Classical Music and Cold War - Musicians in the GDR

Synopsis of Classical Music and Cold War - Musicians in the GDR

«Classical Music and Cold War» is Thomas Zintl's 2012 documentary about classical music in the GDR, featuring Helmut Schmidt, Peter Schreier and Kurt Masur, on DVD.

After the Second World War, the border between the blocs divided Germany and also its cultural systems. The documentary shows how the GDR regime instrumentalized classical music, alongside sport, as propaganda for the socialist state against Western capitalism, while musicians who showed talent and aroused no suspicion in state security enjoyed extraordinary privileges. Through interviews with contemporary witnesses, the careers of privileged and marginalized artists are explored, and how the dictatorship shaped musical life without preventing it from achieving world-class quality.

52-minute documentary with German audio (PCM stereo) and subtitles in English, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese. Format 16:9, region code 0, 1 disc. No age restriction.

Recommended for those interested in the cultural history of the GDR, 20th-century classical music and the political context of the Cold War.