PDF - Trip To Asia

A FILM BY THOMAS GRUBE
Prayer in Taipei
The BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA and SIR SIMON RATTLE
Camera ANTHONY DOD MANTLE, ALBERTO VENZAGO, RENÉ DAME
Sound PASCAL CAPITOLIN, BERND VON BASSEWITZ
Film score SIMON STOCKHAUSEN
Original Music RICHARD STRAUSS (Ein Heldenleben), LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (Eroica),
THOMAS ADÈS (Asyla)
Producers UWE DIERKS, THOMAS GRUBE, ANDREA THILO
A BOOMTOWN MEDIA production in cooperation with ZDF and BBC
Funded by FFA, BKM, MEDIENBOARD BERLIN-BRANDENBURG
Worldsales by BOOMTOWN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL
Pascal Capitolin, Anthony Dod Mantle in Hong Kong
D 2008, 108 min, 35 mm/ HD, 25fps, 1:1,85, Dolby Digital
Micha Afkham, Martin von der Nahmer in Seoul
There are as many different
kinds of people in this orchestra
as you can imagine.
And each one of them is looking
for something that fits. We are
on a quest for harmony.
(Simon Rattle)
The Quest for Harmony
Summary
Harmony does not endure. Harmony is
created from a multitude, from many different voices that meet to form a common vibration. It can be triumphantly loud, or em-
their tremendous oppositional forces of thousand-year-old traditions and breathless hypermodernity. This clash of Western traditions and Far Eastern philosophy, of present-day Europe and
Asia, becomes a journey into the mysterious and tension-ridden
inner workings of one of the world’s best orchestras, and into the
emotional universes of its very different musician personalities.
body silence itself. Many spend a lifetime
Trip To Asia tells of the constant battle between the ego and the
searching for it. Harmony is an overcom-
community, of the ancient and yet always renewed search for
ing of one’s own contradictions, a unique
harmony – within oneself and with others. A unique artistic and
experience when created and shared.
human adventure of melancholy and enthusiasm, of loneliness
Together with a high-calibre film team, director Thomas Grube accompanied the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle on their concert tour through
Asia – in six pulsing metropolises, with
and longing for love. A universal parable for life that combines
fascinating images of the conflicts between the individual and the
group with an intoxicating sound quality in one breathtaking cinematic event.
A moving film on art – the art of harmony, and the art of living.
Synopsis
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra cosmos: 126 musicians, all
of them masters of their trade with distinct personalities, who
shape the sound of the orchestra with their individual abilities but
must simultaneously use their virtuosity in the service of a greater good. What is the human and artistic secret to achieving this
goal? Where do the contradictions of tradition and renewal, of
ego and community, lead?
The world-famous orchestra is a parallel society that follows
its own rules and traditions: A democratic microcosm, virtually
unique in the musical world, whose social coherence is based on
a common passion for music, but must withstand pressure, competition and constraint.
Behind the differences in their biographies, and in the paths that
led them to the Berlin Philharmonic, experiences common to all
shine through: Love for music and for the instrument; joy in musical exchange, the loneliness of practice sessions; competition
and scrutiny; a longing for recognition; doubts and setbacks; a
deep inner ambition to develop and improve; and the constant
pressure of standards from both inside and out.
In the 125 years of its existence, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra has never granted such deep insight into its inner workings.
Together with principal conductor Sir Simon Rattle, the musicians
embark on a concert tour to Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong,
Taipei and Tokyo, their suitcases packed with scores from Thomas Adès’ “Asyla,” Beethoven’s “Eroica” and ­Richard
Strauss’ “Ein Heldenleben.” Amidst the vibrating metropolises of Asia, in a meeting of occidental tradition
and Far Eastern philosophy, in abeyance between curiosity, passion and exhaustion, the manifold driving forces
and temperaments that each distinctive personality brings
to the orchestra become visible.
The film documents the gruelling days of the tour, orchestra rehearsal, master classes, the sparse and brief excursions afforded by the musicians’ tight schedule, the loneliness of
practicing in between hotel rooms, press conferences and
organisational arrangements, growing pre-concert excitement, and finally, the highly concentrated performance of the orchestra for its audience.
With great deftness and intuition, Thomas Grube interweaves these observations with impressions from the journey through Asia and statements by
individual musicians. Remarkably candid and reflective, they tell of doubts
and pressure to perform, of tradition
and departure, of friendship and competition, of dreams and other-directed-
ness, from exhausting rehearsal periods to parting melancholy – and of
the perpetual quest for harmony and
fulfilment, made manifest in one compelling moment during a concert for
an audience of 30,000 in Taipei.
Trip To Asia compounds several elements into one dazzling, intoxicating whole: The moving music of Adès, Beethoven and Richard Strauss, whose “Heldenleben”
forms a thread that weaves itself
through the narration, and the
multifaceted stages of the journey documented with perceptive
curiosity by cameramen Anthony
Dod Mantle, Alberto Venzago and
René Dame. Using atmospheric
sounds recorded during the trip,
composer and sound artist Simon
Stockhausen created the fascinating film score Sounds of Asia
that links the music of the Berlin
Philharmonic, the lives of its members, and the experiences of the journey into one breathtaking whole that
explores the miracle of harmony.
Words can’t quite explain the secret…
but Trip To Asia invites you to experience it.
The Team
It is a fantastic mix and balance
between very strong, almost an­
archic personalities and the col­
lective task.
(Fergus McWilliam)
I probably do it all to get love.
And I need music for my soul,
because it probably also…
brings me love.
For his most recent film Rhythm
is it!, director and author Thomas
(Aline Champion)
Grube received – among others – the Bavarian Film Award
and the German Film Award
2005 for Best Documentary
Film. For Trip To Asia, he was
supported by cameramen Anthony Dod Mantle (Dogville,
The Celebration, Last King of
The Berlin Philharmonic rehearses - Photo A. Knapp
Scotland), Alberto Venzago (Magnum photographer whose distinctions include the Robert Capa Award) and René
Dame (Rhythm Is It!). The sound artist Simon
Stockhausen composed the film score using
atmospheric music recorded during the journey through Asia. Editor was Martin Hoffmann
(German Film Award 2005: Best Film Editing
for Rhythm is it!).
The Journey into strange Worlds
An interview with director Thomas Grube
What made you decide to make a new film
about the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra following Rhythm is it!?
I discovered the world of classical music through my friend and
partner Uwe Dierks, who was Leonard Bernstein’s driver during
his studies; he introduced me to Bernstein and his music. Later, we did a number of productions for Deutsche Grammophon,
and in the process met artists like Placido Domingo, Hilary Hahn,
Anne Sophie Mutter and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, at the
time under Claudio Abbado. Rhythm is it! went further and deeper into this world. When the Philharmonic musicians asked if we
would accompany them on this unique Asian tour, I just couldn’t
say no. During the making of Rhythm
is it!, a relationship of trust had been
My husband, for example, always
established that made this journey a
says: Why do you make such an
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look
effort? No one can even hear you!
(Naoko Shimizu)
even deeper into this musical legend.
Thomas Grube and producer Uwe Dierks in Shanghai
Klaus Stoll, Edicson Ruiz, Pascal Capitolin in Hong Kong
It is a very special community
that’s geared in a very special
way, like the earth. It’s been this
way for a long time. And some­
times it’s hard for me when I get
the feeling I don’t quite fit in.
I have always been interested in artistic processes, the moment of creation
and its human origin. For me, understanding the life and organism of this
unique artist collective was a personal
journey, an adventure and a very fulfilling experience. But it was clear from
the outset that Trip To Asia should
follow a very different dramaturgical
path than Rhythm is it! did. I wanted to tell of an orchestra, a community, or even society. Three or
four protagonists can’t stand for
all that. I went for the challenge;
I wanted to risk something new.
25 musicians are given a voice
in the film – and nevertheless,
I feel that the viewer can maintain empathy.
(Edicson Ruiz)
One must be capable of dealing
with isolation in order to spend
so much time alone in a bat­
tle with the instrument and the
music.
(Simon Rattle)
Martin Stegner with viola in hotel room
Were the musicians aware from the
beginning just how deeply the film
would penetrate into the orchestra’s
inner workings?
I think that many were perhaps not quite
aware of what to expect. We presented our concept to the orchestra and
received their consent, but I still didn’t
know exactly where the trip would take
us at the time. First there was the trust,
and then the unbelievable openness
I experienced from these strong personalities during the interviews,
which allowed me to go very far with my questions. The final cut was,
as in all my films, in our hands as producers – we had established
this trust with all musicians and Simon Rattle before shooting began;
it was a prerequisite for production. Still, when we showed the film
to the musicians in December 2007, it was my most important film
screening to date. It was very important to me that they all still stand
by what they expressed in the film. And they do.
How did you go about selecting the protagonists and themes?
