This 115 minute DVD features not only the re-issue of Stern's great documentary visit to China, but also the new film "MUsical Encounters", made twenty years after the original, in which Stern returns to China and finds that the children he once taught have turned into master musicians in their own right. The original film is about Stern's invited visit to China, shortly after the Cultural Revolution, which attempted to wipe out all of the Western influences on Chinese cultural life. Stern visits a music conservatory, hears and coaches young musicians and talks to professors about their troubles under the Cultural Revolution. The DVD includes "Gentleman From Shanghai."
In June, 1979, violinist Isaac Stern embarked on a three-week visit to China, as a guest of the government. The Academy Award winning "From Mao to Mozart," entertainingly chronicles that journey, capturing snippets of Stern's rehearsals, master classes and performances, as well as his meetings with numerous Chinese musicians, dancers and acrobats.
Stern and David Golub, the pianist who accompanied him, narrate part of the film, while Tan Shuzhen, a deputy director of the Chinese Conservatory of Music, provides a different and complementary perspective on Chinese culture.
In 1979, as China reopened its doors to the west, internationally acclaimed classical violinist Isaac Stern received an unprecedented invitation to tour the country. While in China, Stern performed concerts and gave a series of master classes to talented Chinese musicians at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. This classic documentary records this extraordinary cultural exchange. Stern and David Golub, the pianist who accompanied him, narrate part of the film, while Tan Shuzhen, a deputy director of the Chinese Conservatory of Music, provides a different and complementary perspective on Chinese culture. In addition to the reissue of the acclaimed documentary which captured this significant event (and won an Academy Award for Best Documentary while doing it,) this video also contains the newer film MUSICAL ENCOUNTERS. This tracks Stern as he returns to China, twenty years later, and catches up with his old students, many of whom are masterful musicians in their own right.
A Harmony Film Group release of a Hopewell Foundation Production.
From Mao To Mozart - Isaac Stern In China Quotes/Excerpts:
"On the other hand, they can't play Mozart." -- Isaac Stern, shrugging, after watching the amazing things Chinese acrobats can accomplish.
From Mao To Mozart - Isaac Stern In China Reviews:
"...[The] editing, photography and sound recording are all top-notch....An entertaining and perceptive documentary..."
-- Lor., Variety
"...Delightful....A most enjoyable record of a productive visit."
-- Richard F. Shepard, New York Times
"...Lerner fashioned an Oscar-winning documentary by showing how Stern's wit instilled zest into China's talented, but sometimes stiff, young musicians. The movie is still a jewel..."
-- Mike Clark, USA Today
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