Trimpin: The Sound of Invention
Vancity Theatre
Friday, October 9 2009 9:30pm
Gerhard Trimpin is an inventor, musician, composer, tinker, and conceptual artist with a unique sensibility and ingenious mechanical aptitude. His musical instruments cum audio sculptures are playful, sonically interesting, and surprisingly musical. His workshop is a treasure trove of parts culled from junkyards and free sources. Machines in various stages of completion resemble the fanciful illustrations of Dr. Seuss.
Trimpin's upbringing in a small town in the Black Forest region of Germany is a strong influence on his art. The cuckoo clock tradition, his father's handiness as a cabinet maker, an old electronics book for boys, and his natural affinity for tinkering form the basis of his inventiveness. He befriended, and was influenced by composer Conlon Nancarrow who wrote pieces for player piano which could not be played by human pianists.
The film features a number of Trimpin's installations. One of the more well know is the tower of guitars in Seattle's Experience Music Project. Entitled "If VI was IX: Roots and Branches", this 50 foot sculpture of 700 guitars was commissioned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. In an amusing anecdote, Trimpin assuages Allen's worry on how the guitars will be tuned by blurting out that they will be self-tuning without having any idea how to accomplish that.
Trimpin collaborates on a most unusual concert with the Kronos Quartet, bringing his musical instruments and machines together with the music world's most experimental string quartet. The form of the concert is in flux as the Kronos members learn how to play Trimpin's instruments, and understand his conception. Eventually everyone finds their way, and the concert comes off spectacularly.
At 79 minutes this film is only a small sampling of the mechanical musical wonders that Trimpin brings to life. Fortunately, director Peter Esmonde and Trimpin himself was at the screening and answered questions about the film and the work. Trimpin was soft-spoken but enthusiastic in answering the audience's questions.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
VIFF Review: VIFF Fan Guide iPhone Application
XOMO Digital is a Vancouver company which produces mobile applications for festivals. Their new iPhone application for the Vancouver International Film Festival Fan Guide is a useful tool to help navigate and plan viewing of the over 370 films over 16 days. It's an evolutionary improvement on their Vancouver International Jazz Festival app which was a good first effort but lacked certain useful ways of navigating the schedule of events and marking favourite events.
The app first starts up on the What's On view which shows all films showing today in chronological order at all theatres and the calendar control easily lets you navigate by day. The calendar control is not nicely placed on the navigation bar and covers the top highlight and bottom shadow. Strangely, the Map button seems to just show your current location and not any theatre locations.
Films view lists all films in alphabetical order and can display by category. The Section button seems redundant on the Categories view. The Youtube link on the Film Details view for films which have previews is a nice touch as is the IMDB rating. The showing (Event Details) view contains a phone icon which calls the VIFF ticket hotline.
Theatres view lists all participating theatres in alphabetical order, shows distance to theatre, and has convenient Map button showing all theatre locations. Venue Details lists all films at that venue in chronological order. It is unclear why there is a Favourite button on the Venue Detail screen. Have a favourite theatre doesn't seem to be useful at all.
The Favourites feature is essential, but doesn't always work as expected. If you mark a particular showing (Event Details) as a favourite, the film doesn't show up in the Films/Favourites view. You have to mark the film in the Film Details view as a favourite for it to appear on the Films/Favourites view. I guess a favourite event is not the same as a favourite film. I think it would make more sense if you marked an event as a favourite that it's parent film be marked as well. The favourite star is difficult to see in the Films list view icons because of the small size and low contrast.
There is some confusion when in Films view when favourites mode is active. The upper right navigation button sometimes reads Favourites instead of Show All. When you press that Favourites button, it updates with a black background and all films are listed. Pressing the black Favourites button shows only the favourite films and the button turns into a blue Show All button.
The Stories view allows you to post and share messages and photos about VIFF. The default keyboard behaviour was strange without the usual capitalization shortcuts. Interesting feature but it would be awesome if it integrated somehow with Facebook or Twitter instead of being its own isolated island of social media. I personally post my quick film impressions on Facebook and the full film reviews on Blogger. It's not immediately obvious how to get to the Stories site from outside of the app from say a desktop browser or link to that information from Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, etc.
The Info view has information on the VIFF and links to the official VIFF website and ticket telephone hotline. The Map button shows a map with all the sponsoring restaurants pinned.
The app nicely remembers what view you last used when it starts up. It also seems to remember state of each view.
The app occasionally crashes when navigating between views. The app always crashes in the Stories view if you tap on the blue STORIES icon at the top of the list view.
