Muhai Tang - In The Ocean Of Music (2010)
A documentary by Markus Unterfinger, 58 Min. | Doc
In a globalized world, cultural interest in others is the key to understanding the foreign.
- Muhai Tang
MUHAI TANG – IN THE OCEAN OF MUSIC is a portrait of Chinese conductor Muhai Tang’s extraordinary life. Born in 1949, the founding year of the People’s Republic of China, and raised during the Cultural Revolution, it seemed as if he would have to abandon his dream of a career in music. However, his talent, perseverance and the support of Herbert von Karajan ultimately brought him to the world’s concert halls.
Today, Muhai Tang is a global nomad. A wanderer between the worlds which he unites with music. His personal history, interspersed with historical caesurae, is typical for Chinese of his generation. He gained access to western culture early on through music. Muhai Tang’s life and work are exemplary of a changing China and the enrichment of the world by an artist between East and West.
Muhai Tang, Ju Hee Suh, Susan Tang, Weijie Lan, Tang Xiaodan, Tan Dun, Alan Liu, Ge Gan-Ru
Writer and Director Markus UnterfingerProducer Kaspar WinklerDOP Simon Guy Fässler, Angelo ScudulettiSound & Sounddesign Roman OrzaNarrator Yves RaeberEditor Michael Hertig, Rosmarie Schaub
Muhai Tang was born into a family of artists in 1949. His father is the Chinese film pioneer Xiaodan Tang. Muhai's mother Weije Wan is a film editor and writer. During the Cultural Revolution, Muhai Tang served in the remote barracks of Urumchi for the Chinese People's Army.
In 1972 he began studying at the Shanghai Music Conservatory. 1979 he visits Europe for the first time. This is the starting point for an international career. Today Muhai Tang is married to the Korean concert pianist Ju Hee Suh and father of a 4-year-old daughter. As a global nomad, he commutes between Zurich, Shanghai, Antwerp and the world's major concert halls.
Solothurner Filmtage 2011
Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels (FIPA) Biarritz 2011, Wettbewerb Sektion Performing Arts
FESTIVAL TEMPS D'IMAGES FILMES SOBRE ARTE Lisboa Portugal 2012
Festival Internation du Film sur l'Art (FIFA) Montreal 2012
Ernst-Göhner-Stiftung, Zürcher Kammerorchester (ZKO), Gesellschaft der Freunde des ZKO, Dr. Adolf Streuli Stiftung
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Languages: German/English/Chinese
Subtitles: German/English/Chinese
VOD Vimeo: Muhai Tang
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Muhai Tang - Im Ozean der Musik from TILT Production on Vimeo.