2010
CLASSICAL MUSIC IN DRC
KLASSIK IM KONGO
DR Congo
30 min. tv documentary
director, camera, montage: Marcel Kolvenbach
WDR German public tv
Seven musicians from WDR travel to Kinshasa to prepare a concert with a Congolese amateur orchestra.
They have a week left to do so and have to contend with more than just musical challenges: torrential downpours bury Kinshasa under masses of water, and many instruments have suffered in the humid tropical climate and need to be repaired as best they can. And the Congolese musicians have to contend with the daily adversities of this country ravaged by war and a state of emergency. Cologne clarinetist Andy Miles accompanies Congolese flutist Nathalie deep into the slums of Kinshasa and is rewarded for his curiosity with a moving solo. French cellist Anne-Sophie Basset of the WDR Symphony Orchestra visits Josephine's small improvised restaurant, which provides her livelihood.
The reason for the WDR musicians' visit was the award-winning documentary film “Kinshasa Symphony” (WDR/RBB) about the only symphony orchestra in Central Africa. It premiered at the Berlinale in 2010, was shown at the Beethovenfest in Bonn and the Africa Film Festival in Cologne before it was released in cinemas and nominated for the German Film Award.
PRESS COVERAGE