THEINFAMOUS RAMIREZ HOFFMAN
CREATED BY ANASTASYA TERENKOVA AND JOHN MALKOVICH
“Si te portas mal en esta vida, en la otra te conviertes en Chileno.”
RAUL RUIZ
John Malkovich, one of the leading film and theatеr actors of our time, presents The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman, based on a novel by Roberto Bolaño.
“The book features fictional histories of imaginary Nazis, most all of whom have some connection, however tenuous, to the literary world - both the real one and Bolaño’s completely invented one. Though I did adapt quite a number of the stories, I decided in the end to concentrate on the story of Carlos Ramirez Hoffman. Perhaps someday I will return to visit the other characters in a part 1 or in some other, entirely different form.”
“The infamous Ramírez Hoffman must have launched his career in 1970 or 1971, when Salvador Allende was president of Chile… At that stage he was calling himself Emilio Stevens and writing poems… and was, I suppose, handsome, intelligent, sensitive.”
Roberto Bolaño
John Malkovich
John Malkovich and Anastasya Terenkova have created a music-theatre piece that combines a gripping spoken narrative with the powerful, passionate music of tango, offered up in a fascinating range from traditional to contemporary expressions. Malkovich’s rich voice and a muscular trio led by pianist Terenkova transport us to another time, another world– one of mystery and danger. For 90 minutes, like a suspense film, The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman has us on the edge of our seats. It’s as if we walk with the narrator, become part of the story as Malkovich, taking his time, gives us space and silence – a metaphor embedded in Bolaño’s story - to imagine actions, consequences, emotions.
“Roberto Bolaño the most significant Latin American literary voice of his generation.”
The New York Times
In counterpoint to the understated prose and pared-down poetry of Bolaño’s writing, the music skillfully guides us along, propelling us from one emotion to another, from scene to scene, chapter to chapter over 20 years.
“I’m capable of belief, at least inside the theater.
Outside of the theater, not so much.”
John Malkovich
The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman leaves us with a mystery.
One that will perhaps be solved one day…
“Death is friendship. Death is Chile. Death is my heart.”
Ramirez Hoffman (Roberto Bolaño)
THE STORY
“...Bolaño, playing with sharp, twisting knives… has meticulously created a tightly woven network of far-right littérateurs and purveyors of belles lettres.”
The New York Times, review of Nazi Literature in the Americas
Roberto Bolaño’s book The Nazi Literature in the Americas offers fictional biographies of imaginary Pan-American authors, egocentrics and criminals, many of whom sympathize with Nazis and fascisti, are depicted in a gallery of alienated snobs. In fact, Bolaño admitted that his book was, in part, based on celebrated writers, some despicable monsters, some now considered heroes. Chile swung violently between left and right wing politics for decades. Salvador Allende, elected in 1970, was the first Marxist president in a liberal democracy in Latin America. In 1973, the military ousted Allende in a coup d'état supported by the CIA. Allende died that day, in what has been controversially called a suicide. Augusto Pinochet then became the military dictator and ruled with an iron fist until 1990.
THE MUSIC
Terenkova and Malkovich have created an evocative musical soundscape for violin, bandoneon and piano from compositions that are extremely varied in genre, but which all capture the drama and soul of tango.
The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman starts with perhaps the best-known Libertango by Astor Piazzolla. It proceeds to weave in the Baroque (Antonio Vivaldi), French surrealism (Erik Satie), the Russian “minimalism with a humain face” (Leonid Desyatnikov), avant-garde (Alfred Schnittke), post-minimalism experimental (Giovanni Sollima, Alberto Iglesias) and compositions from contemporary classical and film-score composers from around the world. A magic carpet ride of music that perfectly captures each dramatic moment.
“Music, more than any other medium - including filmgoes into the bones.”
John Malkovich
ROBERTO BOLÃNO
Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (1953 – 2003)
was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist.
In 1999, he won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel Los detectives salvajes (The Savage Detectives). In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for his novel 2666. After moving to Mexico when he was young, he returned to Chile in 1973 to “help build the revolution” by supporting Allende. After the right-wing coup toppled the socialist government, Bolaño was arrested for being a terrorist. He spent 8 days in jail, ultimately being freed by former classmates who were now detectives. This episode informed much of his writing, including The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman.
Bolaño moved to Europe in 1977, finally ending up in Spain, where he married and settled near Barcelona. There, he worked as a dishwasher, campground custodian, bellhop, and garbage collector.