We had six months’ time for research, script development and
preparation. To begin with, I filled a wall with 126 photos in my office. Then my assistant Lukas Macher and I did initial interviews
with the musicians, an hour each, up to five a day. When the trip
began, we had completed 55 initial interviews altogether. Naturally there were criteria and aspects that I was especially interested
in, and at the beginning of such a project, one categorizes everything accordingly. But it wasn’t very long until we let our feelings
and sympathies guide us. One important leitmotif for me was the
probationary year: The idea that a young person who comes to
this orchestra will possibly accept an engagement for life. These
people then spend 40 years together – and that with an intensity
that can be found in virtually no other career. A musician in his
probationary year and thereafter, in his first years, must grow into
the community, learn to hear and empathize until he is accepted
by the others in the group as an equal. There are generational
conflicts, and of course the “elders” who played under Karajan
and embody the tradition from within. The film tells of a life cycle
analogous to “Heldenleben,” from the
moment of entrance into the orchestra
until “death,” the last concert before letting go, into retirement.
A passer-by in Beijing listens into Simon Stockhausen’s sounds
You travelled with four cameramen.
How did you divide the tasks?
Four cameramen are the minimum number needed to adequately
record a concert. And we knew from the start that we would be
in each city only very briefly, and that we would be dealing with a
large number of people and situations. Rehearsals and concerts
were the main activities of every day that wasn’t spent travelling.
Then, we were always together, though we switched the cameramen positions during music recordings daily, so that each could
continue discovering new perspectives on the orchestra.
Additionally, there were specific tasks that required the stylistic
specialties of each cameraman. Anthony Dod Mantle generally
stayed with me, close to the musicians and in the documented
moment. Alberto Venzago was often responsible for capturing
the film themes in daily Asian life. His ability to make himself invisible allowed him to create very clear emotional pictures of people in their daily lives. René Dame, with whom I have been cooperating for over 10 years, filmed most of the interviews and found
many unusual perspectives in the mega-metropolises that lend
the film impressive imagery. HD consultant Stefan Ciupek operated the fourth camera during rehearsals and concerts, and ensured technical image quality.
Evenings were often spent viewing and evaluating in the hotel
room, which was not always easy. To some extent, the cameramen could distribute themselves into four teams, but we still
got very little sleep. And sometimes it was difficult to compose a
complete picture because each had only contributed one part.
Our team had to work under conditions similar to those that we
experienced in the orchestra.
What was your focus when filming daily tour life?
During documentary filming, the cameramen must constantly
meet the challenge to dissolve situations into scenes, i.e. to think
a documentative scene out of the editing – also as a story told
visually, with a beginning, a progression and an end. Where is
this person coming from? Where is she going? What does she
see? How does it feel?… When two people are in a conversation,
it might also need two perspectives to allow the conversation to
be experienced on film. This demands a lot from a cameraman
who can’t always get his directions from the director and must develop his own feeling for the scene, and simultaneously for how
that scene can be realized during editing. Conversely, this also wears on
When someone is in a soloist po­
the nerves of the director because he
sition, he needs a bigger dose of
egotistical personality. The job
sees more than the cameraman does
can’t be done just by serving the
through his lens, but can’t intervene
whole. And he is allowed to de­
during critical moments of activity.
mand a bit of praise.
(Fredi Müller)
How did the musicians react to the
presence of the camera?
We got the impression from many
musicians that our team was a welcome diversion. Our task was not only to use cameras and microphones,
but especially to make human contact, each in his own way, in order to
create an intense connection in such
a short period of time. I think it took
about 24 hours for the musicians to
forget the cameras, even during rehearsals. We were simply always
around. At the hotel, in front of the
René Dame at Coal Mountain, Beijing
Sarah Willis, rehearsal, “Ein Heldenleben”
Micha Afkham, on his probationary year during the Asia tour
h­ otel, in the concert halls, before and after rehearsals, at the concert, at the parties afterwards, at breakfast the next morning, in
the bus to the airport, on the plane… there was no escape. It was
initially difficult for Simon Rattle during the moments shortly before and after performances. Later we understood: Those are his
moments of concentration, of “metamorphosis.” At the beginning
we were very restrained, but by Taipei, I think, even Simon had
lost any fear of contact with the big lens.
How did you experience the many Asian metropolises,
and how did you want to portray them on film?
On the one hand, a three-week tour at that rapid pace, in six cities
and four countries, makes the trip a very superficial event: Looking out of the window, walks through the neighbourhood, whatever one encounters on the way from the hotel to the concert
hall or in the short hours of free time in the afternoons. But these
impressions, these looks at strange worlds and cultures, are
enough to provoke thought and ignite discussion. What is happening here? And who am I? On the other hand it’s
exciting to sense a new country, other peculiarities,
traditions and temperaments every three days. It
was precisely through this change and speed that
the character of each place became more existent to us. All of them, all mega-metropolises, have their own special rhythm and
special mentalities.
The film edit follows the tour activities.
Each city stands for a stage in the story.
We personally were searching for a sense
of orientation, so in the film Beijing is a city
searching for a sense of orientation; Seoul
stands between modernity and tradition,
a very career-oriented and ambitious city; Shanghai represents
China’s assertiveness. We found the only real green spot in Hong
Kong – the most beautiful green mountains just 10 minutes from
the city, so for us it stands for a break-out. Taipei is a fairly grey
city, but we were impressed by its very interested and enthusiastic inhabitants. Tokyo ultimately stood somehow for coming home:
The Berlin Philharmonic musicians have been playing concerts
there regularly for over 50 years; many of them know the city as
well as they do Berlin. The story comes full circle here.
What considerations did you have when you began editing?
Did new motifs surface – e.g. aspects such as “loneliness” and
“melancholy” that often shine through in the interviews?
Naturally, a film like Trip To Asia is created to a considerable degree with editing. But the whole composition required a certain
perspective: We needed to know what we were looking for. The
interview subjects were predetermined. Then editing is a long
process of sorting and separating. Martin Hoffman and I had to
go through 300 hours of raw material, 35 interviews had to be
transcribed, read, categorized and ordered according to aspects,
themes and people. Like a mosaic or a painting, the final product becomes clearer with each step. It is a long process that demands a lot of patience and a good deal of self-confidence before
the structure and its entire effect become visible. Then comes
the process of separation from and release of material one has
become fond of. I can’t really say if aspects like “loneliness” and
“melancholy” were considerations from the very beginning. They
are part of life, just like “the search for commonalities” or “yearning for love.” I think I search for these basic aspects that make up
life, that are responsible for motivations and incentives or constraints, in all my films.
to enjoy life and still not lose
standards of quality.
A piece on the tour program,
“Heldenleben” by Richard Strauss, is a leitmotif…
“Heldenleben” is an ambivalent work. Some don’t like it, even
some of the orchestra musicians – maybe because Karajan
played it so often with them. For me, “Heldenleben” describes
a hero’s journey: Different cities on the path to insight, the last
movement of escapism and completion. In between are the adversaries, a battle to win and many obstacles, but at the end
there is growth from life experience… With this perspective, and
with the awareness of how tightly connected the piece is with the
orchestra – Richard Strauss himself performed it with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra – I recognized a leitmotif that can be
playful and slightly ironic when applied to the parable of a Philharmonic musician’s life. And the size of the piece requires the
full instrumentation of the orchestra, which also makes it a bigscreen delicacy.
How did the collaboration with Simon Stockhausen
come about?
I met Simon Stockhausen a few years ago while working with
youths in a Berlin Philharmonic education project. His openness and his approach to all sounds as music impressed me. We
worked together for two years on Trip To Asia. Simon accompanied us on the tour as the score composer; wherever we were,
his microphones were always there too. He concentrated on the
sounds of Asia and recorded his own material. He began composing during the tour and immediately upon our return to Berlin,
and continually refined his compositions during editing. We went
into the rough cut with these first compositions of original sounds
from the trip. During the final editing stage we brought the music
and the images, the film and the score, closer together and developed it further.
After the final cut we began a further, very unusual collaboration
in audio engineering: Sound design and film music should become one. Simon’s music is made up of everyday sounds, and
the sound designer Tom Korr had to embed these into his original
recordings, the musicians’ statements, the classical music and
the documented scenes. In doing this, it was important to find the
right measure of intensity between the sounds and images that
compete for attention. Many of the usual rules and unwritten laws
of audio mixing had to be thrown out the window, and it was worth
it. It resulted in the creation of something very new, I think.
To what degree does one find the same contradiction between
ego and community the film describes in filmmaking?
In the interviews with the musicians, I could always find things I
could identify with. It’s about perfection, about the will to make
something that’s really good. But it’s also about enduring the contradiction, like Aline Champion says in the film: about being able
Filmmaking is teamwork. I love
watching the credits; I am fascinated by the gathering of
so many people that turns an
idea into material. But a direction must be specified, that’s
where the director comes in. If
he’s lucky, he works with very
creative personalities. In order
to realize his vision, he must
take those people with him,
and persuade them. That’s not
always easy.
