Piano Movies & Videos Collection: Here’s a collection of some great movies made around the Piano (on great pianists & their performances). Watch them to get some inspiration for your music learning, watch it to learn more about some of the greatest music composers, or just watch it because they are well made movies. Skip to the best piano themed movie on Amazon.
Get Some Inspiration
Almost everybody wants to play a musical instrument but very few actually go on to learn the instrument. The desire to play is even more when you see a beautiful movie based on the life of a musician or where a musical instrument takes centre-stage (Although as you grow up, you know that the actors acting in the movie are not real performers. Its the editing technique where shots alternate between the actors face (expressions) and the dexterous fingers of a real musician.)
If you already know the basics or can play the piano and are looking for some inspiration, just read on. Here is a collection of the best Piano Videos and Movies. It will also enhance your knowledge about the greatest piano artists, and will serve as a great addition to your music library or your personal music resource.
Best Piano Themed Movies
Here we take a look at such movies , where the piano has played an important part.
Amadeus (1984)
This movie had won 8 Oscars and is now available in a single DVD. The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The movie is Mozart’s story as seen through the eyes of his chief rival, the court composer Antonio Salieri. This is definitely required viewing for all music lovers. Watch for inspiration. Amadeus: Movie Review
Shine (1996)
Shine (Scott Hicks) is about a piano prodigy who undergoes emotional abuse at the hands of his strict father. It takes several years before he is happy again, thanks to an unexpected romance.
Immortal Beloved (1994)
This movie investigates the artistic and romantic passions of one of the greatest composers of all time – Ludwig van Beethoven. Immortal Beloved charts the tumultuous life of the child prodigy and his rise to the height of musical achievement.
The Pianist (2002)
This Holocaust movie won 3 Oscars! A Polish Jewish Pianist, Szpilman (played by Adrien Brody – he’s brilliant in the film) struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II. Szpilman knows he is good pianist. On more than one occasion, we see him reassuring others that things will turn out all right, and that’s because he believes that, for anyone who plays the piano as well as he does, it must. The Pianist movie review.
The Piano (1993)
‘The Piano’ won 3 Oscars! Story about a mute woman and her prized piano! The woman communicates with the world through her piano, and through sign language, which is interpreted by her daughter. ‘The Piano’ Movie review
Copying Beethoven
A passionate, powerful drama based loosely on the final months of Ludwig van Beethoven’s life, Copying Beethoven finds the maestro a haunted man, composing the most revolutionary yet unappreciated work of his lifetime.
Grand Piano (Eugenio Mira)
Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) is the most talented pianist of his generation, but has stopped performing in public because of his stage fright. Years after a catastrophic performance, he reappears in public for a long-awaited concert in Chicago.
The Piano Teacher (2001)
A dark movie based on a sexually repressed, middle-aged music professor at a prestigious Vienna music school, who has a violent relationship with her mother. Her life gets turbulent when she gets into an affair with a much younger student.
Four Minutes (2006) – (German: Vier Minuten)
A child piano prodigy enters a life of crime. In jail, she re-kindles her talent under the tutelage of an older piano teacher, who has a painful past of her own. The four-minute contest (piano playing) piece towards the end of the movie is unforgettable.
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
This is for all ages! The movie won an Emmy award for the best children’s program.
The Piano Lesson
The film focuses on a black family in the 1930s and their piano, which is adorned with the faces of their slave ancestors. One of the family members is determined to sell this ancient piano in which he claims half-ownership. The Piano Lesson movie review
Movies on Great Pianists / Composers
The Art of Piano – Great Pianists of 20th Century
This movie takes a brilliant, fascinating look at over one hundred years (from Plante to Richter) of pianism, with rare footages of some of history’s greatest pianists performing live or discussing their art.
The Goldberg Variations – Glenn Gould Plays Bach
This is an elegant and superb performance by Glenn Gould. The way he plays is just amazing.
