The Lives of the Artists: The Composers

In honour of Symphony Nova Scotia’s 30th anniversary, we present a short selection of cinematic biographies—from the 1940s up to the current decade—of classical composers. Whether it is the glossy romance of Hollywood’s studio treatment of Schumann in Song of Love or the wild and loose 1960s interpretations by Ken Russell (Debussy and Delius) to the more cynical views on Mozart in Amadeus to the recent productions on Stravinsky and Hildegard von Bingen, the lives of composers have provided rich fodder for compelling big screen storytelling.

SCREENINGS WEDNESDAYS AT 8 PM. FREE ADMISSION

26 September - Song of Love

Clarence Brown, USA, 1947, 119 minutes. The classic love triangle of Clara and Robert Schumann and Brahms is portrayed by Katharine Hepburn, Paul Henreid and Robert Walker respectively, with sumptuous production values that only old Hollywood could supply.

3 October - The Debussy Film

Ken Russell, UK, 1966, 81 minutes. This is one of the most fascinating of Russell’s groundbreaking and very unconventional music bios, with the great impressionist composer—played by a gruff Oliver Reed—briefly transposed to Swinging London.

24 October - Song of Summer

Ken Russell, UK, 1969, 100 minutes. The German-English composer Frederick Delius is seen through the eyes of his amanuensis, Eric Fenby, who helped transcribe his final works.

31 October - The Music Lovers

Ken Russell, UK, 1970, 123 minutes. Richard Chamberlain portrays a tortured Tchaikovsky, who marries and then disdains his wife, played by a ferocious Glenda Jackson.

7 November - The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach

Jean-Marie Straub, West Germany, 1967, 93 minutes. This austere musical biography depicts the great Baroque composer through excerpts from his work, “narrated” by his second wife. German with English subtitles.

14 November – Amadeus

Milos Forman, USA/France/UK, 1984, 158 minutes. Oscar Winner for Best Picture, Amadeus tells the story of Mozart from the point of view of his rival—the far less talented composer Salieri—while exploring the quizzical nature of true genius.

21 November – Impromptu

James Lapine, UK/USA, 1991, 108 minutes. Chopin, Liszt, the author George Sand and the painter Delacroix spend the weekend at a country retreat; played by Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Judy Davis, Mandy Patinkin, Julian Sands, and Bernadette Peters. The Romantic Movement never had it so good.

28 November - Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Jan Kounen, France, 2009, 119 minutes. Commencing with a stunning re-creation of the famous 1913 modernist landmark The Rite of Spring, this double-biography explores the lives of two of the 20th Century’s most influential Europeans. French with English subtitles.

19 December – Vision

Margarethe von Trotta, Germany, 2010, 111 minutes. The life of the extraordinary 12th Century composer, mystic and abbess, Hildegard von Bingen, is interpreted by the leading female director of the New Wave of German Cinema, Margarethe von Trotta. German with English subtitles.