That’s how it is for me as a filmmaker. But I’m sure that Trip To Asia is,
in many respects, a parable for society, for life in a social community, and
that it touches on questions that everyone has once asked themselves at
work, in school, within a family… really anywhere that we are challenged
to find a path between our desire for
self-realization, our yearning for love
and recognition, and the wishes of
the people with whom we share our
lives.
Trip To Asia is in part narrated
almost like a feature film. How would
you describe your concept of a
documentary film?
Why shouldn’t a documentary also be
well-staged, suspenseful and emotional? I want to make cinema films
that move and carry viewers with
them. I want to build bridges, to make
a journey into a new world possible,
to let others take part in it. There are
so many worlds that move in close
proximity to one another and yet never see each other. It is precisely the
documentary that makes it possible
to bring these worlds closer to each
other. To show – and to make understandable and emotionally accessible – that which joins us, that which
we humans have in common: That is
my goal.
Berlin – Beijing 7.370 km
Beijing – Seoul 970 km
Seoul – Shanghai 970 km
Hong Kong – Taipei 970 km
Shanghai – Hong Kong 1.220 km
Taipei – Tokio 2.100 km
Tokio – Berlin 8.930 km
Newspaper vendor in Beijing
Girl in Tokyo; the Meiji shrine
I began as a sort of child prod­
igy. I could play everything, it
was all easy and fantastic, and
I enjoyed being the best. Then
I got to music school in London
– and suddenly, I wasn’t the best
anymore.
(Sarah Willis)
It’s a very blurry path that one
can’t grasp at the beginning.
Then something develops, but
one needs a lot of patience, a lot
of strength. Because very often,
one doesn’t see any results.
(Thomas Timm)
Prayer for Tibet in Seoul
The Quest for Harmony
Excerpts from the interviews with the musicians
The interviews were conducted by Thomas Grube during the Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra’s tour of Asia in November 2005. Complete
interviews available starting in February 2007 at www.triptoasia.de.
ORCHESTRA LIFE
There are people that like you, and people that like you less…
it’s a big, thrown-together community. The trick is to push this individual, this distinctive “I” aside and say: Ok, now we’re going to
make music together! (Fredi Müller)
In order to really play successfully in a great orchestra, one must
be an extraordinarily strong personality. In addition, one must restrain oneself. The tension between these two poles is both the
source of problems for each musician, as well as the source of
the mystery that defines an orchestra. (Simon Rattle)
If we had to follow one line again, or had to conform to a hierarchy, or had a despot as a principal conductor, it wouldn’t be possible to sustain an ensemble in top quality in this day and age.
An orchestra is a whole cosmos, with all elements, and lives like
one. (Klaus Stoll)
If one is really very strong, one
needs much less acknowledge­
ment. Maybe I’m not very strong.
I need the acknowledgement bad­
ly, lots of it and very often.
(Albrecht Mayer)
That’s the deciding factor with us, that
music is interaction and not the reproduction of a piece that has been practiced to perfection. Hence, it is clear
that success certainly does not occur
in a collective. (Franz Schindlbeck)
CAREERS
Wieland Welzel - Photo A. Knapp
I need to play chamber music
now and then to hear my own
sound. And also to get acknow­
ledgement for myself, and not
just for the group.
(Aline Champion)
We cannot be vain. We aren’t
creative artists, we are repro­
ductive ones – and often unwill­
ing to admit it.
(Klaus Stoll)
Fergus McWilliam
I often went to symphony concerts
with my parents, and I often fell
asleep. I did not find it one bit exciting. But the first time I sat in the youth
orchestra and played a Brahms symphony – that was something completely different. Then I was blown
away. Unbelievable. (Martin von der
Nahmer)
At a certain age, one wants to be popular. It seem so trivial now, but everyone just wants to be loved. I never felt
I belonged anywhere until I began rehearsing with the youth orchestra on
Sunday evenings. Suddenly I was
among people who understood what
I did, what I wanted – and who liked
me! And I thought: Oh, I’m going to
be a professional musician, and it will
always be like it is now! (Sarah Willis)
One must constantly overcome oneself. Constantly start with
something you can’t do yet, that is overcoming. But overcoming
is also necessary when you see that others the same age can
maybe go to the movies, or play soccer, or do something else that
children and young people like to do. (Thomas Timm)
DOUBT
One does often have this feeling of resignation. The more you
practice, you simply become more critical. That’s what is a little
frustrating about our job… you practice, and the progress is minimal. You often have the impression that it’s moving backwards
– and then suddenly, the knot comes undone. But this path is
very difficult. I always envy craftsmen who build something and
then stand before their construction and know: Now the work is
in there. (Martin Stegner)
The moment you think it’s about you, when you don’t believe that
the music is something much greater, you have a problem. I’ve
seen music treated as a personal toy, and it was not a pretty
sight. My deepest sympathies lie with the people who search,
and are therefore always in danger of failing. (Simon Rattle)
Studies in music mean the beginning of self-discipline – and the
tough elbow fights of the music business. The emotional battles between the students in competition, at class performances, contests, concerts, concert possibilities – it’s a high-performance sport. And often, it has nothing to do with art and feeling; it’s
about the willingness to perform, about recognition and about the
career. (Olaf Maninger)
PROBATIONARY YEAR
I think everyone experiences rejection once in his probation. It’s
the moods. Sometimes it’s just eyes that look at you and are
somehow uncertain. They want to belong, but as yet they are
just a shadow. And it’s hard for each one to break through. (Walter Seyfarth)
More than once during probation I played with the idea of leaving
the orchestra. Back then there were very many older colleagues still there. For them, I was a young,
cheeky little upstart, to put it mildly. And I would
say that for the first three years, they tried to
squeeze me out like a lemon. Like: How far
can we bend him before he breaks, will he
make it or not? (Albrecht Mayer)
It’s especially the pressure that you build
yourself. You practice the pieces like crazy – when you’ve just finished school, you
don’t have the experience. And I can’t practice that either. I might be able to play some
bits very well, alone, but when you’re asked
to play it with twelve others, there are other
laws at work. It wears you down, too, when
you think: Now I’ve practiced it, and now it
Before the press conference in Shanghai - Photo: A. Knapp
doesn’t work, whom should I play with? With him in front of me?
With him behind me? And everybody watches everybody else,
and you naturally think that every wrong note you played is your
death sentence. (Martin Stegner)
I think that in some ways, probation actually continues. The respect you have for the others in the orchestra, the motivation to
master it is so great that you always try to do your best. (Micha
Afkham)
AUTONOMY
I think that is the quintessence, it’s why the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra sounds like the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra: That
every musician in our orchestra has the feeling that he or she
has a say in the direction that the tanker goes. Everyone can say
what they think or feel during rehearsal. The conductor sometimes likes it, and sometimes doesn’t, but it is always accepted.
And you have a voice in the orchestra plenary meeting and in the
many committees. At some point you can hear it, too. (Olaf Maninger)
When you facilitate more democracy in an orchestra, in some
ways you also open a Pandora’s Box. But I am absolutely convinced that this deeply democratic institution works best this way.
(Simon Rattle)
PRESSURE
I’m always tense in life, with the orchestra, with my family. I don’t
know if it’s just the price that you have to pay. But sometimes…
Even when I go for a walk, or pick up my child from day care,
I walk very consciously just so I can have a few minutes to myself.
And even then, it’s clattering and crackling. (Jelka Weber)
There are memories that are painful even today. Like playing in
front of my classmates, my knees and lips shook so hard I could
barely play, and then I see the two trumpeters in the first row
burst into laughter… it’s stuff like that, awful memories that I must
try to rid myself of. Because otherwise they come back and follow
you on bad days. (Sarah Willis)
I can remember Bruckner’s seventh, under Karl Böhm, when
I played the piece for the very first time. I thought then that my
heart would come out through here, it was so tense. It’s one hit
into the musical climax. And the knowledge that if you screw it up,
too early, too late, not sounding, then you’ve forfeited your business card, that you can pack your bags. But each individual musician must withstand this tension. And if they can’t, they’re… out
of luck. (Fredi Müller)
SOLO
When a solo comes, you don’t expect
it to just continue. You have to be able
to stretch out of the musical mass,
show yourself briefly, and immediately return when it’s over. It can’t come
undone when we play in a group, it
must be a very homogenous sound.
(Albrecht Mayer)
There is a difference whether you
sit in front or in back. And there are
sometimes moments when you cause
decisive things to happen with your
exertions, or with whatever you show.
Those are moments, or little solos
I get excited about. And they are also moments when I can demonstrate
what I can do. (Thomas Timm)
There is a moment of metamor­
phosis. I must find the person
who conducts, who is not the
same person sitting here. And
I must find the music. If you
haven’t really tried to complete
this metamorphosis before you
conduct the “Eroica”, you’d bet­
ter not go near the stage.
(Simon Rattle)
Stanley Dodds in the Chinese home of his grandparents
In Germany, everything was
very serious, but I didn’t notice
at first. Maybe because at the
beginning, I was too naïve, or
too cool.
