The Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Japan

Documentary: 52 minutes
Completion: February 2007
Format: HDTV
Broadcasters: ORF, 3sat
Produced by Barbara Weissenbeck, Filmwerkstatt Wien

A container filled to the top with black tails, heated Lorries loaded with hundreds of musical instruments. All of this plus around a hundred men and women will tour through Japan this autumn for twelve days, enthralling audiences in concert halls with the works of Mahler, Mozart and Brahms. During their tour, The Vienna Symphony Orchestra will perform nine times, always appearing on stage exactly on time to begin tuning their instruments one last time before conductor Fabio Luisi raises his baton.

But before all of this can happen, an amazing amount of work has to be done behind the scenes - the audience can only begin to imagine how much work. This is exactly what this film will document - what happens before the orchestra embarks on the tour, what happens while they are on tour, and what goes on between the concerts. Like this, the film will not only provide a captivating “look behind the curtains” at one of the world’s most famous orchestras, but will also highlight the scale of this logistic mega project, and bring the viewer closer to the musicians whom they are accustomed to seeing onstage from a distance.

The film begins in Vienna. Fabio Luisi rehearses a new piece especially for this tour: Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony. The camera will film the star conductor’s every move up close, how he attunes his musicians to a certain sound. The viewer has the chance to meet the other main protagonists of this documentary already during the rehearsals.The trips inside of Japan will be made by train. The camera will document the spectacle of a hundred musicians entering the train station with their instruments and taking their seats in the carriages. During the trips the film will focus closely on the main protagonists, on their conversations and moods. In addition to the musicians and their instruments, the container full of tails will also always be travelling across Japan.

Whether during their private activities or within the framework of the concerts, the coming together of very different cultures is an issue that often arises during the film. It is apparently difficult for the Viennese - who are used to a hearty handshake - to understand the requests and gestures of the Japanese. Already choosing the appropriate angle at which to bow is a challenge.