Classicals 2.0 - Virtuoso & Viral

0000: Hayato Sumino, Anna Lapwood and Marcin are revolutionizing the classical music world with musical freedom, charisma, and digital communities.

A breath of fresh air is blowing through the classical music world: young, brilliant musicians are capturing millions ofears worldwide—they no longer only appeal to the traditional, predominantly older classical music audience in renowned concert halls and via excellent recordings. They are also winning over a more diverse audience, including those not in touch with classical music, via YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. They translate their musical excellence into the digital age, combine discipline with charisma, and make classical music attractive for everyone.

The documentary follows Japanese pianist Hayato Sumino, British organist Anna Lapwood, and Polish guitar virtuoso Marcin. They are representative of a new generation with the courage to carve out a niche and the will not to be constrained by the often entrenched classical music scene. They creatively use social media channels and switch between baroque, jazz, rock, and improvisation. Each of the three stands for their instrument, their very own aesthetic—together they represent the future of classical music.

The three musicians share excellent playing technique, strict discipline, and individual expressiveness. They complement classical performance practice with improvisation, recompositions, and cross-style experiments—a revival of the freedom that was commonplace in Mozart's or Liszt's time. The focus is no longer on the perfect recording but rather on originality and authenticity—in direct exchange with the audience, fans, and the online community.

Director Lily Küntzle
Production Company sounding images