(Virginie Reibel)
Albrecht Mayer with pupil, master class at the music conservatory in Shanghai
SERVICE AND PASSION
It never becomes routine. And if it does, something happens;
you notice that the rehearsal is going so badly that you wake up
again. The basic standard is so high that you notice immediately
when you are in bad form. And then the only remedy is practice.
Or preparation must improve. (Jelka Weber)
When I look back on these twenty years, I think: With the consciousness that I have now, I never would have made it back
then. It would have psychologically finished me. Enthusiasm –
naïve enthusiasm – is the motor,
Karajan said it right: The weak­
above all. I don’t know if knowledge
est, at the so-called very last
or an overview of all things in life is
music stand, determines the
the most helpful goal. Sometimes it is
standard and quality.
to be able to not see, but to passion(Wilfried Strehle)
ately want to reach the goals you’ve
The most stressful thing is get­
set. (Daniel Stabrawa)
ting all 100 people to fit to­
gether. The imponderability of
the other ninety-nine – that one
other has a different idea that
one might not understand right
away… but that is the meaning
of music.
(Rainer Seegers)
I am tradition. I played under
Karajan. I still have the sound of
that time in my ears, and I seek
it constantly.
(Daniel Stabrawa)
Aline Champion
It’s a life lesson, finding this middle
path. To let yourself be well, to not always make life harder for yourself; to
also be able to enjoy – and still not
lose sight of your standards. (Aline
Champion)
HARMONY
Eighty people aren’t playing together to play like one. A certain sound
is created from the friction of different personalities, of different sounds.
To contribute according to your own
character: that’s how this wonderful,
living playing is created. There have
been evenings where I have said: Dear God, let me die now, I am
happier than I ever was in this life. (Götz Teutsch)
The feeling that evolves between the conductor and this group of
people – and that has nothing to do with music, I promise you…
but this deep connection with music and the deep connection
with the individual people there, the experience of being in the
middle of this whole, and somehow influencing it, it’s absolutely…
it is simply an unbeatable drug. And I am happy to be a junkie until the end of my days. (Simon Rattle)
TRADITION
You can say so much, and so many complicated things about tradition that you don’t know what it is anymore. I’ll try to keep it as
simple as possible. When my colleagues say: “Gabor, let’s play
that more spread out, we’ve always played it more spread out”
– then I know it has something to do with tradition. It’s palpable.
(Gabor Tarkövi)
The deciding moment of a true tradition is transporting its strongest and most living parts into a new world. We all search for it.
And a part of our job is also to constantly play and to discover
what’s wonderful, what the music of the future will be. We can’t
always know when we’re so close to it. (Simon Rattle)
TOUR OF ASIA
Maybe that’s what really impressed me on this trip, the unthinkable speed with which the people there do things, how time is
developing. In cities like Hong Kong or Shanghai I thought sometimes – my goodness, our dear old Europe! (Götz Teutsch)
If you don’t return from Asia with a sense of modesty, you’ve
missed the point. This tremendous amount of movement, a society in constant change… it was amazing to learn that there are
more students of the piano in Asia than there are people in Germany. Sorry, not in Asia, in China! (Simon Rattle)
I often think of all the images and scenes from 26 years ago,
when we were in that big stadium in Peking, and everything was
new and fresh. The people didn’t really know what was happening. Now we’re coming back, after 26 years and I see ticket
prices that are at least two months’ income. And then I ask myself: Where is there a middle ground?… Those are the images that interest me. I like looking at life on the streets. What’s
happening there? That’s reality. It’s similar to Berlin. We embody
something like the cherry on the cake. (Fredi Müller)
STARS ABOVE TAIPEI
That was the most beautiful gift, really; the recognition of a wonderful audience of thousands of people that were watching on
monitors from outside, and this time we were led up behind the
stage. It was stunning because something came at us… it was
like electric candles. It was cell phones, which were of course
developed in Asia, they were sparkling at us, but not just ten or
twenty, but a gazillion; you’ll likely be able to show that beautifully in your film. It was the applause, but it was also this twinkling
technology. And we played for that audience outside – that was
truly the 21st century. (Walter Seyfarth)
Us being treated like brand-name products seems to be a part of
it. And if you can inspire as many people as possible to take an interest in and find favour with classical music, then there are many
means allowed. Though it doesn’t quite fit. It’s not really pop cult.
And when you stand on a square, you think: That would certainly be wonderful, if all these people say: Goodness, I just heard
this Beethoven symphony, it was mind-blowing, I want to hear it
again. (Klaus Wallendorf)
I think what happened in Taipei is so unusual for a classical musician that he cannot grasp it. When you’ve experienced what
we experienced on that forecourt – that was just orgiastic… On
the one hand it was a great experience, but on the other a very
sad one: Because something like that in Germany wouldn’t even
be thinkable, not in your wildest dreams. Even if you do everything for free, you’re not going to get 30,000 people to be interested in taking part in the performance. That’s naturally one of
the reasons Taipei functions the way it does. The children have
four hours of music lessons a week, from the beginning of their
school career to the end. And it becomes part of society: That
people make music, that they learn to play instruments, even if
they stop when they’re 13, 14 or 15. It still has a formative effect
on the people’s development. That’s what music is for me… it’s
not just art. For me, music is a fundamental cultural component
that has a key function in many areas of social and human togetherness. (Olaf Maninger)
FINALE
It’s really funny. You see your part posted in the notes… my God,
it’s how the tides turn. And when I think now that in six months I have
to take my hat and go, it’s definitely like dying, on one hand. A very
strong part of oneself is gone. But I feel very, very thankful. That I
could have this, that I was a part of it, that grace gave me the opportunity to join in. And then you have to see how you live the rest of your
life alone. I don’t think it’s easy. (Götz Teutsch)
I know it’s my last big journey. But it
still doesn’t seem that way. I’m trying to deny it a little… because it’s
just still so much fun to make music.
(Henning Trog)
That’s something everyone feels differently about, because you have to begin the goodbye from the inside. And
it hurts a little. You distance yourself.
But you also gain something through
this distance. I sometimes stand at my
music stand now and am amazed like
a child. It is simply unimaginable what
happens there. When these people join
together, each one is an individual but
essentially forfeits his or her personality in the interest of the whole. And
then it blossoms. When one experiences that from the inside, as a process,
then I must say I feel endlessly blessed.
(Fredi Müller)
This music means something very
important. But we live in a time in
which everything is moving faster, in
which one must work a little bit harder
for everything that requires patience.
Maybe that’s not a bad thing. Maybe it
was too easy for us, perhaps we took
it a little for granted that we have our
audience, wonderful concerts, funding… Maybe we have become too
complacent with time. Hence, this
development might also be a good
thing. (Simon Rattle)
People often say that musicians
are so egocentric. Yes, how could
we be otherwise? We have spent a
lifetime working on ourselves, with
ourselves. We are the centres of
our universes, that is certain.
(Albrecht Mayer)
Audience member, open air concert broadcast in Hong Kong
We are the Berlin Philharmon­
ic Orchestra. Conductors come
and go. The Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra stays.
(Aline Champion)
I’ve never experienced anything
like it, that one evening everyone
says: Ok, now we will all pull to­
gether, we will all make the same
music. That’s the great new thing
for me. There is an undertow,
a potential for addiction.
(Raphael Haeger)
Götz Teutsch, Asia tour concert - Photo: A. Knapp
Henning Trog in Tokio
Who is who
An overview of the musicians quoted in the film
Toru Yasunaga, Thomas Timm
Maja Avramovic
Gabor Tarkövi
Fredi Müller
Daniel Stabrawa
Walter Seyfarth
Jelka Weber
Edicson Ruiz
MICHA AFKHAM
Viola. *1979 in Freiburg. Orchestra
member since 2004, probationary
year during the 2005 tour of Asia.
MAJA AVRAMOVIC
First violin. *1967 in Nis, Serbia.
Orchestra member since 1995.
ALINE CHAMPION
First violin. *1971 in Geneva.
Orchestra member since 2000.
STANLEY DODDS
2nd violin. *1970 in Edmonton, Canada. Orchestra member since 1994.
Manager of the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra since 2002 (Treuhand).
RAPHAEL HAEGER
Percussion. *1971 in Spaichingen.
Orchestra member since 2004, on
probation during the tour.
CHRISTOPH HARTMANN
Oboe. *1971 in Landsberg. Orchestra member since 1992.
OLAF MANINGER
Solo cellist. *1964 in Recklinghausen.
Orchestra member since 1994.
Orchestra media chairman since 1998.
ALBRECHT MAYER
Oboe solo. *1965 in Erlangen.
Orchestra member since 1992.
FERGUS MCWILLIAM
Horn. *1952 in Inverness, Scotland.
Orchestra member since 1995.
Chairman of the staff council, orchestra representative on the foundation board and board of directors.