Another quirk: you can create a ridiculously deep navigation stack going from the Event Details to Film Details to Event Details, etc. Pressing the back button will eventually unwind the stack and get you back to the top view. I didn't have the patience to see how deep you could go before crashing the app.
Overall a helpful and useful app to help wade your way through the huge number of movies at the VIFF. The social media feature is of more questionable usefulness. I give VIFF Fan Guide version 1.0 a respectable 4/5 stars on iTunes Store.
The app first starts up on the What's On view which shows all films showing today in chronological order at all theatres and the calendar control easily lets you navigate by day. The calendar control is not nicely placed on the navigation bar and covers the top highlight and bottom shadow. Strangely, the Map button seems to just show your current location and not any theatre locations.
Films view lists all films in alphabetical order and can display by category. The Section button seems redundant on the Categories view. The Youtube link on the Film Details view for films which have previews is a nice touch as is the IMDB rating. The showing (Event Details) view contains a phone icon which calls the VIFF ticket hotline.
Theatres view lists all participating theatres in alphabetical order, shows distance to theatre, and has convenient Map button showing all theatre locations. Venue Details lists all films at that venue in chronological order. It is unclear why there is a Favourite button on the Venue Detail screen. Have a favourite theatre doesn't seem to be useful at all.
The Favourites feature is essential, but doesn't always work as expected. If you mark a particular showing (Event Details) as a favourite, the film doesn't show up in the Films/Favourites view. You have to mark the film in the Film Details view as a favourite for it to appear on the Films/Favourites view. I guess a favourite event is not the same as a favourite film. I think it would make more sense if you marked an event as a favourite that it's parent film be marked as well. The favourite star is difficult to see in the Films list view icons because of the small size and low contrast.
There is some confusion when in Films view when favourites mode is active. The upper right navigation button sometimes reads Favourites instead of Show All. When you press that Favourites button, it updates with a black background and all films are listed. Pressing the black Favourites button shows only the favourite films and the button turns into a blue Show All button.
The Stories view allows you to post and share messages and photos about VIFF. The default keyboard behaviour was strange without the usual capitalization shortcuts. Interesting feature but it would be awesome if it integrated somehow with Facebook or Twitter instead of being its own isolated island of social media. I personally post my quick film impressions on Facebook and the full film reviews on Blogger. It's not immediately obvious how to get to the Stories site from outside of the app from say a desktop browser or link to that information from Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, etc.
The Info view has information on the VIFF and links to the official VIFF website and ticket telephone hotline. The Map button shows a map with all the sponsoring restaurants pinned.
The app nicely remembers what view you last used when it starts up. It also seems to remember state of each view.
The app occasionally crashes when navigating between views. The app always crashes in the Stories view if you tap on the blue STORIES icon at the top of the list view.
Another quirk: you can create a ridiculously deep navigation stack going from the Event Details to Film Details to Event Details, etc. Pressing the back button will eventually unwind the stack and get you back to the top view. I didn't have the patience to see how deep you could go before crashing the app.
Overall a helpful and useful app to help wade your way through the huge number of movies at the VIFF. The social media feature is of more questionable usefulness. I give VIFF Fan Guide version 1.0 a respectable 4/5 stars on iTunes Store.
Monday, October 05, 2009
VIFF Review: In Search of Beethoven
In Search of Beethoven
Granville 7 Theatre 2
Monday, October 5 2009 6:15pm
In 2006 director Phil Grabsky gave Mozart his thorough treatment, correcting the myths that arose out of the fictionalized Amadeus. Now Grabsky sets his camera on Beethoven with the same thoroughness and myth busting in a breathlessly paced and information packed 140 minutes.
The film traces a chronological time line of his life. Details are filled in by readings from his letters, performances of his most significant musical works, and interviews with the most eminent scholars, conductors, musicians, and musicologists available in Europe. The film brings welcome insight into his personal life, and puts his work in context with the geopolitical events of the late 18th century and early 19th century. The revolutions, wars, and politics of the day were a definite influence on his music.
Beethoven the man is revealed in his letters as well as his music. While his popular image is of a misanthropic, deaf, and melancholy old man he was also romantic, idealistic, and gastronomic. He was constantly falling in love with his aristocratic young lady students and would write pieces devoted to them—most famously the Moonlight Sonata, and Für Elise. Unfortunately, his affections could not be returned because of the class barriers of 19th century Viennese society—no noble lady could be allowed to marry a mere musician!
