Vivaldi, Bach, and Strauss
Five music films as part of the Weimar Master Classes at the Kommunales Kino mon ami
The top-notch concert program of the 66th Weimar Master Classes will once again be complemented this year by an exciting series of music films at the Kommunales Kino mon ami. From July 29 to August 6, documentaries and feature films will explore, among other topics, the lives and artistic legacies of composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and Johann Strauss. Tickets cost 7 euros (reduced rate: 5 euros) and are available at the box office.
The series kicks off with the music film “Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach” (Germany/Italy 1968) on Wednesday, July 29, at 9:00 p.m. at the mon ami cinema. Drawing on surviving manuscripts, letters, and contemporary accounts, Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet bring to life the story of Anna Magdalena Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach’s second wife. In the film, her life intertwines with Johann Sebastian Bach’s music-making and her own playing on the spinet.
The series continues on Thursday, July 30, at 9:00 p.m. with “Living Bach” (Germany 2023) by Leipzig-based filmmaker Anna Schmidt. Her documentary tracks down Bach enthusiasts around the globe and reveals extraordinary and life-changing connections to Bach’s incomparable art. There are over 300 Bach choirs and ensembles worldwide, bringing together music lovers from a wide variety of cultures, religions, and walks of life.
Next week, the music film “Johann Strauss – The Uncrowned King” (GDR/Austria 1987) will be featured on the cinema program on Tuesday, August 4, at 9:00 p.m. The DEFA film begins at an opera ball in 1986 and, set to the “Danube Waltz,” flashes back to turn-of-the-century Vienna—to key moments in the life of the “Waltz King” Johann Strauss, his triumphs and failures, the glamour and his personal struggles.
This will be followed on Wednesday, August 5, at 9:00 p.m., by the film “The Seventh String” (France 1991), starring the father-son duo Guillaume and Gérard Depardieu in the lead roles. After the death of his wife, the composer Sainte Colombe withdraws completely from the world. Only music keeps him alive. One of the few people he allows into his inner circle is his talented student, Marin Marais. Marais soon surpasses his master and, as a mature man, makes a career for himself at the court of Louis XIV.
To conclude the series, Kino mon ami will screen the relatively new music film “Vivaldi and I” (IT/FR 2025) on Thursday, August 6, at 9:00 p.m. In his feature film debut, award-winning theater and opera director Damiano Michieletto weaves together the biography of the world-famous composer with the story of a young orphan.
The talented violinist Cecilia grows up in 18th-century Baroque Venice. Antonio Vivaldi, the orchestra’s new conductor, encourages her to forge her own path.
More information: www.hfm-weimar.de/masterclasses
[27 July 2026]