FREDI MÜLLER
Percussion. *1942 in Kassel.
Orchestra member since 1971.
MARTIN VON DER NAHMER
Viola. *1978 in Wuppertal. Orchestra
member since 2004, on probation
during the tour of Asia.
MANFRED PREIS
Bass clarinet. *1954 in Niederalteich.
Orchestra member since 1982.
VIRGINIE REIBEL
Piccolo.
On probation during the tour of Asia.
EDICSON RUIZ
Contrabass. *1985 in Caracas, Venezuela. Orchestra member since 2003.
FRANZ SCHINDLBECK
Percussion. *1967 in Lammersdorf.
Orchestra member since 1992.
RAINER SEEGERS
Timpani. *1952 in Dessau. Orchestra
member since 1986. Member of the
Fünferrat from 2001-2004.
WALTER SEYFARTH
Clarinet. *1953 in Düsseldorf. Orchestra member since 1985.
NAOKO SHIMIZU
Solo violist. *1968 in Osaka, Japan. Orchestra member since
2001.
DANIEL STABRAWA
Principal concertmaster. *1955 in Krakow. Orchestra member
since 1983.
MARTIN STEGNER
Viola. *1967 in Nürnberg. Orchestra member since 1996.
Member of the Fünferrat since 2006.
KLAUS STOLL
First solo bassist. *1943 in Rheydt.
Orchestra member since 1965.
WILFRIED STREHLE
Solo viola. *1947 in Schorndorf. Orchestra member since 1971.
GÁBOR TARKÖVI
Trumpet solo. *1969 in Esztergom, Hungary.
Orchestra member since 2005.
GÖTZ TEUTSCH
Solo cellist. *1941 in Hermanstadt, Romania.
Orchestra member since 1970, retired in 2006.
THOMAS TIMM
Principal second violin. *1972 in Leinefelde.
Orchestra member since 2000.
HENNING TROG
Bassoon. *1940 in Peine.
Orchestra member since 1965, retired in 2007.
KLAUS WALLENDORF
Horn. *1948 in Elgersburg. Orchestra member since 1980,
on the board of chairmen of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
community since 1989.
JELKA WEBER
Flute. *1971 in Achern. Orchestra member since 1997.
WIELAND WELZEL
Timpani. *1972 in Lübeck. Orchestra member since 1997.
On the Philharmonic Orchestra
community team from 20022006.
SARAH WILLIS
Horn. *1968 in Maryland, USA.
Orchestra member since 2001,
member of the Philharmonic
Orchestra community team since
2005.
DOMINIK WOLLENWEBER
English horn. *1967 in Gräfelfing.
Orchestra member since 1993.
TORU YASUNAGA
First concertmaster.
*1951 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Orchestra member since 1977.
SIR SIMON RATTLE
*1955 in Liverpool.
Principal conductor of the Berlin
Philharmonic Orchestra since
2002.
Detailed biographies of all members of the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra available at www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/orchester
Everything is Music!
Simon Stockhausen on his film score
Painting with sounds, and with sounds that have been extracted
from their original context, is sound art. It calls for the desegregation of “sound” and “music” – everything is music, every sound
has a pitch progression and a rhythm that can form a framework
for a composition. In making sound art, the recording process is
just as important as the dubbing process, because microphones
are music instruments that can hear better than the human ear.
For many years now I’ve been following the principle of original recording. Therein, I try to leave the recordings as I “found”
them, and after preparing them for audio manipulation, to compose them. The rhythmic and harmonic characteristics are analysed, and all composition follows the guidelines laid out by these
attributes.
For instance, I take a five-minute recording of nuns singing in
Taipei and underlay the pentatonic canto with electronically produced, constantly modulating accords and rhythmic elements extracted from the recording to give the song a new harmonic direction. The singers’ erratic rhythm is carried over – as opposed to
being broken down into individual parts and arranged in a tempo
specified by me – and the nuns’ melodies are accompanied, or
supplemented, by natural instruments.
A second example is to extract from sound recordings those frequencies that are not normally discernable for the human ear.
The use of filters, temporal dilation or compression, and transposition opens doors to music that – even after all these years of
sampling and sound manipulation – still seem like magic worlds
to me. It’s like using an acoustic magnifying glass to make hidden
notes in the microcosm of found sounds audible.
A few of the layouts for Trip To Asia
were born on sleepless nights in
hotel rooms during filming, though
they were primarily sound collages
with very few additions. The first recording I processed upon our return
was of a school group I encountered
on the Great Wall of China. With their
teacher’s urging and the motivating
influence of the highly visible directional microphones, theses girls and
boys recited a poem for me.
Simon Stockhausen on the Berlin - Beijing flight
30 different pieces, a substantial number of which ended up in
the film after being adjusted to the image editing, or even being
completely redone.
In Hong Kong I came upon a beggar in an underpass. My directional microphones picked up her innocent melody long before
I reached the subway tunnel. I carefully approached, and there
she stood: A petite, middle-aged woman with a microphone connected to an old guitar amp. When she saw me, she gave me an
endlessly friendly smile, even danced a bit, and sang so beautifully… After around four minutes, I tossed a couple of coins into
the cup in front of her – she said “thank you, thank you” over and
over, an ostinato that will appear at the end of the beggar music
on the soundtrack CD – and departed as she resumed her song.
I left the tunnel and the thunderous urban din of Hong Kong flooded over her delicate voice.
I visited the tunnel again the following day, only to find another
beggar, both legs amputated, who shook his cup containing a
few coins. This recording (Becherostinato) also found its way into
the piece as the rhythmic foundation for Hongkong Beggar. Later
I modulated an electronically produced arpeggio sequence with
this “cup ostinato,” lending the track an unusual rhythmic structure. With one exception, all of the
recordings were composed according to the original recording principle.
And I would give anything to find that
sweet-singing beggar again and invite her to the film premiere.
Sound cuts from the trip available on the
making-of blog at www.triptoasia.de. The
soundtrack release will coincide with the cinema release.
The piece is called Children’s Prayer,
and was my starting point for the film
score. Afterwards I elaborated on endless subtleties, rejected some, and provided Thomas Grube with the result.
By the summer of 2006, I had around
Simon Stockhausen searching for sounds
Making of TRIP TO ASIA
Blog entries during filming
Fri. 4 Nov 2005, 7:17pm, Beijing. Thomas Grube, director.
The team has gotten only three hours of sleep a night since our
arrival in China. We’re beat, not just because of the time difference, but because we rise before the orchestra and go to sleep
after they do. Today is finally the first rehearsal and the first concert. At the last concert in Peking 26 years ago, with Herbert von
Karajan, bicycle bells and animated conversations by the audience during the concert added to the sound. Today it was quiet
as a mouse, and the applause was big.
Sat. 5 Nov 2005, 6:53pm, Beijing. Simon Stockhausen, film score.
My sound theme today was traffic, and after a few hours in the
smog of Peking, I had just about had it. The invention of the automobile is definitely not a blessing. 17 million people live here,
of which only 10 percent own a car, and even that leads to smog
problems. But now to the quieter and magical sounds of Coal
Mountain, where yesterday morning at 6:30am, I experienced the
early morning sport routine of Peking citizens. The people just
stand under the trees and yell, sing, dance, do Tai Chi and apparently begin their day very consciously. Fascinating!
Sun. 6 Nov 2005, 9:38pm, Seoul. Alberto Venzago, camera.
Yesterday we four cameramen had “off” during the rehearsal of
Adès Asyla. We had the best seats in the auditorium. What a moment! Up to now I’ve only seen the musicians through the viewfinder, i.e. with everything reduced in this constrained viewfinder-world, to the scale of a lens, and
the time-aperture correlation. And
now this total. No pixels. Everything
real. For the first time, I feel the extent, the power of this music, without
headphones and without director instructions, which sometimes pull me
from the briefest of dreams to reality: “Closer to the horns, give me the
timpani, now come the strings, stay
with the concertmaster… ” I look over
to Anthony. He has tears streaming
down his face too. It has us, this music magic.
Yesterday among the audience, I discovered a 10-year-old boy who had
his eyes closed as if in a trance. Is
this the unifying and universal lanThomas Grube, Taipei – Photo A. Knapp
guage of music? A cultural bridgeBeing uprooted, on a journey
like this, you find out who you
building? As I zoom in closer, I see
really are.
his Gameboy.
(Manfred Preis)
When I saw the notes for
“Adès”, I thought: Oh my good­
ness, so hard. And then to play
“Heldenleben”!
(Gabor Tarkövi)
Tue. 8 Nov 2005, 5:56am, Seoul. Klaus Wallendorf, horn.
”It would be nice of God, would it not / if he let me find sleep here
at the Marriot“ shot through my overly-awake mind. That was at
4:30 this morning, and through the hotel windows you could tell
the backwards-driving construction vehicles from the forwarddriving ones by their beeping. What are they building at night?