He appreciated good wine and good food, frequented the best restaurants in Vienna, and cultivated the reputation of a gourmand. More than once he we would write and ask his friends for bottles of fine wine to sooth his ailments. Ominously, his father died an alcoholic after he fell into depression over the death of his wife.
His frequent bouts of poor health and progressive deafness were a great source of despair, and he was driven to the brink of suicide at a few points in his life. But his art brought him back as he could not end himself when there was always one more piece of music in him which he felt obliged to bring forth to the world. While he could no longer perform publicly on the piano, his deafness was no barrier to music composition as his later works are some of his best ever.
Despite the troubles of the world around him, Beethoven was a believer in the higher nature of humanity and the potential for societal enlightenment. This belief showed through in his music like his only opera Fidelio, and the 9th Symphony. Through adversity, (a) man could prevail with hope and love. Beethoven suffered through adversities both personal and worldly, and in the process produced some of the best music ever conceived.
I will be eagerly looking forward to Grabsky's next music documentary project when he takes on Haydn.
Granville 7 Theatre 2
Monday, October 5 2009 6:15pm
In 2006 director Phil Grabsky gave Mozart his thorough treatment, correcting the myths that arose out of the fictionalized Amadeus. Now Grabsky sets his camera on Beethoven with the same thoroughness and myth busting in a breathlessly paced and information packed 140 minutes.
The film traces a chronological time line of his life. Details are filled in by readings from his letters, performances of his most significant musical works, and interviews with the most eminent scholars, conductors, musicians, and musicologists available in Europe. The film brings welcome insight into his personal life, and puts his work in context with the geopolitical events of the late 18th century and early 19th century. The revolutions, wars, and politics of the day were a definite influence on his music.
Beethoven the man is revealed in his letters as well as his music. While his popular image is of a misanthropic, deaf, and melancholy old man he was also romantic, idealistic, and gastronomic. He was constantly falling in love with his aristocratic young lady students and would write pieces devoted to them—most famously the Moonlight Sonata, and Für Elise. Unfortunately, his affections could not be returned because of the class barriers of 19th century Viennese society—no noble lady could be allowed to marry a mere musician!
He appreciated good wine and good food, frequented the best restaurants in Vienna, and cultivated the reputation of a gourmand. More than once he we would write and ask his friends for bottles of fine wine to sooth his ailments. Ominously, his father died an alcoholic after he fell into depression over the death of his wife.
His frequent bouts of poor health and progressive deafness were a great source of despair, and he was driven to the brink of suicide at a few points in his life. But his art brought him back as he could not end himself when there was always one more piece of music in him which he felt obliged to bring forth to the world. While he could no longer perform publicly on the piano, his deafness was no barrier to music composition as his later works are some of his best ever.
Despite the troubles of the world around him, Beethoven was a believer in the higher nature of humanity and the potential for societal enlightenment. This belief showed through in his music like his only opera Fidelio, and the 9th Symphony. Through adversity, (a) man could prevail with hope and love. Beethoven suffered through adversities both personal and worldly, and in the process produced some of the best music ever conceived.
I will be eagerly looking forward to Grabsky's next music documentary project when he takes on Haydn.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
VIFF Review: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould
Granville 7 Theatre 2
Sunday, October 4 2009 7:00pm
This is an amazingly revealing documentary on the real man behind the myth that is the public image of Glenn Gould. Going beyond the eccentricities of his later years it reveals a complex and contradictory man who was both loving and smothering, perfectionist and clown, solitary and charming, father figure and hypochondriac.
Gould's abilities were formed early. As a child, his mother was his first piano teacher from around age 3 to 10. Gould attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where Alberto Guerrero taught him the fundamentals of his technique. As a teenager he played the family piano obsessively until the small hours of the morning. Some of his eccentricities were forming at this time as he was given to wearing excessive layers of clothing at all times.
His playful side is revealed in an extraordinary short film shot by a friend on a beach in the Bahamas. Gould is seen wearing his customary coat, scarf, gloves, and hat on the beach while a local bikinied beauty dances seductively for him. There are also clips of him serenading elephants at a zoo, and cows in a field.
Interviews with his closest friends, musicians, and work colleagues reveal the most intimate details of his life which belie his public image. He had few relationships, but the few he had were intense. He once asked his CBC colleague to adopt him as his brother. Long time friend from childhood John Roberts reveals much of the relationship Gould had with his parents.
A surprising revelation is the 4 year relationship Gould had with Cornelia Foss. Gould had years earlier been an admirer of pianist Lukas Foss and became close friends with him and his wife. When her marriage with Lukas broke down Cornelia left him for Gould. Gould loved Cornelia and was a good "uncle" to her children, but his mental state was declining so she returned to Lukas.
