Pianoforte

During the preliminary round, there are 160 of them. Then, about 80. And 40. At last, only 10 lucky ones make it to the final. The protagonists of Pianoforte are young people from around the world and participants of the Chopin Competition held every five years in Warsaw. This is the oldest competition of this importance and the only monographic contest dedicated to Chopin’s music.
Its renown has resulted from a record number of pianist celebrities who participated in the Competition when they were young: from Dmitri Shostakovich awarded with an honourable mention, to Martha Argerich, Maurizio Pollini, Daniil Trifonov, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dang Thai Son, and finally to Krystian Zimerman. The Competition involves powerful emotions, both on stage and in the audience. It is an exceptional chance that happens once in a lifetime. The protagonists, whose lives have revolved around playing the piano since their childhood, are like athletes at the Olympic Games, in which the stakes are their future.
Our story focuses on a few characters. We watch them during the preliminary round, which takes place a few months before Stage 1, the competition struggle in Warsaw in October 2021, and the emotional reverberation after the event’s final. We observe the young pianists at home, in private, while they prepare for the Competition. Some of them will be eliminated, others will get to the final, perhaps someone will win one of the prestigious awards. Yet, everyone’s path will be unique. Pianoforte is a coming-of-age documentary and an emotional rollercoaster with Chopin’s music in the background.