There is already so much in Seoul. In Peking, you couldn’t even
see it through the smog. There, we mastered two rehearsals and
two concerts, visited the Great Wall, the Ming graves, the Forbidden City, Starbucks, the restaurant “Le Quai” across from the
Workers’ Stadium… oh yes, there my old friend (Don) Huang invited us to dinner, there were delectables and sizzling things…
You can, and must forget your regular Chinese take-out around
the corner after such a meal.
The concert hall is full of signs with information like “Smoking and
fighting is prohibited, please observe public morality in the theatre” and of all the others who have performed here besides us:
“The Australian Tip-Tap Dog Dance Troupe” or “The Russia Red
Hag Far East Military Song and Dance Group” or the “Air Force
Blue Sky Art Kindergarten.”
Wed. 9 Nov 2005, 4:35pm, Shanghai. Lukas Macher, assistant director.
That was Seoul? We had only just gotten there! Now we’re in
Shanghai, and Seoul is suddenly very far away… These very
short visits give one an oppressive feeling. I have to deal with
new impressions again, travelling every three days is much more
of a strain than I thought, also the mental readjustment to a new
city, new country, new hotel, new time zone, new alphabet, new
traffic laws (or none, in China), new currency…
Thu. 10 Nov 2005, 6:19pm, Shanghai. Simon Stockhausen.
Today I went treasure hunting all day with Alberto. At night we
went up the Peace-Hotel again, and Alberto collected futuristic
images while a huge freighter floated down the river and blew its
foghorn in the rainy, foggy air. Afterwards a drink at the bar downstairs, where I listened to the worst jazz band I have ever heard
in my entire life, hands down. While trying to collect proof for
this statement, the manager stops me and wants 300 somethings
from me, so we leave and continue to record on the street.
Tue. 15 Nov 2005, 6:36am, Hong Kong. Klaus Wallendorf.
After decades of global performances, the experienced tour musician tries to convert energy used up during the day on an educational sightseeing obstacle course into unstoppable joy in playing during the evenings at the music stand. Judging by the audience reactions, we are completing a very successful tour, and I
hope we come back, because there is still so much we haven’t
seen. Maybe we can find some of the things we missed in Thomas Grube’s film Trip To Asia. At any rate, the constant presence
of the film team makes me virtually unwilling to imagine another
tour without these personable chroniclers. They are apparently
everywhere, so I’m not surprised that the sound-obsessed recorder Simon S. is searching on top of skyscrapers for new auditory impressions.
Night-time meeting at the edge of exhaustion: Anthony Dod Mantle, Bastian Bohner, Pascal Capitolin, Simon Stockhausen
Wed. 16 Nov 2005, 1:11pm, Hong Kong. Alberto Venzago.
Today they really play like angels. Pure energy. The concert is
broadcast live on three screens around the cultural centre. With
the Hong Kong skyline as a backdrop. Millions of lights are reflected on the water. And in the middle of the “Adès”, a silent laser show begins, concentrated light spews from the tops of the
high-rises into the night sky of the other side of the harbour. In
my viewfinder, the faces look lost in reverie when I zoom in. Not
of this world. No Asians, no Europeans, everything melts together. I wish I could look deeper. Through their eyes into their souls.
But that’s just it, I remain an observer. And the faces remain effigies of a moment in time. C’est pas une image juste, c’est juste
une image.
As I write this from the hotel in Taipei, my neighbour practices the
trombone. Scales, up and down. Like the light diodes in the elevator. I remember a photo collection of a Berlin Philharmonic tour
through Japan in the eighties. Back then, Björn Borg stormed up
to Reception, saying: “Stop that fucking horn player.”
Sun. 20 Nov 2005, 3:18pm, Tokyo. Simon Stockhausen.
Tokyo fills up my ears all over, the whole spectrum of musical
sounds, from Berlioz to traditional Japanese music and singing,
from screeching Manga girls to drum & bass orgies, from sushi
bar sounds to singing demonstrators. Tomorrow it’s off to the fish
market and subways.
Sun. 20 Nov 2005, 10:45am, Tokyo. Klaus Wallendorf.
In Hong Kong – goodness that seems so long ago! – we took
the double-decker tramway to North Point, through bazaar-like
market alleyways between quite unsightly high-rises, from whose
windowed facades the headless drying shirts of their inhabitants
waved ghostly pale at us. We also took the cable-car, called the
Pieck-Tram as we young pioneers thought, but turned out to be
Peak, and it really was a pinnacle, the wanderlust-inspiring view
of the harbour. We took the ferry to… well, one shouldn’t call it
that: work. At the Hong Kong zoo there is a dead-tired jaguar and
a freezing greenhouse, and you can get clothes tailored inexpensively everywhere. The 4th round of “Heldenleben” and “Eroica”,
and we’re already in Taipei. Not exactly spectacularly beautiful,
the city… but the citizens make up for it once again. The concert:
It’s almost impossible to play that well, with such uproar, especially during the post-concert “Open Air Clap-In.” And now I’m sitting
in Tokyo and regret the documentary hold-up caused by days of
distraction.
Fri. 2 Nov 2005, Berlin. Thomas Grube.
It did take some time to completely return. Slept a lot, but also spent
nights awake, thinking about the past
weeks. The material looks great.
There is a lot of it, and it will take quite
some time to register and catalogue,
transcribe and organise it all. For
now, a few days of vacation. A little
break is a good idea after the intensity of events. The journey will continue. Up to now, only a part of the path
has been travelled.
Living somehow on an island of
happiness naturally tempts one
not to grow up.
(Wilfried Strehle)
Klaus Wallendorf, Franz Schindlbeck
Olaf Maninger, discussion before TV recording in Shanghai
All blog entries available at: blog.triptoasia.de
Wilfried Stehle
Filmographies
THOMAS GRUBE | DIRECTOR
Born in 1971 in Berlin. Studies in Political Science, North American Studies and East European Studies at the Freie Universität
Berlin, and in Film Industry at the Hochschule für Film and Fernsehen ‘Konrad Wolf’ in Potsdam. Thomas Grube has been active
as an author, director and producer since 1993, and with his business partners Uwe Dierks and Andrea Thilo at their cooperatively
founded production company Boom­
town Media since 1999. His directing work includes Warszawa Express
(nominated for the German Television Award and for the Lilly in 2000),
Mein Leben in der Soap, a portrait
Peter Hermann, Lukas Macher, Axel Johannis,
of the artist Karl Weschke – Mythos
Tommy Mann and Thomas Grube in Taipei
eines Lebens (2001), Surrogate Ci­
ties (2003, with Heiner Goebbels,
Simon Stockhausen and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra), Masters
of Performance (2005), and Rhythm
is it! (2004, co-directed with Enrique
Thomas Grube and Alberto Venzago
Sánchez Lansch), whose distinctions
include the Bavarian Film Award, the
German Critics’ Award and the German Film Award 2005 (Best Documentary, Best Film Editing).
ANTHONY DOD MANTLE | CAMERA
Anthony Dod Mantle in Hong Kong
Stefan
Ciupek
Born in 1955 in Oxford. Moved to Denmark in 1983. Attended the Ro­yal Danish Film School. Since working on his
first films, Kaj’s fødselsdag (1990, directed by Lone Scherfig) and Die Ter­
roristen (1992, directed by Philip Gröning), Anthony Dod Mantle has become one of Europe’s most renowned cameramen. He has
worked with Thomas
Vinterberg (1999, The
Celebration; 2003, It’s
all about Love; 2005,
Dear Wendy; 2007, A
Man Comes Home), Danny
Boyle (2001, Strumpet; 2002,
28 Days Later; 2004, Millions),
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen (1999,
Mifune), Lars von Trier (2003,
Dogville; 2005, Manderlay) and
Kevin Macdonald (2007, The
Last King Of Scotland). His
many distinctions include the
European Film Award, for Dogville, and the British Independent
Film Award, as well as the Camera Award at the Stockholm Film
Festival for Kevin McDonald’s The Last King of Scotland.
RENÉ DAME | CAMERA
Born in 1966 in Berlin, attended the Hochschule für Film und
Fernsehen ’Konrad Wolf’ in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In addition to
numerous works in the area of image and advertising film, René
Dame filmed the documentary Schleichweg oder Trampelpfad
(1998, directed by Holger Trczezak, nominated for the Grimme
Award and for the German-Polish Journalists’ Award in 1998),
Warszawa Express (2000, directed by Thomas Grube and Uwe
Dierks, nominated for the German Television Award), Karl
Weschke – Mythos eines Lebens (2001, directed by
Thomas Grube) and the award-winning Rhythm is
it! (2004, directed by Thomas Grube).
ALBERTO VENZAGO | CAMERA
Born in 1950 in Zurich. Alberto Venzago has
been a renowned photojournalist and filmmaker for a number of years; in addition to regular
contributions to Life Magazine, National Geographic, Stern, Geo and Time, he has published his own photo articles on Nicaragua,
Beirut, Borneo and Cambodia, books on
the Sandinista Revolution, the lives of child
prostitutes in the Philippines, and the Japanese Yakuza. His films include Voodoo –
Mounted By The Gods (2003), Invisibles (2007,
camera for Wim Wenders) and Mein Bruder, der Dirigent (2007).
