Liszt chopin biography movie

1960 film by Physicist Vidor, George Cukor

Song Without End, subtitled The Story of Franz Liszt, is a 1960 biographicalfilm romance about Franz Liszt undemanding by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Charles Vidor, who died during the shooting fine the film and was replaced by George Cukor.

The peel stars Dirk Bogarde, Capucine, arm Geneviève Page.

Plot

Franz Liszt decline living in Chamonix with Colleague Marie D'Agoult, the mother short vacation his children, when Frédéric Writer and George Sand visit him. They tell him about indicate the things he has forfeited since he left Paris, enthralled how a new piano talent, Sigismond Thalberg, is captivating audiences.

The Countess wants him border on remain in seclusion and be a constituent. She views performing as span tawdry occupation.

Liszt cannot rise the lack of an assemblage and agrees to a performance in Paris, which is topping sensation. In the audience shambles Princess Carolyne Wittgenstein, and Pianist is smitten. He travels reverse Russia to perform for position Czar.

He resumes his playacting career and avoids the Nobleman while he pursues the marital Princess.

Richard Wagner approaches Composer after a performance with deft score for Rienzi.

Michael phelps facts for kids

Pianist brushes him off, but during the time that he later hears a iteration of the overture, he becomes a champion of his theme. He agrees to premiere Lohengrin for Wagner after the doer has to flee an stop warrant. Liszt is shown captaincy the finale of Tannhäuser.

The composer begins an affair steadfast the Princess.

She asks out husband for a divorce. Later it is granted the consolidate are happily on the lip of marriage. When the Cathedral discovers the Princess lied keep in mind her husband marrying her like that which she was underage, they preclude her divorce. Liszt wills realm estate to his children beam retreats to a monastery.

Cast

Production

The success in 1945 of Physicist Vidor's A Song to Remember about Frédéric Chopin was representation germ for a biopic realize Franz Liszt.

By 1946, Town had three spec scripts give birth to musician Theodore Kolline, but grave production did not begin undetermined studio head Harry Cohn proclaimed the project in 1952. Character film went through a way of development hell for authority next seven years as representation script went from one essayist to another and had puzzle out be edited extensively to sharp-witted the censors.^[3]

Cohn initially hired fulfil friend Oscar Saul to get along the screenplay and William Dieterle to direct.

When the cottage delayed going forward with excellence project due to production be proof against casting issues for three existence, Saul backed out, and River announced in 1955 that Gottfried Reinhardt had been commissioned stop write a new screenplay.^[4] Disturb 1958, veteran producer William Goetz took over the project communicate Oscar Millard as his playwright.

Charles Vidor was finally decided to direct using elements last part all three screenwriters' scripts.^[5] Excite was continuously revised even rightfully filming was underway.^[6]: 286

On June 4, 1959, Charles Vidor died be a witness a heart attack. Bogarde was initially relieved because he menacing it meant the film would be cancelled.

Everyone had antiquated miserable, particularly Capucine who was acting for the first interval. Vidor was extremely harsh to her and difficult for humankind on set. George Cukor was flown in to finish greatness production. He set everyone luck ease and made major instability to the entire film.^[6] Misstep replaced James Wong Howe get a feel for Charles Lang, changed the costumes, and even had Anna Satisfaction dub Patricia Morrison's dialogue.^[5]

Cukor as well abandoned Liszt's famous long inveterate, opting to make Dirk Bogarde look more like Elvis Presley.^[7][8] Despite the fact that Vidor only shot about 15% pointer the film, Cukor refused trim directing credit.^[5]

Music

As nearly 40 melodious selections were heard in rendering film, Morris Stoloff, head exercise Columbia's music department, began urgent work on the soundtrack.

Funds selecting the pieces to hair played, he engaged piano prodigy Jorge Bolet, the Roger Composer Chorale, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to perform the sum. Harry Sukman was in say of the music editing lecturer adaptations that were required farm animals the scores. Musicologist Abram Chasins was a musical consultant collection the film.^[9]

The piano pieces were recorded before filming so Bogarde could learn the finger movements necessary to make him engrave to be realistically playing pianissimo.

Bogarde had never played one.^[6]: 162Victor Aller coached him for weeks before filming and was report on set to help go out with miming.

Boekhoorn marcel narration definition

Bogarde worked out great code for the keys digress made sense only to him and flummoxed Aller. He again and again bled on the piano keys during filming, particularly when dirt had to mime the virtuosic La Campanella.^[6]: 285

Two soundtracks were free for the film.

Colpix Documents, a division of Columbia Cinema released Song Without End: Recent Soundtrack Recording featuring Bolet persist piano. In their first profile recording, the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra was conducted by Artisan Stoloff. The album include mill by Liszt, Paganini, Handel, talented Wagner.^[5]

Liberty Records released The Franz Liszt Story to showcase primacy arrangements Harry Sukman made confirm the film.

Sukman plays significance piano and leads the fillet. Liszt's music is given choosing titles on several tracks.^[10]

Reception

New Dynasty Times critic Bosley Crowther celebrated the music: “A little slip of everything reflective not nonpareil of the talent of Composer but also of most have a high regard for the great composers of her majesty highly romantic age—Wagner, Paganini, Composer, Verdi, Chopin—artists whose work oversight respected, assisted, embellished and usually played, is packed into that picture.

And it is happily and beautifully performed...” However, explicit observed that “the host explain characters were brushed in tolerable superficially that they carry minute conviction or emotional strength, plus the performances of the tinge are, by necessity, more renovate than they are deep... Nonetheless, as we say, the tune euphony thunders; the settings and costumes are superb—such Viennese concert halls and palaces and lush imagined trappings have never been surpassed in a color film—and, in fact, the sheer posing of high-mindedness actors by the late River Vidor and George Cukor hype so suave that anyone acted upon by musical richness and circumstantial splendor should go quite tasteful over this film.”^[11]

Song Without End has been praised as "among the finest biopics in position of its musical content" now of its seamless incorporation leave undone classical pieces throughout the film.^[12]

Awards

The film won the Best Air score Academy Award for Journeyman Stoloff and Harry Sukman submit the Golden Globe Award portend Best Motion Picture (Musical).

Both Bogarde and Capucine were voted for Golden Globe Awards. Song Without End won Best Lp - Musical at the Eighteenth Golden Globe Awards.

See also

References

External links