Music, War and Revolution – Silenced: Composers in Revolutionary Russia

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. The fates of young rebels such as Arthur Lourié, Nikolai Roslavets, Alexander Mosolov or Leon Theremin reveal much about the once hopeful and tragic entanglement with art and politics to which so many artists fell victim during the First World War, the October Revolution and the early Soviet Union’s cultural life. “Silenced”, the 2nd part rediscovers the long-banished and forgotten Russian composers of the early twentieth century who flirted with futurism, wrote the first twelve-tone chord of musical history or invented the first electronic musical instrument. “Silenced” sheds light upon their tragic stories and their exceptional music. Musicologists, composers, descendants, and musicians illuminate the composers’ fates from their perspective and establish both cultural references as well as the historical and political context.

Additional Info

• No: 9529
• Production year: 2018
• Run time: 00:55:00
• Director: A film by Anne-Kathrin Peitz
• Producers: Accentus Music in co-production with WDR, in association with ARTE, supported by Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung
• Format: HDTV 16:9