A plane landing in a raging snowstorm in New York, 1964 inspires Federico Fellini to write a new script, The Journey of Giuseppe Mastorna. It was to be the story of a cellist’s attempt to return home after an emergency plane landing en route to a concert in Florence. The plane lands in the middle of nowhere, close to a Gothic cathedral. The cellist does not realise he is already dead.

‘This will be your last film’. A chance remark from a magician and a near-death illness led to Fellini abandoning the film project. A few months after instructing his designer Manara to draw the storyboard, Fellini died in Rome.

Nicolas Altstaedt, fascinated by the maelstrom of the screenplay, has approached the artist and composer Hauschka in order to pursue, musically, the footsteps of Fellini.

Congratulations to Hauschka for his BAFTA Award and Oscar (Original Music) nominations this year – both are for the score to the critically acclaimed film Lion.

A commission by Vivacello Festival, Duisberg Philharmoniker and Kings Place, London.