participate in the lives of these artists of life.
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2
“Gerstein’s blistering technique is matched only by his deeply soulful connection to standard repertoire,” the Time out New York says about the Russian pianist. With the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Gerstein testified to these qualities: He put emphasis on expression and effect in Sergei Rachmaninov‘s Second Piano Concerto. Thus, the concerto gained a new life in music, whose impact can sometimes be blunted by its own popularity: Finely balancing constructive rigor and thoughtfulness this performance becomes a fresh, fruitful artistic joint venture.
Classical Music for Everyone? A documentary about the popularization of classical music
Although the aesthetics of staging and broadcasting classical music haven’t changed much within the past 30 years, a parallel universe driven by a new event culture, marketing strategies and stardom has developed. With the first CD in 1982 as the starting point of the “popularization of classical music” the phenomenon found ist peak in the 1990s with the overwhelming success of the “Three Tenors.” Günter Atteln’s documentary “Classical Music for Everyone?” offers a close look at the origin and development of classical music presentation. Interviews with insiders in the field provide a unique insight and outlook on the future of this genre.
The Book of Madrigals
In their new Book of Madrigals, the a capella ensemble amarcord presents outstanding compositions from the European Renaissance by Dowland, Banchieri, Monteverdi, Palestrina, Josquin and Willaert. Along with Michael Metzler (percussion), Hille Perl (viol) and the American lutenist Lee Santana, the ensemble met in the fall of 2013 in the Venetia region of northern Italy. In the unique setting of the Villa Caldogno, built by the Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, the madrigals were recorded under studio conditions with several cameras. The program is available in three different formats: 78 or 44 minutes with interviews about the Renaissance period, the repertoire and the location. 58 minutes without interviews (music only).