Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)
Blackmail (1929)
– World premiere of the film concert with new film music for orchestra, premiere by Moritz Eggert (*1965)
Titus Engel, conductor
"Blackmail" is a British thriller from 1929, masterfully directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Thematically surprisingly relevant today, this silent film classic tells a veritable #MeToo story set against the backdrop of its time. He has his protagonist successfully fight against various forms of male harassment and blackmail – and he does so in powerful images that still impress today.
In a co-production with ZDF and ARTE, the Basel Sinfonietta presents the new film music for Hitchcock's crime film, commissioned from the German composer Moritz Eggert.
Moritz Eggert, who describes himself as the "Bad Boy of New Music," mercilessly skewers and gleefully parodies stereotypes of contemporary music. He has composed a deliberately humorous and, above all, emotional score "from the gut" for Hitchcock's classic, a score that nevertheless develops its own artistic independence and also serves as a homage to the film composer Bernhard Herrmann, whom Eggert deeply admires.
The Basel Sinfonietta brings Hitchcock's silent film to life and contrasts it with Moritz Eggert's music. An evening at the Burghof Lörrach where past and present, film and contemporary music are reflected – and suggest that yesterday is relevant today.
Concert introduction 6:15 pm
Free shuttle bus for subscribers to Burghof Lörrach
In cooperation with ZDF/ARTE and 2eleven music film and the Burghof Lörrach
World premiere
Program subject to change.
