Pepol to perform live score for Wajda’s The Conductor in Luxembourg

Cellist and composer Michał Pepol will debut a new live score for Andrzej Wajda’s 1979 film The Conductor at the 2026 CinEast Festival in Luxembourg. The performance features Pepol & The People, a string ensemble founded by the composer, in a collaboration with the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg.

Pepol’s composition draws inspiration from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, marking the centenary of Wajda’s birth. The score integrates classical sensitivity with contemporary musical language, designed to interact directly with the film’s original imagery.

Wajda’s The Conductor, which earned Andrzej Seweryn the Silver Bear for best actor at the 1980 Berlinale, explores themes of artistic ambition and personal tension. The narrative follows a world-famous Polish conductor returning from the United States to his homeland, where his arrival disrupts the lives of a young couple.

The ensemble performing the score includes violinists Karolina Wiśniewska and Mikołaj Marciniak alongside violist Michał Moiraliotis. The event is organized by CinEast, a festival dedicated to Central and Eastern European cinema.