DW-TV recently presented the documentary “The Promise of Music” at the Beethovenfest in Bonn. The premiere on Monday, Semptember 22 at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum was attended by Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann, as well as the Director of the Beethovenfest Ilona Schmiel and the film’s director Enrique Sánchez Lansch.

The documentary follows Sánchez Lansch and his team as they travel with Gustavo Dudamel, a young, charismatic conductor, and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela from rehearsal in Caracas to their performance at the Beethovenfest 2007 in Bonn. The documentary also tells the stories of young musicians and their paths out of poverty and squalor and into the limelight on stages around the world.

“This is truly a film about miracles occurring,” says Rolf Rische, head of Society and Entertainment at DW-TV. The team is responsible for this project, just like the prize-winning DW-TV series “Kent Nagano Conducts Classical Masterpieces” (DVD Box, Arthaus Musik). Sánchez Lansch has already directed other successful music documentaries like “Rhythm is it!” (2004), “Sing um Dein Leben!” (2005) and “Das Reichsorchester” (2007).

Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images GmbH produced the film on behalf of Deutsche Welle and Unitel Classica in cooperation with ZDF. “Classical music is an excellent ambassador for Germany around the world and an essential aspect of Europe’s cultural assets,” says Director General Erik Bettermann. “The film ‘The Promise of Music’ therefore fits perfectly into our cultural mission – just like our commitment to the Beethovenfest in Bonn.”

The 220 musicians from the Venezuelan youth orchestra come from all over the country. The youngest was 15 and the oldest 23. They all have the “Sistema de Orquestas” to thank for their musical careers. It was founded by the conductor and former Minister of Culture José Antonio Abreu with a handful of students in a garage. Today the movement is comprised of more than 250,000 children in 150 orchestras in Venezuela alone.

The documentary “The Promise of Music” will be broadcast on Saturday, September 27, 2008 on DW-TV in English, German, Spanish and Arabic. A DVD of the film is also available from the DW Store and other retailers.

“The Promise of Music” was also recognized as the best documentary film at the 12th Latino International Film Festival in Los Angeles on September 20, 2008.

September 23, 2008