Music, War and Revolution – Power and Music

Synopsis

When the First World War broke out in 1914, the musical world did not remain unaffected. Artists inevitably became involved, either as soldiers at the front or as composers of patriotic music or musical memorials to a lost world. The three-part documentary series investigates the (un)known, overt and hidden connections between music, war and revolution. Beginning with what led to this great human tragedy, each episode addresses different perspectives of the relationship between war and politics. The great seminal catastrophe of 1914 was not merely a historical upheaval for politics and society. Music had also lost ist political innocence. But can music really be political? Already in the 19th century, an increasing number of composers and musicians had started to adopt political agendas and to this day many musicians position themselves politically. Power and Music embarks on a search for the political aspects of music, combining historical examples with the present. The film itself thus deals with various standpoints of music’s political moments and starts a dialogue with renowned artists such as conductor Valery Gergiev, Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero or the German-British cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, one of the last survivors of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.

Additional Info

• No: 9530
• Production year: 2018
• Run time: 00:56:00
• Director: A film by Maria Stodtmeier and Isa Willinger
• Producers: Accentus Music in co-production with WDR, in association with ARTE, supported by Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung
• Format: HDTV 16:9