He had conflicted feelings about his native country. He was notorious in Chile for his fierce attacks on Isabel Allende and other members of the literary establishment.
Nazi Literature in the Americas was published in 1996, though the events of the book take place from the late 19th century up to 2029.
The last chapter was expanded into a novel in Distant Star. Six weeks before his death, at an international conference in Seville, Bolaño's fellow Latin American novelists hailed him as the most important figure of his generation.
The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman premiered in November 2022 at the Lisbon Film Festival, where it played to a packed house and received a standing ovation.
So-Ock Kim, violin, Anastasya Terenkova, piano, Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, bandoneon, John Malkovich, narration
JOHN MALKOVICH
John Malkovich is considered to be one of today’s most distinguished actors, known for portraying complex, idiosyncratic, highly-intelligent characters. He has embodied an astounding range of characters, from loveable rogues to failed intellectuals, to unscrupulous schemers who personify pure evil.
Malkovich began his career on stage with Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre. He appeared first in the Broadway version of Death of a Salesman, then in the film, both with Dustin Hoffman. He has received Academy Award nominations for Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire. Other acclaimed films include Death of a Salesman (with Dustin Hoffman), Empire of the Sun, The Killing Fields, Dangerous Liaisons, Of Mice and Men and Being John Malkovich.
Malkovich has collaborated with a long list of highlyregarded film directors, including Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci, Stephen Frears, Raul Ruiz, Volker Schlöndorff, Clint Eastwood, Luc Besson, Joel and Ethan Coen, Spike Jonze and Steven Spielberg.
He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Zurich Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Honor Award and the Donostia Lifetime Achievement Award (San Sebastian Film Festival), where he joined the ranks of Gregory Peck, Francis Ford Coppola and Woody Allen.
Malkovich also works extensively in theatre, opera and television, not only as an actor, but as a director, producer and writer. He won both France’s Molière and London’s Evening Standard awards for Best Director for the play The Good Canary.
“The world has so many things in it that are fascinating and strange, but it can be quite beautiful.”
John Malkovich, The New York Times interview
In the past decade, he has been involved with a number of productions that revolve around classical music, including Casanova Variations, The Music Critic, The Infernal Comedy and Report on the Blind. He has toured extensively with the Viennese conductor Martin Haselböck and his frequent collaborator writer/director Michael Sturminger.
John and Anastasya collaborated previously on another piece of narrative/music theatre, Report on the Blind, distilled from a chapter in the novel On Heroes and Tombs by celebrated Argentine writer and social activist Ernesto Sabato.
A tour-de-force of primordial paranoia, it soars on the richly varied music of the acclaimed Concerto for Piano and Strings by avant-garde composer Alfred Schnittke, a leading figure in Russian non-conformist music.
ANASTASYA TERENKOVA
Born in Moscow and based in Paris, Anastasya has received international critical acclaim and numerous awards, including first prize at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, the Dorothy MacKenzie Artist Recognition Competition (New York), and the Gawon International Music Award (South Korea).
“She combines French poise and her native spirit with "the speed and passion of a Formula One driver"
Anastasya graduated from the renowned Gnessin Special Music School in Moscow, then went on to complete her education with Jacques Rouvier at the National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance in Paris, training which included the prestigious postgraduate courses Perfectionnement de piano and Artist Diploma.
The New York Times
Anastasya’s performances are in demand around the world. She has played such illustrious halls as the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Bozar in Brussels, the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, The Kings Place in London, Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, and Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires. She also regularly records for radio and television. In addition to her work as a soloist, Anastasya has a passion for chamber music. She is regularly invited to the major music festivals such as the Ljubljana Music Festival, Emilia Romagna Festival, Mittelfest, Piano aux Jacobins, Menton Music Festival, Le Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York).
“A
ravishing pianist” Diapason
In January 2016 Anastasya was invited by John Malkovich to perform in Report on the Blind, the piece for piano, string orchestra and narrator, based on the music by Alfred Schnittke and the texts by Ernesto Sabato. Since she joined the project, she has become his collaborator in developing, presenting and performing the piece around the world.