Alberto Venzago received the New York Film Festival Award in
Gold in 1998, the New York Film Festival Award in Silver in 1997
and the Robert Capa ICP Award.
STEFAN CIUPEK | CAMERA, HD CONSULTANT
Born in 1976 near Berlin. As one of the most well-known specialists for HD cameras and technology, Stefan Ciupek has worked
for directors including Alexander Sokurov (2002, The Russian
Ark), Thomas Vinterberg (2003, Dear Wendy), Lars von Trier
(2005, Manderlay), The Brothers Quay (2004, The piano tuner
of earthquakes), Susanne Bier (2005, After the wedding), Sabine Michel (2005, Nimm dir dein Leben), Philip Gröning (2006,
Die große Stille), Christoph Hochhäusler (2005, Falscher Beken­
ner), Martin Gypkens (2007, Nichts als Gespenster) and Hans
Weingärtner (2007, Free Rainer). He worked together with Thomas Grube on Rhythm is it! (2004).
SIMON STOCKHAUSEN | FILMSCORE
Born in 1967 in Bensberg bei Köln. At the age of five, Simon Stockhausen began his musical education (piano, saxophone, drums,
synthesizer, composing) and first performed on stage with his father, composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, in 1980. Among his highly diverse musical works as a composer, sound artist and musician, he has produced works for the Ensemble Modern, the Bien-
The Berlin Philharmonic rehearses in Seoul
nale and the Cologne Philharmonic, commissioned works
for the theater, numerous CD publications with various formations, including with his brother Markus Stockhausen,
and with the collective MIR, founded in 1999. In addition,
he has performed as a keyboarder, live electronic musician and soprano saxophonist, including with the WDR Big
Band, James Morrison, Vince Mendoza, Peter Erskine, the
Sharoun-Ensemble, Heiner Goebbels and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. His film scores include Schräge Zeit
(2004, directed by Olafur Sveinsson), We can’t go home
again (2006, directed by Toshi Fujiwara), and numerous productions with Amos Gitai (including Berlin – Yerushlaim, 1989; Golem
– L’esprit de l’exil, 1992; Zirat Ha’Resach, 1996; Promised Land,
2004 and Désengagement, 2007).
PASCAL CAPITOLIN | SOUND
Born in 1967 in Paris. Pascal Capitolin’s comprehensive filmography as a sound designer includes Paragraph 175 – The Pink
Triangle (2000, directed by Rop Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman;
Best Documentary at Sundance Film Festival; FIPRESCI Award
at the Berlinale), Gnadenlos (2001, directed by Andrea Schramm;
Discovery Channel Award), Die Liebenden vom Hotel Osman (directed by Idil Üner, Federal Short Film Award 2003), Die Kinder
sind tot (2004, directed by Aelrun Goette; German Film Award
for Best Documentary Film), Vom Schaukeln der Dinge (2005,
directed by Beatrix Schwehm), Das Reichsorchester (2007, directed by Enrique Sánchez Lansch) and Schau mir in die Augen,
Kleiner (2007, directed by André Schäfer). He worked previously
with Thomas Grube on Rhythm is it! (2004).
BERND VON BASSEWITZ | SOUND
Born in 1967. Completed studies in audio engineering at the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen Konrad Wolf. Bernd von Bassewitz’s work as a sound engineer includes Schwesterherz (2007,
directed by Ed Herzog), Prinzessinnenbad (2007, directed by Bettina Blümner), La fine del mare (2007, directed by Nora Hoppe),
Nichts als Gespenster (2007, directed by Martin Gypkens), Im Sch­
witzkasten (2005, directed by Eoin Moore), Frühstück mit einer
Unbekannten (2007, directed by Maria von Heland), Waiting for the Clouds
(2003, directed by Yesim Ustaoglu),
Kombat Sechzehn (2004, directed by
Mirko Borscht) and Full Metal Village
(2006, directed by Sung Hyung Cho).
MARTIN HOFFMANN | EDITOR
Born in 1971 in Berlin. First studied Psychology and Mechanical Engineering in Siegen and Berlin, and
later completed training as a cameraman and editor at Cine Impuls. Since
1994, Martin Hoffmann has worked
on numerous videos, ads, feature and
documentary films, whether with his
own production firms or as a director, cameraman and editor. His most
recent films include Frühstück (2002,
directed by Alexander Pfeuffer), Mas­
ters of Performance (2005, directed
by Thomas Grube) and Mozart Spe­
cial (2006, directed by Peter
Pippich). Together with
Dirk Grau, he received the German Film Award
2005 for Best
Film Editing for
Rhythm is it!.
Bernd von Bassewitz in Hong Kong
Tai Chi at Coal Mountain, Beijing
The Q ue s t f or Har m ony
SIR SIMON RATTLE Conductor
MICHA AFKHAM Viola
ZOLTÁN ALMÁSI 1st Violin
MAJA AVRAMOVIÇ 1st Violin
RADEK BABORAK Solo Horn
ALEXANDER BADER Clarinet
SIMON BERNARDINI 1st Violin
HOLM BIRKHOLZ 2nd Violin
ANDREAS BLAU Solo Flute
WOLFRAM BRANDL 1st Violin
GUY BRAUNSTEIN Principal Concertmaster
PETER BREM 1st Violin
ARMIN BRUNNER 1st Violin
ANDREAS BUSCHATZ 1st Violin
ALESSANDRO CAPPONE 1st Violin
MADELEINE CARRUZZO 1st Violin
ALINE CHAMPION 1st Violin
THOMAS CLAMOR Trumpet
DANIELE DAMIANO Solo Bassoon
STEFAN DE LEVAL JEZIERSKI Horn
JAN DIESSELHORST Violoncello
LAURENTIUS DINCA 1st Violin
STANLEY DODDS 2nd Violin
STEFAN DOHR Solo Horn
RICHARD DUVEN Violoncello
GEORG FAUST 1st Solo Cellist
WENZEL FUCHS Solo Clarinet
CORNELIA GARTEMANN 2nd Violin
JULIA GARTEMANN Viola
AXEL GERHARDT 2nd Principal, Violin
CHRISTHARD GÖSSLING Solo Trombone
RAPHAEL HAEGER Percussion
CHRISTOPH HARTMANN Oboe
MICHAEL HASEL Flute
NORBERT HAUPTMANN Horn
SEBASTIAN HEESCH 1st Violin
MARTIN HEINZE Contrabass
AMADEUS HEUTLING 2nd Violin
GEORG HILSER Trumpet
FELICITAS HOFMEISTER 1st Violin
CHRISTOPHE HORAK 2nd Violin
PAUL HÜMPEL Tuba
MATTHEW HUNTER Viola
CHRISTOPH IGELBRINK Violoncello
ALEKSANDAR IVIÇ 1st Violin
ORI KAM Viola, probation
JONATHAN KELLY Solo Oboe
ULRICH KNÖRZER Viola
WOLFGANG KOHLY Viola
MARTIN KRETZER Trumpet
SEBASTIAN KRUNNIES Viola
WALTER KÜSSNER Viola
ESKO LAINE Viola
MARIE-PIERRE LANGLAMET Harp
RÜDIGER LIEBERMANN 1st Violin
MARTIN LÖHR Solo Cellist
KOTOWA MACHIDA 1st Violin
OLAF MANINGER Solo Cello
ALBRECHT MAYER Solo Oboe
FERGUS MCWILLIAM Horn
HELMUT MEBERT 1st Violin
RAINER MEHNE 2nd Violin
MARTIN MENKING Violoncello
FREDI MÜLLER Percussion
ANDREAS NEUFELD 1st Violin
RAIMAR ORLOVSKY 2nd Violin
OLAF OTT Solo Trombone
EMMANUEL PAHUD Solo Flute
HEINZ-HENNING PERSCHEL 2nd Violin
ZDZISLAW POLONEK Viola
MANFRED PREIS Bass Clarinet
LUDWIG QUANDT Principal Solo Cellist
VIRGINIE REIBEL Piccolo, probation
MARION REINHARD Bassoon
NEITHARD RESA 1st Solo Viola
PETER RIEGELBAUER Contrabass
DAVID RINIKER Violoncello
NIKOLAUS RÖMISCH Violoncello
EDICSON RUIZ Contrabass
JANNE SAKSALA Contrabass
BETTINA SARTORIUS 2nd Violin
BASTIAN SCHÄFER 1st Violin
FRANZ SCHINDLBECK Percussion
JAN SCHLICHTE Percussion
RACHEL SCHMIDT 2nd Violin