In Celebration of The Piano
It features 26 of the world’s greatest pianists. This was filmed live at Carnegie hall to celebrate the 135th Anniversary of the first Steinway.
Great Composers Series – Beethoven
The Great Composers Series! This one features Beethoven. It is about an hour long and covers an incredible amount regarding Beethoven’s life.
Great Composers Series – Mozart
This video on Mozart is for an hour long! Besides learning about Mozart, this movie does a good job of unraveling over 200 years of fiction and myth.
Orchestra
Starring Sir George Solti and actor Dudley Moore! This video studies the progress of the symphony orchestra, from Bach to the present day.
Piano to Zanskar: Documentary (Recent Release)
Piano to Zanskar is a documentary that premiered at the 2018 Edinburgh Film Festival, and is based on a mission to transport a piano from London to a primary school in Zanskar (region in Ladakh, India) in the Himalayas. The piano is first taken to Delhi by air, and then by road to Leh in Jammu/Kashmir state. From there the disassembled piano parts are taken on yaks and ponies over a inhospitable terrain.
However, piano to Zanskar is not just about piano relocation. The movie also touches other human aspects – such as reshaping of lives, fulfillment, happiness, altruism.
Future screenings of the film Piano to Zanskar will be listed on the Between Friends Facebook page.
‘Piano’ wins at Spain’s MiradasDoc documentary festival
“Piano,” directed by Poland’s Vita Maria Drygas, won the top honors at MiradasDoc, one of Spain’s top documentary meets, a festival-market that takes place on the Canary Island of Tenerife. MercaDoc focuses on documentaries tackling social issues, as well as factual fare produced or shot in developing countries.
In this documentary winner, a piano becomes a revolutionary symbol when it is used to reinforce a barricade during Kiev’s human rights Euromaidan protests. Every night, the revolutionaries gather around the piano to sing the Ukrainian national anthem ignoring the ice and the snow.
Watch: 2016 JIMFF : Piano
The Red Orchestra: Movie
The RED ORCHESTRA is a movie, based on a true story. The Red Orchestra was a Berlin-based resistance group that fought against the Third Reich within Germany. The Gestapo labeled them Communists and traitors, and so did the Allies.
Only recently have historians recognized them as one of the most important resistance groups. This movie, made by the son of one of the survivors, tells their story for the first time to an American audience.
The main figure of this story is Leopold Trepper, A Polish Jew who was the founder and the leader of legendary Soviet spy network that was named Die Rote Kappelle or The Red Orchestra by the Germans.
After years of militancy apprenticeship in Poland, Palestine and France, Trepper made the Soviet Union his home. As the threat of Nazism spread throughout Europe, he volunteered for the Red Army Intelligence Service.
Using a commercial enterprise cover, Leopold began to supply vital information to the Soviet Union including a warning about the German plans to attack the Soviet Union. The central intelligence center and Stalin however ignored this warning.
Eventually, the Germans broke up the network and turned it against the Soviets. After his capture, Trepper managed to inform Moscow about the German “Radio Game”. The Soviets took advantage of this information to trick the Germans.
This story is dedicated to the fighters of the Red Orchestra who managed to send some 1500 messages between May of 1940 and November 1942.
Of Two Hundreds fighters who were arrested, One Hundred and Forty Three were executed, murdered or died in concentration camps. Only Sixty Five escaped arrest by the Gestapo.
Piano Movies: Wrap Up
So if you want to watch a great music-themed movie – be it with family, friend or all by yourself, here is a list of films on pianists (where piano is central to the theme). Most of these have won Academy Awards and are considered to be classic, artistic films. Films like Amadeus and Immortal will inspire you to play the piano all night long.
If you’re here looking for some lessons to play the piano, this would be a good place to start.
There are several occasions, when we all look for some inspiration in order to push ourselves further. These great collection of Piano Movies & Videos can definitely serve that purpose.
Useful Links
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
Leave a Reply