Pianomania
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Pianomania - The search for the perfect sound |
| Original title | Pianomania - In search of the perfect sound |
| Country of production | Austria , Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2009 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Robert Cibis , Lilian Franck |
| script | Robert Cibis, Lilian Franck |
| production | WILDart Film, Oval Filmmaker GbR |
| camera |
Robert Cibis , Jerzy Palacz |
| cut | Michele Barbin |
| occupation | |
| |
Pianomania - The Search for the Perfect Sound is a German-Austrian documentary by the directors Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis from 2009 . The film reports from the perspective of Stefan Knüpfer, piano tuner and concert technician at Steinway & Sons , about his work with great pianists such as Lang Lang , Alfred Brendel and Pierre-Laurent Aimard .
content
The focus of the film is the joint work of Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Stefan Knüpfer. “ The Art of Fugue ” by Johann Sebastian Bach is to be recorded. Pierre-Laurent Aimard decided on the concert grand No. 109 on the occasion of the Bach recordings. The film begins a year before the shooting.
Knüpfer studies the sound of historical keyboard instruments from the Bach era . He experiments with silencers made of felt and with glass sound mirrors. But after a few months, of all things, the 109 grand piano will be sold to Australia and that is not the last obstacle that stands in their way. Knüpfer and Aimard meet regularly, but the road to the pianist's longed-for “Bravo” is a long one, until the album Die Kunst der Fuge is finally recorded in autumn 2007 at the Vienna Konzerthaus .
Other musicians appear in secondary storylines. One afternoon, a half-sleepy artist appears in jeans and colorful sneakers. It is the Chinese star pianist Lang Lang who is giving a guest performance at the Vienna Konzerthaus . Still plagued by his jetlag , he has to choose an instrument and play it. His tightly packed tour calendar leaves little time for individual adjustments. In return, he almost shyly asks for a heavier bench that can withstand his extroverted style of play without slipping. The piano superstar made his appearance in the Great Hall in a dark suit with a wild hairstyle. The bank holds up, he gets storms of applause.
The skits by the comedian couple Igudesman and Joo repeatedly caricature the elite music world. Together with Knüpfer, they come up with scenarios for the next show.
When Grafenegg Music Festival 2007 will take place one of the last concerts of Alfred Brendel. Knüpfer prepares the wing for him. The star pianist gives his instructions humorously.
Furthermore, the pianists Till Fellner and Julius Drake and the tenor singer Ian Bostridge have short appearances.
reception
Pianomania premiered in Locarno and met with broad positive feedback. The reviewer of the Berliner Zeitung , Jan Brachmann, saw "optically intoxicating" pictures of the inside of the grand piano, which were contrasted with clumsy descriptions of their sound ideas by the pianists. The German film and media rating rated the documentation as “particularly valuable” and said “the work behind the scenes is fascinating right up to the last minute” . The film was also described as exciting abroad. B. the Financial Times of the British press or the New York Times ; the Los Angeles Times said American film critics were very impressed with the documentary. The criticism aggregator Rotten Tomatoes honored the film with an approval rate of 80% (February 2015). Just like Franz Mohr with his books and his media presence, Stefan Knüpfer succeeded in gaining worldwide attention in the film, the profession and the importance of the piano technician.
Festivals and Awards
In addition to the world's largest documentary film festival , the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), Pianomania was in the program of numerous national and international film festivals. These include:
- 2009
- Max Ophüls Prize, Germany
- Kinofest Lünen, Germany
- Hof International Film Festival, Germany
- DOK Leipzig, Germany
- Unheard of Hamburg, Germany
- Diagonale, Austria
- Cork Festival, Ireland
- Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland
- Zurich Film Festival, Switzerland
- Valladolid International Film Festival, Spain
- Sheffield Doc / Fest, UK
- SoNoRo Bucharest, Romania
- 2010
- The Magnificent 7, Serbia
- International film weekend in Würzburg, Germany
- Gothenburg International Film Festival, Sweden
- Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), Germany
- Jameson Dublin IFF, Ireland
- Zagrebdox, Croatia
- Sofia International Film Festival, Bulgaria
- 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival, China
- Macau International Film Festival, China
- BAFICI - Festival International de Cinema Independiente Buenos Aires, Argentina
- St. Paul International Film Festival Minneapolis, USA
- Doc Outlook-Market, Switzerland
- San Francisco International Festival, USA
- DOK.Fest Munich, Germany
- Planet Doc Review Film Festival, Poland
- Moscow International Film Festival, Russia
- Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia
- New Zealand International Film Festival, New Zealand
- Semana de Cine Aleman in Cinemateca Nacional Mexico City, Mexico
- Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington DC, USA
- Flickers - Rhode Island International Film Festival, USA
- Jecheon International Music & Film Festival, South Korea
In May 2010, Pianomania received the Golden Gate Award for Best Documentary at the 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival . In January 2010 Pianomania received the audience award at the 36th International Film Weekend in Würzburg in the documentary category. At the 20th Kinofest in Lünen , Pianomania won the main prize - the “Lüdia” - as well as an audience award. In addition, Pianomania received the award for the “Best Artistic Montage” on the Diagonale in Graz and was named the best film in the “Critics Week” section at the Locarno Film Festival .
Pianomania was also nominated for the 22nd European Film Award of the European Film Academy (EFA).
When the Austrian Film Prize was awarded for the first time in 2011 , it was nominated for the Best Documentary Film category . In the same year Pianomania won the German Film Prize in the category of best sound design .
Web links
- Official German film site
- Pianomania in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Expert opinion from FBW
- Film review Financial Times
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jan Brachmann: The tone as the will to present. “Pianomania” shows a skilled piano technician at work . In: Berliner Zeitung . No. 210/2010 , September 9, 2010, cultural calendar. Film, p. 5 .
- ↑ Entry in the German Film and Media Rating
- ↑ Entry in Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ www.oval-film.com ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ sffs.org ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 2009.diagonale.at
- ↑ 2009.diagonale.at
