The legendary Oleg Nikolaevitch Karavaichuk is the mysterious and moving subject of this loving film by the young director Duque. He was moved by the music the pianist composed for a film by Kira Muratova and is the first foreigner to win the trust of the eccentric and still active 89-year-old Russian.

Oleg and the Rare Arts

This film is about Oleg Karavaichuk, eccentric musical genius and famous St. Petersburg composer, who takes his final stroll through Komarovo, a bay-side summer community just outside St. Petersburg where he spent his whole life and wrote most of his works. His final piece, “The Komarovo Waltz”, unveiled here for the very first time, was written as a tribute to the place. The film is the reclusive composer’s eulogy to the community. It also serves as Karavoichuk’s farewell to audience as well as his last address and reminder of things that are truly important – love for your fellow man and virgin nature.

The Last Waltz

The film is dedicated to a unique artistic phenomenon—the work of musician Oleg Karavaichuk, who with great strength embodied the understanding of “The Spirit of St. Petersburg” in our time. About this film composer who wrote music for more than 100 movies, and the creator of virtuosic piano, improvisations, Dmitry Shostakovich said, “Karavaichuk is not a talent; he is a genius.” This is how he was discussed, as the last musical genius, in June 2016, when Oleg Karavaichuk passed away. The next year, 2017, he would have turned 90 years old.