Suden

Composer Mauricio Kagel was born in Argentina in 1931, but left the country and settled in Germany in 1957. However, his adventurous music remained an inspiration to a number of forward-thinking Argentinean musicians, and in 2006 he returned to Buenos Aires for a festival of experimental music which featured several programs devoted to his work. Kagel was to direct a major concert by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, but also worked with two smaller ensembles, one of which, Ensemble Suden, was named for one of his better-known pieces and is comprised of young and enthusiastic fans. Filmmaker Gaston Solnicki was on hand to capture Kagel's visit on film, and the documentary SÜDEN chronicles the composer's efforts to guide the symphony through his music as well as his more personal interaction with the Ensemble Suden as the younger Argentineans meet their exiled hero for the first time. SÜDEN was an official selection at the 2008 Buenos Aires Film Festival.