GEORG SCHRECKENBERGER Horn
ARMIN SCHUBERT 2nd Violin
STEFAN SCHULZ Trombone
STEPHAN SCHULZE 2nd Violin
DIETMAR SCHWALKE Violoncello
STEFAN SCHWEIGERT Solo Bassoon
RAINER SEEGERS Timpani
WALTER SEYFARTH Clarinet
NABIL SHEHATA 1st Solo Bass
NAOKO SHIMIZU Solo Viola
RAINER SONNE Concertmaster
DANIEL STABRAWA 1st Concertmaster
CHRISTIAN STADELMANN 2nd Violin,
Principal
KARL-HEINZ STEFFENS Solo Clarinet
MARTIN STEGNER Viola
KLAUS STOLL 1st Solo Bass
WILFRIED STREHLE Solo Viola
CHRISTOPH STREULI 2nd Violin
WOLFGANG TALIRZ Viola
GÁBOR TARKÖVI Solo Trumpet
GÖTZ TEUTSCH Violoncello
THOMAS TIMM 2nd Violin, Principal
EVA-MARIA TOMASI 2nd Violin
ROMANO TOMMASINI 2nd Violin
HENNING TROG Bassoon
TAMÁS VELENCZEI Solo Trumpet
CHRISTOPH VON DER NAHMER 2nd Violin
MARTIN VON DER NAHMER Viola
KLAUS WALLENDORF Horn
RUDOLF WATZEL Solo Bass
JELKA WEBER Flute
KNUT WEBER Violoncello
MARKUS WEIDMANN Bassoon
WIELAND WELZEL Timpani
JANUSZ WIDZYK Contrabass
SARAH WILLIS Horn
ANDREAS WITTMANN Oboe
ULRICH WOLFF Contrabass
DOMINIK WOLLENWEBER English Horn
TORU YASUNAGA 1st Concertmaster
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Sound Editing & Premix Facilities CINE PLUS
ALBRECHT LEU
Postproduction Coordination CHRISTIAN STRUCK
Online Facilities KOPPFILM
Postproduction Supervisors UNDINE SIMMANG,
CAROLINE PÄTHKE
Colorist VERA JESKE
Visual Effects FLORIAN OBRECHT,
ANDREI DIMITRIU
Titles & Graphics ANNE BUTSCHEK
Tenor Saxophone | Raita CHRISTIAN WEIDNER
Percussions | Drums DANIEL SCHROETELER
Classical Music Editing & Mix JEAN SZYMCZAK,
THORSTEN WEIGELT, STUDIO P4
Mixing Studios DIE BASIS BERLIN,
INTERAUDIO, CINEPOSTPRODUCTION GEYER
BERLIN
Score Recording Assistant
ALEXEJ BRÖSE Percussion ANNA BUSCHUEW Viola
KARINA CANELLAKIS Violin
LUTZ GLENEWINKEL Trombone
HOLGER GROSCHOPP Piano
WOLFGANG KÜHNL Piano
MANON LOUIS Harp
VERONIKA PASSIN 2nd Violin
GABOR RICHTER Trumpet
STANISLAVA STOYKOVA Viola
JOHANNES URBAN Trombone
Cr e w & C r e di t s
Written and directed by: THOMAS GRUBE
Camera ANTHONY DOD MANTLE, RENÉ DAME,
ALBERTO VENZAGO, STEFAN CIUPEK
Sound PASCAL CAPITOLIN,
BERND VON BASSEWITZ
Editor MARTIN HOFFMANN
Film Score SIMON STOCKHAUSEN
Sound Design TOM KORR,
SIMON STOCKHAUSEN
Mixing TOM KORR, FLORIAN BECK, ROBERT
JÄGER
Camera Assistance TOMMY MANN,
BASTIAN BOHNER
Camera / HD Consultant STEFAN CIUPEK
2nd Unit Camera HOLGER BRAUNE
2nd Unit Sound ANDREAS PRESCHER
Sound Recording Bphil KLAUS-PETER GROSS,
KAI MIELISCH
Assistant Editor EMMELIE MANSEE
Assistant Director LUKAS MACHER
Primary Assitant Producer STEFANIE GRUBE
Legal Affairs KNUT DIERKS
Accounting ULLA BRUNS
Location Manager AXEL JOHANNIS
Production Manager Bphil KAI BERNHARD
SCHMIDT
Tour Management ASKONAS HOLT
Tour Manager DONAGH COLLINS
Assistant Producers CAROLYN BERCKEMEYER,
ELIAS EILINGHOFF, ANDREAS HAVEMANN,
JULIA GECHTER, JEANETTE LADEWIG,
FELIX OFFERMANN
Photographers BASTIAN BOHNER, RENÉ
DAME, TOMMY MANN, ANDREAS KNAPP
Dialogue Mixing ALEXANDER MUSCHALLE
Foley Artist CARSTEN RICHTER
Foley Recording HANSE WARNS
Foley Editing PHILIPP BITTER
Additional Surround Sound JÖRG THEIL
BEIJING
DREAMFACTORY BEJING
Production Manager YINGLI MA
Location Manager JIANWEI HAN, JAN MICHAEL
KERN, NATHAN MAUGER, LIU KAITAO, GE RUI
Production Assistant LIANG ZHI
SEOUL
Production Service LJ FILM SEOUL
CEO SEUNG-JAE LEE
Producer SO-HEE KIM
Production Manager JEONG-MIN BAE
Location Manager KEUN-HA HWANG, YOUNGHWAN JANG, YOUNG-SEOK OH, SOON-KYUN RHYU
SHANGHAI
Production Service DREAMFACTORY
Production Manager YINGLI MA
Location Manager JIANWEI HAN, JAN MICHAEL
KERN, NATHAN MAUGER, LIU KAITAO, GE RUI
Production Assistant LIANG ZHI
HONG KONG
Production Service OCTOBER PICTURES LTD
Producer ON CHU CHEN
Production Manager SAM KONG
Production Assistants JOE LEUNG, CHERIE TANG
TAIPEI
Production Service FLASH FORWARD
ENTERTAINMENT TAIPEI
Producer PATRICK MAO HUANG
Production Manager VIGO FAN
Location Manager MICHAEL CHENG, GRACE LING
TOKYO
Production Service VIRGIN EARTH & JAPAN
UPDATE TOKYO
Producer RICHARD KIPNIS
Production Manager MICHAEL T. BARLOW
Prod. Coordinator HANS-GÜNTHER KRAUTH
Production Assistant TERUHIKO YASHIRO
Production Service
Research HIROKO SUMIKURA
ORIGINAL SCORE
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864 – 1949)
„EIN HELDENLEBEN“, op. 40“
Courtesy of F.E.C. Leuckart, München, Represented by
Thomi-Berg, Planegg
THOMAS ADÈS (*1971)
„ASYLA, op. 17“
Courtesy of Faber Music Limited, London
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 – 1827) „EROICA“ SYMPHONY No. 3, op. 55“
ANCA-MONICA PANDELEA,
ZDF ALAN YENTOB, BBC OLAV WAGNER
Line Producers PETER HERMANN,
MARC WÄCHTER
Associate Producers
UWE DIERKS, THOMAS GRUBE,
ANDREA THILO
Producers
A BOOMTOWN MEDIA production in cooperation
with ZDF and BBC
Production funding by MEDIENBOARD Berlin
Brandenburg, FFA and BKM
Worldsales by BOOMTOWN MEDIA INTER-
NATIONAL
108 Min., 35mm, 1:1,85, Dolby Digital
© 2008 BOOMTOWN MEDIA
The idea that so many egos come together at this
one moment and say: Yes, this way!… It’s always
an amazing act.
It is an endless process because it is so fascinat­
ing how people react with each other. How do you
keep it up, how do you preserve an atmosphere
of positive energy with so many strong person­
alities? Where is the turning point at which peo­
ple exploit the democracy? What is best for the
whole? I will spend my entire life finding answers
to these questions.
(Simon Rattle)
Simon Rattle before the concert in Taipei
Worldsales: B OOMTOWN MEDIA INTERNATIONAL | Fuggerstr. 33 | 10777 Berlin |
[email protected] | www.btmifilms.com
„
„I think what happened in Taipei is so unusual for a classical musician that he cannot grasp it.
When you’ve experienced what we experienced on that forecourt – that was just orgiastic…
On the one hand it was a great experience, but on the other a very sad one: Because something like that
in Germany wouldn’t even be thinkable, not in your wildest dreams. Even if you do everything for free,
you’re not going to get 30,000 people to be interested in taking part in the performance.
That’s naturally one of the reasons Taipei functions the way it does. The children have four hours of music
lessons a week, from the beginning of their school career to the end. And it becomes part of society:
That people make music, that they learn to play instruments, even if they stop when
they’re 13, 14 or 15. It still has a formative effect on the people’s development.
That’s what music is for me … it’s not just art. For me, music is
a fundamental cultural component that has a key function
in many areas of social and human togetherness“.
„
(Olaf Maninger, Berliner Philharmoniker)
Photo: A. Knapp
www.triptoasia.de