Films by Grete Liffers

2018, 87 min
by Daniela Schmidt-Langels

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla ranks among today’s shooting stars of the classical music scene. At the age of only 30 years, the Lithuanian was unanimously selected by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) to be their musical director; succeeding Andris Nelsons and Sir Simon Rattle. Gentle, strong, calm and self confident, she says. “The only thing that could ever stop me is my own lack of imagination.”This is a film about an extraordinary conductor.

Germany 2018, 52 min
by Benedikt Schulte

Frank Peter Zimmermann (violin), Martin Schleske (master luthier) How can we describe the intimate connection between an instrument and its player? How can a piece of wood become „the love of my life“, as Frank Peter Zimmermann calls his 1711 Stradivarius „Lady Inchiquin“? The instrument, worth 6 million Euros, was locked away in a safe for more than two years - due to bankruptcy of its lender, a German bank. This documentary follows the world renowned violinist as he reunites with his beloved violin.Zimmermann’s story is intertwined with another master’s search for perfection. We look behind the scenes and witness the creation of a contemporary violin by the “21st Century Stradivari”, Martin Schleske."What makes an exceptional violin and how does it enter into a relationship with a musician? A double portrait of the violinist Peter Zimmermann, who lost his Stradivari and then got it back again, and the master violin maker Martin Schleske, who is working on the instrument of his life." DOK.fest Munich