Appassionata: The Extraordinary Life & Music of Sonia Eckhardt-Gramatté

This performance documentary explores the passionate spirit of Sophie-Carmen (Sonia) Eckhardt-Gramatté, who defied all barriers to become one of the most intriguing composers of the 20th century.

A brilliant child virtuoso on both piano and violin, Sonia only fully discovered her identity as composer in the fiery union with her first husband Walter Gramatté, a German Expressionist artist whose early death from tuberculosis in 1929 left her mourning not only a great love but a source of creativity.

Sonia’s love for Walter endured throughout her second marriage — to the brilliant art historian and writer Ferdinand Eckhardt who was a man of unusual compassion and who understood her need to cherish Walter’s memory. In fact, Ferdinand would devote himself to supporting both Sonia’s music and Walter’s works of art while trying to carve out his own career in a climate of war and political chaos.

In an unusual twist of fate, Sonia’s epic artistic odyssey would eventually take her from the great European capitals of Paris, Berlin and Vienna all the way to Winnipeg, a raw new cultural outpost of western Canada in 1953.

With dramatic sequences, interviews, and performances of Sonia’s works complementing the impressive archival components, documentary maker Paula Kelly has created a sympathetic and revealing portrait of a unique love triangle.