“ ...Anastasya Terenkova is an artist whose breathtaking performance style and elegance stand out among the younger generation of world pianists today. ”
Grand Piano
THE COMPOSERS
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) is considered one of the most important tango composer in the world. He revolutionized the form with “Tango Nuevo,” which incorporates elements of jazz and classical music. After a long struggle to gain acceptance for his new concept of tango, he was awarded the title "Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires. "
Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) is one of the most mysterious composers of the late 20th century. His works are complex, erudite, and imbued with a deep spirituality. They embrace a wide range of genres, including symphonies, ballets, orchestral, choral and vocal pieces, as well as film and theatre scores. In the 70s and 80s, his works were banned in the USSR, but posthumously, he became a symbol of Russian avant-garde music and of freedom of conscience.
Leonid Desyatnikov (1955) is one of the most performed contemporary Soviet - Russian composers. Born in Ukraine, Desyatnikov studied at the Leningrad Conservatory where he quickly specialized in composition and instrumentation. His works have been awarded numerous prizes, including the Russian State Prize in 2003. The style of his music is defined by the composer himself as "an emancipation of consonance, transformation of banality and 'minimalism' with ahuman face”. He refers to his own work as “tragically nuanced songs.” German baroque composer Johann Paul von Westhoff (1656-1705) was a pivotal figure in late 17th and early 18th century music. He had a strong impact not only on fellow composers, but on future-generation legends J.S. Bach and Georg Telemann. One of the most celebrated violinists of his day, he composed some of the earliest known music for solo violin.
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) - Italian baroque composer and virtuoso violinist - was one of the most renowned figures in European classical music, ranked as one of the greats alongside J.S.Bach and G.Handel. He pioneered many developments in violin technique and orchestration, including shaping the emerging concerto form into a widely accepted form. Today, he is perhaps best known for his magnificent music cycle The Four Seasons.
Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias (1955) is best known for his collaboration with Pedro Almadovar, the director for whom he has scored almost all hisfilms. Nominated four times for an Academy Award, he won the European Film Award for Best Composer for Volver at Cannes in 2006. He went on to work with directors including Steven Soderbergh and Ridley Scott, and scored the directorial debut of actor John Malkovich, The Dancer Upstairs.
Russian Sergey Akhunov (1967) composes chamber and symphonic music. Though his music is tonally reminiscent of 19th-century Romantic composers, he is also recognized as a gifted minimalist. He started as an oboe player before moving on to other genres, including electronic music and rock. He has also written a large number of spiritual compositions for choir drawn from liturgical texts.
Efim Rosenfeld (1894—1964) was a Soviet composer, pianist, and conductor known for the popular pre-war songs he composed in the tango rhythm, including “Weary Sun" and "My Happiness” tango, a true symbol of the pre-war years in the Soviet Union, which is used in The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman.
Max Richter (1966) a musician and composer of German-British origin, is considered one of the main influences for post-minimalist composers and a prominent figure in neoclassical music.
Moving through minimalism or experimental electronic music, his controversial style lives at the intersection of his classical background and his life experiences, including electronic, dance, punk, and psychedelic music.
Fazil Say (1970) brilliant Turkish pianist and composer, is now considered among the leading musicians of his generation. An established concert pianist, he has played with all the renowned American and European orchestras, performing a multifaceted repertoire, including his own piano compositions, which often reflect the folk melodies and driving rhythms of Turkey.
Erik Satie (1866-1925) is a French composer whose spare, unconventional style exerted a major influence on 20th-century music. His work represents the first definite break with 19th-century French Romanticism. Closely allied to the Surrealist movement in art, his music refuses sentimentality or deep significance, disregarding traditional forms and tonal structures and often taking the form of parody.
Giovanni Sollima (1962) is an Italian virtuoso cellist and composer. His compositions are wide-ranging, encompassing jazz, rock, ethnic Mediterranean traditions. Though influenced by minimalism, he has gone beyond to an approach often characterized as post-minimalism. He has composed music for films and contemporary ballet with notables such as Peter Greenaway, Robert Wilson, John Turturro, and Karole Armitage.
text
Roberto Bolaño
‘The Infamous Ramirez Hoffman’
‘Nazi Literature in the Americas’
narration
John Malkovich
piano
Anastasya Terenkova
violin
TBC
bandoneon
TBC
music
Astor Piazzolla
Alfred Schnittke
Leonid Desyatnikov
Johann Paul von Westhoff
Gerardo Matos Rodriguez
Sergey Akhunov
Alberto Iglesias
Antonio Vivaldi
Efim Rosenfeld
Lera Auerbach
Max Richter
Eric Satie
Fazil Say
Giovanni Sollima
THEINFAMOUS RAMIREZ HOFFMAN
