Shadows – Genesis of Heinz Holliger’s “Violin Concerto, Hommage to Louis Soutter” (1997)

Overview

The film concentrates on Heinz Hollinger at the time of the creation of his “Concerto pour violon”, which is inspired for the most part by the tragic and very touching “œuvre” of the painter and violinist Louis Soutter, one of the many outcasts to have served Hollinger as a model. At the same time as it takes a close look at the personalities and work of these two courageous artists, the film pays tribute to Soutter, as a passionate painter who is still relatively unknown, to Thomas Zehetmair, a violinist whose inflamed style, extreme concentration and total commitment have inspired the composer and finally to Heinz Hollinger himself, a composer and conductor whose mastery, generosity and depth of musical understanding are self-evident.