Pianist and musicologist, Dr. Anyssa Neumann, presents a lecture / recital on classical music in the films of Ingmar Bergman.

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s love of classical music deeply informed his life and work. Appearing throughout his many films are the sounds and stories of the Western canon, from austere medieval chant to Mozart’s operas, from Bach’s solo cello suites to Bruckner’s colossal symphonies.

Dr. Neumann’s lecture explores the appearance, function, and meaning of classical music in Bergman’s work, from his earliest films in the 1940s to his last in 2003. Using audio-visual examples drawn from across hi oeuvre, she will discuss how Bergman weaves the classical canon into his soundscapes and narratives, incorporates music into the lives of his characters, and finds artistic inspiration in the works and lives of the Western composers.

The lecture will feature musical scenes from a wide selection of Bergman’s films, Music in Darkness (1948), To Joy (1950), Summer Interlude (1951), Waiting Women (1952), Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), The Seventh Seal (1956), Hour of the Wolf (1967), Autumn Sonata (1978), In the Presence of a Clown (1997), and Saraband (2003).