I am six years old. I am in a classroom. Lots of light is coming in through the window behind me… A boy from my class - his name was Philippe - came up and whispered a secret in my ear… and I never heard his secret… (excerpt from the film's dialogue)

Virtuoso fingers dance over instruments for years on end, until sounds blur and muscles seize up. Injury, damage to hearing and loss of muscular function are an unsung theme in the musician's life and one that is still taboo. In the documentary PASSION and PAIN members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra reveal for the first time the downside of their passion for music. For some the pain is so great that they have had to stop playing.

A film about the love-hate relationship that musicians have with the body.