Music lovers and thinkers alike will swoon
over this dazzling documentary that follows
one of the world’s top living pianists, Norway’s
Leif Ove Andsnes, on a three-year journey
around the world devoted to mastering
Beethoven’s five piano concertos. The German
composer’s brilliance explodes off the
screen as Andsnes battles to get to the guts
of the work and bring the concertos to full,
vivid, emotionally-rich life. With each piece,
Andsnes posits, another stage of Beethoven’s
life is revealed, an approach that gives us
incredible new insight into the legendary
composer. And at each stage, we are treated
to a running commentary on what Andsnes is
learning and feeling, along with thrilling performances
captured by a keyboard-mounted
camera that gives us a bird’s-eye view of
some of Earth’s most talented fingers. This
smart, lush film will hum through your bones
long after the final sonata.
In Person: Director
Phil Grabsky; Subject Leif Ove Andsnes