Music and Power

The great seminal catastrophe of 1914 was not merely a historical upheaval for politics and society. Music had also lost its political innocence. But can music 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”, the final part of the three-part documentary series “Music, War and Revolution” 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 cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, one of the last survivors of the Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz.

Music, War and Revolution – a three-part documentary series

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 of musical memorials to a lost world. The three-part documentary series Music, War and Revolution explores known and unknown as well as obvious and hidden connections between music, revolution and war. Beginning with what led to this great human tragedy, each episode addresses different perspectives of the relationship between war and politics.

For more information about Part One: Music in the Time of the Great War, click here.

For more information about Part Two: Silenced – Composers in Revolutionary Russia, click here.