Aimez-vous Liszt?: a screening of Liszt’s Dance with the Devil

Q&A to follow with Filmmaker. Liszt’s dance with the Devil, by pianist-turned-filmmaker Ophra Yerushalmi concentrates on the inner duel between the virtuoso and the composer, the seduction of glamour and the quest for spirituality that took place throughout Liszt’s life. Gathering brilliant participants, themselves in search of Liszt, who offer different even contrary points of view, the director aims to highlight the complexity of Liszt the man and the richness of his music, in fact a composer unlike the Liszt we have been led to imagine.

Among the pianists heard are Oxana Yablonskaya, Frederic Chiu, Jean Dubé, Muza Rubackyte, Jeffrey Swann and Wilhem Latchoumia; other highlights are remarks by Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, author Jacques Drillon and Nike Wagner, a descendent of both Liszt and Wagner.
Selected for the 2011 celebrations and festivals in Paris, Budapest, Utrecht and Rome, Liszt’s Dance with the Devil was also screened in Ottawa (Mayfair Theatre), Baltimore (Cinema Sundays at the Charles), Oakland’s Teachers Convention (MTAC), at the opening of Liszt and the Birth of Modern Europe (Columbia University, N.Y.) and the Downtown Festival (Provincetown Playhouse, NYU Steinhardt Institute). The Hungarian Television screened the film this past December.