Klang der Stille (Copying Beethoven)

A largely fictional story: Vienna, 1824. Ludwig van Beethoven’s era is drawing to a close. Deaf and in poor health, the brilliant composer leads an isolated life away from society. Musical tastes have changed as well: frivolous Italian opera is becoming increasingly popular with audiences. Meanwhile, Beethoven is working on his Ninth Symphony. Shortly before its premiere, however, the orchestral parts are still incomplete. Publisher Wenzel Schlemmer therefore hires music student Anna Holtz as a copyist, tasking her with putting the score onto paper at the very last minute. An intense relationship develops between the sensitive young woman and the hot-tempered, mercurial composer, profoundly changing both their lives.

Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s emotional drama goes straight to the heart, creating a vivid portrait of the era and transporting us into the magical world of sound. Ludwig van Beethoven—sensitive human being, destructive force of nature, once-in-a-century genius—is portrayed by Ed Harris in a tour de force, while Diane Kruger demonstrates her remarkable talent for serious dramatic roles in what may be the finest performance of her career. A moving film about the enduring, all-conquering power of music.

Alongside the Ninth Symphony, performed here in an abridged fifteen-minute version—followed by the famous anecdote of the deaf Beethoven having to be turned around to face his enthusiastically applauding audience—the film also gives a central role to the late string quartets Op. 131 and Op. 132, as well as the “Grosse Fuge,” Op. 133.