SWR/Arte, SRF, UNITEL

Beyond Perfection: The pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli’s unwillingness to compromise made him turn into a myth. Even among the various great pianists of the 20th century, he appears as an exception. The unique perfection of his tone had its dark sides though: He is known as overly sensitive and extremely erratic. It is said that he blew off more concerts than he played. Self critical to the bone, Michelangeli spent years studying the exact same pieces over and over again. His way to the Olympus recalls the work of Sisyphos. On Michelangeli’s 100th birthday we present the first big film portrait of this wayward titan.

A 3B-Produktion GmbH co-production with SWR in cooperation with Arte, SRF and UNITEL, funded by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg.