Directed by Prix Italia winning documentary maker Gerry Fox, and accompanied in her quest by legendary Sir Antonio Pappano, the documentary follows Janine Jansen fly-on-the wall from her home town of Stockholm to research in Stradivarius’s home town of Cremona, where she meets world leading luthiers, to a hectic ten-day period in London. She will become acquainted with each of the violins, select works that fit them best, learn about their histories and particular foibles and rehearse and record this astonishing album. It will be nerve-wracking, intense, and hugely exciting. Finally, at Christmas, we follow Janine home to the chamber music festival she has established in Utrecht, where accompanied by Pappano, she will play the pieces for a public audience. This is the first time ever that so many of the greatest Strads have been gathered together in one place, and the camera accompanies Janine at every step.
As a violinist with phenomenal bowing technique, she is uniquely qualified to bring out the character of each violin, rather than impose her character on the instruments. In a series of up close and personal interviews with both Janine and others, we capture the difficulties and joys of playing these phenomenally difficult but rewarding instruments. Interweaving though Janine’s story, we also for the first time, trace the stunning history of the Stradivarius as an emblem of affluence, ambition and power. These violins have essentially been witnesses to history, containing within them the rise and decline of empires, as well as the evolution of classical and western music into a major part of global culture. This film continues to explore the Strad’s ever-growing mastery through archive footage of some of the finest luminaries ever: Fritz Kreisler, Marius Casadesus, Bronisław Huberman, Efrem Zimbalist, Zino Francescatti, Nathan Milstein, Arthur Grumiaux and Cho-Liang Lin, all played regularly on one of these Strads.
