On different levels, the film approaches one of the greatest choreographers of our time: John Neumeier. The film is about his work and about Neumeier personally. Friends and companions share their views and Neumeier’s husband also gives private insights. The joint trip with Neumeier to Chicago and Milwaukee is a journey to his very beginnings and shows the roots and the source of his work up to today. We learn about the path and career of John Neumeier and draw a portrait of a great dancer, a wonderful teacher and a person deeply rooted in art and religion. Complementing the floating camera in the recording of Neumeier’s ballet choreographies during rehearsals, we show current artistic work that captures movement and dance, aesthetics and expression, humanity and commitment to others in an authentic and aesthetic way.
Hope on the Road – Hollywood
World famous violinist Daniel Hope follows the westward journey made to Los Angeles by Jewish artists, many fleeing the Nazis following the outbreak of World War II. Its consequences are seen as seismic for the development of Hollywood, while also defining the musical language of cinema. Erich Korngold (The Adventures of Robin Hood), Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard), Miklos Rozsa (Ben Hur) amongst others, had travelled to the west coast of America with little choice – they were avoiding Jewish persecution – but they would go on to shape cinematic music as an art form. Hollywood of that time was newly invigorated by the birth of talking picture, and music moved from something used to distract audience from the silences of the movies, to becoming a key creative element that worked around dialogue. It began to be used to shape and charge emotion, the blueprint of this was created during this turbulent time. In addition to meeting composers of today influenced by the early emigre artists, it is also a chance for Daniel Hope to perform some of this music during his travels, which takes him to the house of writer Thomas Mann, the exile archives of the University of California and the old MGM soundstage where classics like Ben Hur and Gone with the Wind were recorded.
Cosmos Ligeti
The documentary film explores the Austrian-Hungarian composer Györgyi Ligeti, whose sound-intensive choral and orchestral works, influenced by other sciences and cultures, shaped the music of the 20th century like no other. The composer also became known by Stanley Kubrick, who used Ligeti’s compositions in the films 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, SHINING and EYES WIDE SHUT. The film aims to make the cosmos of Ligeti tangible and to get closer to the always curious and very demanding man Ligeti, who broke the boundaries of music and interpretation. In addition to many companions, Kubrick’s producer and brother-in-law Jan Harlan appears in the film alongside the pianist Cathy Krier.
Hope on the Road – Ireland
Daniel Hope is on a very personal journey: At the wheel of an old Morris Traveller, the internationally acclaimed violinist explores Ireland, Irish music – and the history of his family. His first stop takes Daniel Hope to medieval Kilkenny, where he meets the „Queen of the Irish Harp,“ Siobhan Armstrong. She explains to him how the harp became a symbol of resistance to foreign domination. He continues on to ocean-washed Galway on the west coast, the capital of street music. This is the home of Seán Smyth, fiddler of the band Lunasa and master of Irish folk. And, of course, there‘s Dublin, where Daniel Hope premieres a piece by the long-forgotten Irish composer Ina Boyle with the National Symphony Orchestra. The emotional highlight of the trip is the violinist‘s visit to Waterford. Here, together with his father, the writer Christopher Hope, he sets out to find the last address of his great-grandfather Danny McKenna: „Without this Danny, I might never have discovered the violin for myself. Because it was only because of him that we were entitled to an Irish passport when my father had to leave South Africa because of his opposition to the apartheid regime. And it was only because of that Irish passport that we were able to settle in London, where my mother found a job with Yehudi Menuhin, the violinist of the century.“ Daniel Hope‘s journey through Ireland thus also becomes a journey to his own roots.
Lang Lang: My Favourite Melodies
What are the main features of a touching melody? World famous pianist Lang Lang takes us to a personal journey through his favourite melodies, from Beethoven “Für Elise”, Debussy “Clair de Lune”, J.S. Bach and Johannes Brahms to the most beautiful movies’ soundtracks. Filmed in unique locations in Paris, the Chinese pianist’s performances of Disney pieces such as “The Bare Necessities” from The Jungle Book, the Beauty and the Beast’s “Theme” and The Muppet Show, to Yann Tiersen “Amélie”, are able to captivate the listener’s fantasy and awake some of the best childhood memories.
DANCE ON!
When one thinks of dance as an art form, images of seemingly endlessly flexible bodies full of beauty, strength and youth inevitably come to mind. But the impression of lightness is deceptive. Dance is hard physical work and, as in high-performance sport, the pressure to perform is high. This takes its toll. With a few exceptions, most dancers have reached their zenith at the age of forty. The duet with their own transience begins and a possible farewell from the stage becomes foreseeable. At the same time, this maturity harbours great artistic potential, for it is their enormous wealth of experience that gives many dancers their magical charisma. The film accompanies the dancers Friedemann Vogel (1st soloist, Stuttgart Ballet), Polina Semionova (prima ballerina, Staatsballett Berlin), William Moore (1st soloist, Ballett Zurich) and Gesine Moog (dancer in Dance On Ensemble, Berlin) on a piece of their journey. All four offer personal insights into their dance careers and reflect on this threshold of “transition”.
Magic Moments of Music – Hélène Grimaud 9/11 in London
On 11 September 2001, the world paused. This concert at the Royal Albert Hall shows how grief and horror can be transformed into a musical moment of glory, and how music can be a means of consolation in these tragic moments. Hélène Grimaud makes her Proms debut with the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach. The musicians enter the stage visibly affected and discharge their anger and sadness in their playing. Hélène Grimaud succeeds in a deeply emotional interpretation of Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto. Her playing alternates between intensity and clarity. The wordless communication with the maestro is moving, not least after the first movement: the moved audience partially breaks into applause – Grimaud and Eschenbach cast emotional and assuring glances at each other. They know at that moment: This evening gets under your skin and will not soon be forgotten.
Magic Moments of Music – Barenboim and WEDO in Ramallah
Music under extreme conditions: Only six years after its founding, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra gave what is probably its most legendary concert: the orchestra founded by Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said with young Israeli and Arab musicians gave a concert in the Darwish Palace of Culture in Ramallah in 2005. A historic event and a musical moment of glory at the same time. In Israel, Barenboim was attacked. But the orchestra set an example with its concert, underlined by the choice of programme: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (‘Fate Symphony’). Beethoven’s vision of the reconciliation of people – that was what moved Barenboim. The “peace concert” – Barenboim himself did not call it that – attracted international attention and was broadcast worldwide. This star hour shows the concert and makes musical history tangible in short documentary passages. Contemporary witnesses and prominent interview partners put the concert into perspective from today’s point of view.
Amid Times and Worlds – Music in Romania
Romania is a country of contrasts and astonishing diversity but its rich musical culture is still completely unknown to most. Amid Times And Worlds takes viewers on a fascinating journey to extraordinary musicians. It travels through the country and visits artists in Bucharest and Timisoara, the 2023 European Capital of Culture. We discover folk music traditions in Maramures and the Carpathians and experience singing in the famous wooden churches in the north of the country. Through conversations and interactions with musicians in Romania, the film paints a picture of the diversity of a country caught between tradition and modernity.
David Garrett – The private life of a star
Star violinist David Garrett is now 40 years old – the so-called Wunderkind of classical music is now one of the most successful violinists of his generation. However, he has worked very hard to achieve this success. He is in the middle of his life and draws a first résumé. How did David Garrett become David Garrett? What makes him special? To answer the core question of the documentary, “Who is David Garrett?”, a look at his professional career is not enough. Rather, we get closer to the answer with very private glimpses into his life – by looking into an otherwise hidden world. Interviews of companions, friends and family underpin the picture of the violin genius. An alternation of present and past runs narratively through the film. We make the past visible and tangible through a journey to the most important stations of his life. In addition, there are leaps back into the past through the use of archive and private material (hours of previously unreleased material from his childhood).