Anne-Kathrin Peitz Explained

Anne-Kathrin Peitz
Birth Date:March 5, 1972
Birth Place:Germany
Occupation:Director, screenwriter, producer
Years Active:1995–present

Anne-Kathrin Peitz (; pronounced as /de/; born March 5, 1972) is a German documentary screenwriter, director and producer. She primarily works on classical music-related documentaries and television specials.

Education and early career

Anne-Kathrin Peitz studied English literature and Theatre in Leeds (Bachelor of Arts at University of Leeds) and Berlin (Master's degree at the Technische und Freie Universität Berlin). She resides in Leipzig.

Peitz initially worked as a journalist for the Berliner Zeitung, the Leipziger Volkzeitung and other German publications as well as English language newspapers. She later became the product manager for WERGO, the recording label for new music at Schott Music publishers. She combined her love of music and writing to serve as head of Public Relations at the state opera houses in Leipzig and Stuttgart.[1]

Film, television and documentary work

While working at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, Peitz was to first delve into documentary making by initiating The Singing City, a cinema documentary about the everyday life of a German opera house (she was the production manager for the film). The film won the Basler Filmpreis in 2011.

Since 2011 Peitz works as a producer and writer for works including the multiple award-winning documentary John Cage – Journeys in Sound (WDR). Her debut as a director came in 2012 with her documentary series Sounds of the Sidewalk – On the Road with Buskers (ZDF/Arte).[2]

Anne-Kathrin Peitz has directed numerous award-winning productions for television (ZDF/Arte/WDR). Her music documentaries have been viewed throughout the world at film festivals and on numerous broadcast stations (e.g. YLE, Svt, NRK, NHK, EVT, Brava, RAI, SF). Her expertise has been recognized in directing documentaries on subject matter of classical music and Avant-garde trends in the genre. Peitz's primary work has been for the German production company Accentus Music (GmbH); most of her films have been released on DVD under the label Accentus Music.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Her directorial work on Satiesfictions – Promenades with Erik Satie (WDR/Arte) earned her a nomination for the Grimme-Preis in 2016 and also received the ARD television programming award.[8] ”Befitting its extraordinary subject, Anne-Kathrin Peitz and Youlian Tabakov’s brilliant film about the French composer and hardline agent provocateur Erik Satie aims at more than a standard life-and-works biography”, notes Philip Clark from Gramophone magazine.[9]

Peitz's 2016 film Silenced – Composers in Revolutionary Russia (WDR/Arte) won the 2017 Czech Crystal for “Best Documentary” at Golden Prague Festival.[10] The film looks at Russian composers of the early twentieth century: The fates of young rebels such as Arthur Lourié, Nikolai Roslavets, Alexander Mosolov, Sergei Prokofiev and Leon Theremin or Arseny Avraamov reveal much about the early Soviet Union's cultural life, the hopeful and then tragic entanglement of art and politics to which so many artists fell victim during the First World War, the October Revolution, and the rule of Joseph Stalin. Peitz's film seeks to rediscover composers long banished and forgotten.

The Unanswered Ives – Pioneer in American Music (WDR/Arte) features perhaps the most famous “weekend composer” of musical history. Having been a businessman in the insurance sector and composing revolutionary twelve-tone music Charles Ives (1874-1954) is regarded today as the first composer of the modern age in America. Peitz's profound exploration of this extraordinary, multi-faceted personality is awarded again the Czech Crystal for “Best Documentary” at Golden Prague Festival in 2019.

Peitz's Arthur Rubinstein – Farewell to Chopin from 2020 is dedicated to the legendary pianist and part of the ZDF/Arte series Magic Moments in Music. Rubinstein's constant companion Annabelle Weidenfeld recalls his incredible charm, and youngest daughter Alina Rubinstein remembers the charismatic but often absent father whom she “wouldn’t trade for anyone in the world”. Rarely seen archive recordings provide fascinating insights into the family life of the Rubinsteins. In 2022 Peitz directed another 2022 episode for “Magic Moments in Music” reflecting on Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in Ramallah. Also in 2022, Peitz explored a new music trend called Neo-Classical with the documentary The Sound Weavers: Ludovico Einaudi, Hauschka, Joep Beving, Hania Rani. The film portrays the most successful protagonists of the classical genre.

