29 January 2026
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Concert pianist Cyrill Ibrahim talks about his involvement in the new documentary – Mozart: Genius for Hire – available to watch now on various streaming platforms.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most iconic household names in music history, but few know the truth behind his brave, trailblazing professional past. Freelance work is commonplace in the modern world, with state-of-the-art technology and remote tools breaking down distance and barriers. However, back in the 1700s, things weren’t so simple.
Mozart: Genius for Hire explores the story of a musical pioneer who broke free from the shackles of court employment to embark on a risky life as a freelance composer, performer, and teacher. Crucially, this Sky Arts documentary places Mozart’s music at the centre of the narrative, using performance as the primary lens through which his life, choices, and independence are explored.
Mozart was the world's first freelance composer.
His music is known by many, but what about his life as one of the world’s first freelance composers? His brave decision to build an independent life in Vienna not only served as a springboard for extraordinary artistic depth, but also created a model for modern creative careers hundreds of years after his death. The documentary draws a clear line between Mozart’s lived reality and the portfolio careers musicians now navigate today.
As a professional concert pianist, I know all about the trials and tribulations of freelance music in the modern world. Since graduating from the Royal College of Music, I have dedicated my career to reimagining classical music through immersive, cinematic performances that blend emotionally charged music with modern fashion, lighting, and narrative. Over the past decade, I have collaborated with household luxury brands such as Harrods, Church’s, and Christie’s, while my most notable performances include those for His Majesty King Charles III and Queen Camilla – and more recently, Kim Kardashian’s 45th birthday celebrations.
Making my Sky Arts debut in Mozart: Genius for Hire was a memorable experience.
I had the opportunity to explore how artistic freedom, emotion, and individuality continue to define the modern performer’s experience. The documentary is driven not by commentary alone, but by full musical performances, allowing Mozart’s voice to speak directly through the repertoire most closely connected to his life as a freelance artist.
The repertoire I play in the film expresses Mozart's many sides.
My performances express intimacy and vulnerability through the Andante cantabile from the Piano Sonata in A minor K 310, alongside improvisatory brilliance via the cadenza from the Piano Concerto in A major K488 – music that reflects Mozart’s dual identity as both composer and virtuoso performer. I also collaborate for the first time with Gil Shaham in a searching performance of the Violin Sonata in E minor K 304, and with soprano Danielle de Niese in two arias that illuminate Mozart’s dramatic, operatic, and deeply human storytelling. Together, these works form a musical portrait that mirrors Mozart’s independence, emotional range, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Meeting Gil Shaham on set was deeply meaningful.
I felt an immediate musical connection during the E minor Sonata. It felt like a modern realisation of Mozart’s enduring human power — a moment of artistic honesty, generosity, and shared understanding. It remains astounding to me that a genius born almost 300 years ago was able to reflect such sincere, relatable human experiences that remain deeply raw yet applicable to the modern age. To be able to celebrate him once again in Mozart: Genius for Hire has been a true highlight of my career.
Cyrill with Gil Shaham
You will have the chance to discover Mozart's letters.
Alongside the music, the documentary brings Mozart’s inner world vividly to life through readings of his letters, performed by the renowned actors David Harewood and Matthew Broome. Their voices give immediacy and emotional clarity to Mozart’s thoughts, ambitions, and frustrations, allowing the audience to experience the human being behind the genius.
David Harewood and Matthew Broome
It was also a privilege to work with Section 52 Films.
The company’s thoughtful, music-led approach ensures that performance remains at the heart of the storytelling. Under the sensitive production of Sabina Harper and David Harewood, the film achieves a rare balance – allowing Mozart’s music to lead, while framing it within a compelling human and historical narrative.
Mozart's music lives on.
His music may have been written over 250 years ago, but it continues to speak to a modern-day audience in an individual, organic, and breathtaking way. His compositions reveal timeless truths of vulnerability, ambition, joy, and struggle – themes that remain rooted throughout human history. Yet his influence extends far beyond the notes on the page. Just as Mozart forged a path of independence in Vienna, the modern freelance musician continues to balance performance, education, media, digital storytelling, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
All these years later, I continue to walk a path first carved out by artists like Mozart – expanding classical music’s reach for a new generation while preserving artistic integrity. Both Mozart and today’s freelance musicians navigate personal artistic vision alongside economic reality, creating opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear.
Music is a connection across cultures and generations.
It has never thrived under strict control. It is not a medium to be boxed in or silenced, but a form of expression that is both intimately personal and wonderfully shared. Mozart’s courage to step away from security and define his own artistic life has, in turn, opened countless paths for musicians hundreds of years later.
While the first chapter of Mozart’s legacy ended in 1791 with his death aged just 35, the Mozartean spirit remains an active and vital guide for the 21st-century musician. Mozart: Genius for Hire reminds us that the future of classical music lies not in preservation alone, but in freedom, individuality, and music-making that places the art itself first.
Mozart: Genius for Hire is available to watch on Sky Arts and on demand via Sky, NOW, and Virgin Media.
Images © Rory Mulvey / Section 52 Films (except Harewood and Broome)