Filmography

as producer, production manager

as producer, writer

as director, writer

Documentary filmography/Awards

YearTitleGenre:
length
CreditsNotesAwards
earned
2022Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in RamallahDocumentary:
43 min.
Director, writerProduced for ZDF/Arte by Sounding Images
2022The Sound Weavers: Ludovico Einaudi, Hauschka, Joep Beving, Hania RaniDocumentary:
52 min.
Director, writerProduced for ZDF/Arte by EuroArts
2021Arthur Rubinstein – Farewell to ChopinDocumentary:
43 min.
Director, writerProduced for ZDF/Arte by Sounding Images
2020From the Depths of the Soul – Foray through the Musical Landscape of ArmeniaDocumentary:
56 min.
Director, writerProduced for MDR/Arte by EuroArts
2018The Unanswered Ives -- American Pioneer of MusicDocumentary:
56 min.
Director, writerProduced for WDR/Arte
by Accentus Music
  • Golden Prague Film Festival 2019:
    Czech Crystal – Best Documentary
2016Silenced - Composers in Revolutionary RussiaDocumentary:
56 min.
Director, writerProduced for WDR/Arte
by Accentus Music
  • Golden Prague Film Festival 2017:
    Czech Crystal – Best Documentary
2014Satiesfictions –
Promenades with Erik Satie
Documentary:
56 min.
Director, writer, producerProduced for WDR/Arte
by Accentus Music
Available on DVD
  • Nominated: Grimme-Preis 2016
  • Diapason d’or Arte 2016
  • Documentary and Short International Movie Awards (DSIMA) Jakarta 2015: Platin Award – Best European Documentary
  • Vierteljahresbestenliste der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik 2015
2012Sounds of the Sidewalk –
On the Road with Buskers
4 part documentary series:
4 x 26 min.
Director, writer, producerProduced for ZDF/Arte
by Accentus Music
John Cage –
Journeys in Sound
Documentary:
56 min.
Writer, producerProduced for WDR
by Accentus Music
Available on
DVD & Blu-ray
2011Singing CityCinema Documentary:
90 min.
Production managerProduced for 3sat
by Filmtank
Available on DVD
  • Basler Filmpreis 2011

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://accentus.com/anne-kathrin-peitz Bio for Anne-Kathrin Peitz, Accentus Music
  2. https://www.fernsehserien.de/pflasterklaenge/episodenguide/0/25739 Review: “Plasterklänge“, Fernsehserien.de, 2013
  3. http://observer.com/2017/04/montreal-art-fim-festival-review-pavlensky-almodovar/ “Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole Thrill, Charge and Fascinate in ‘War Paint’, Observer, July 4, 2017
  4. Round table discussion including Anne-Kathrin Peitz. Musikalische Avantgarde im Zeichen der Oktoberrevolution, Deutschlandfunk Kultur, November 4, 2017
  5. https://www.ica.art/whats-on/fifa-john-cage-journeys-sound-extended-introduction-and-qa-susan-stenger-0 “FIFA: John Cage – Journeys in Sound”, ICA, September 27, 2013
  6. http://www.musik-heute.de/4728/john-cage-der-klangtourist/ “John Cage: Der Klangtourist”, Musik heute, April 15, 2013
  7. http://www.lvz.de/Nachrichten/Kultur/Wichtiger-Preis-schlichte-Zeremonie-In-Mailand-wurde-der-ICMA-vergeben.-Auch-an-etliche-Leipziger “Wichtiger Preis, schlichte Zeremonie: In Mailand wurde der ICMA vergeben. Auch an etliche Leipziger”
  8. https://news.imz.at/news/accentus-music-receives-prestigious-ard-award-2316100/ Program - “Ausgezeichnet: Die Preise und Bestenlisten 2015/2016”, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik“, September 2015
  9. https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/satiesfictions Clark, Philip. Satiesfictions. Review, Gramophone magazine online, November 2015
  10. https://www.pressreader.com/germany/leipziger-volkszeitung/20171002/283102774254211 Award for music documentary from Leipzig, Leipziger Volkszeitung, 2 Oct 2017