After he ended his concert pianist career at age 31 he continued with a prolific recording career as well as a radio broadcasting career with the CBC. He pioneered recording techniques and pushed the tape-based technology to its limits. He conceived of a way for listeners to create their own mixes which was impossible with the technology of the time, but I wonder what he could have done with today's ubiquitous digital recording technology.
Gould passed away shortly after his 50th birthday of stroke in 1982. He left a legacy of recordings most famously his two sets of Bach Goldberg Variations which re-conceived the compositions in his unique style. His shrewdly managed public image made him larger than life and has kept him in the public consciousness to this day. But at his core, he was an intensely intelligent and passionate man who was happiest playing piano in his Ontario cottage where he could enjoy music, solitude, and peace.
If you miss this film at the VIFF you will likely be able to catch it on television. It was co-produced with television networks world-wide like ZDF-ARTE, PBS, Bravo!, TVOntario, and the Knowledge Network so it should appear on those networks in the near future.
Granville 7 Theatre 2
Sunday, October 4 2009 7:00pm
This is an amazingly revealing documentary on the real man behind the myth that is the public image of Glenn Gould. Going beyond the eccentricities of his later years it reveals a complex and contradictory man who was both loving and smothering, perfectionist and clown, solitary and charming, father figure and hypochondriac.
Gould's abilities were formed early. As a child, his mother was his first piano teacher from around age 3 to 10. Gould attended the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto where Alberto Guerrero taught him the fundamentals of his technique. As a teenager he played the family piano obsessively until the small hours of the morning. Some of his eccentricities were forming at this time as he was given to wearing excessive layers of clothing at all times.
His playful side is revealed in an extraordinary short film shot by a friend on a beach in the Bahamas. Gould is seen wearing his customary coat, scarf, gloves, and hat on the beach while a local bikinied beauty dances seductively for him. There are also clips of him serenading elephants at a zoo, and cows in a field.
Interviews with his closest friends, musicians, and work colleagues reveal the most intimate details of his life which belie his public image. He had few relationships, but the few he had were intense. He once asked his CBC colleague to adopt him as his brother. Long time friend from childhood John Roberts reveals much of the relationship Gould had with his parents.
A surprising revelation is the 4 year relationship Gould had with Cornelia Foss. Gould had years earlier been an admirer of pianist Lukas Foss and became close friends with him and his wife. When her marriage with Lukas broke down Cornelia left him for Gould. Gould loved Cornelia and was a good "uncle" to her children, but his mental state was declining so she returned to Lukas.
After he ended his concert pianist career at age 31 he continued with a prolific recording career as well as a radio broadcasting career with the CBC. He pioneered recording techniques and pushed the tape-based technology to its limits. He conceived of a way for listeners to create their own mixes which was impossible with the technology of the time, but I wonder what he could have done with today's ubiquitous digital recording technology.
Gould passed away shortly after his 50th birthday of stroke in 1982. He left a legacy of recordings most famously his two sets of Bach Goldberg Variations which re-conceived the compositions in his unique style. His shrewdly managed public image made him larger than life and has kept him in the public consciousness to this day. But at his core, he was an intensely intelligent and passionate man who was happiest playing piano in his Ontario cottage where he could enjoy music, solitude, and peace.
If you miss this film at the VIFF you will likely be able to catch it on television. It was co-produced with television networks world-wide like ZDF-ARTE, PBS, Bravo!, TVOntario, and the Knowledge Network so it should appear on those networks in the near future.
VIFF Review: The Man Who Bottled Clouds
The Man Who Bottled Clouds
Granville 7 Theatre 4
Sunday, October 4 2009 11:40am
This documentary about Brazilian musician Humberto Teixeira was produced and narrated by his daughter Denise Dummont. Even though he raised her she never felt she knew her father as a person and sets out to learn who he was by interviewing his friends, family, and colleagues in Brazil and New York Ciy.
Most of the musicians are unfamiliar to non-Brazilians but notably recognizable are Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto, and Maria Bethânia. They speak of Teixeira in respectful tones but it is the interviews with his first wife (Denise's mother), and Denise herself which are the most revealing about his character.
Extensive historic footage is used to invoke 1930-50s Brazil. Even the contemporary scenes have a vintage feel as they are shot on old film stock. It is a pivotal time in the industrialization of Brazil with its attendant social upheavals. Northeasterners are streaming into the cities like Rio De Janeiro to escape the drought and build a better life. They bring with them their native culture.
Humberto Teixeira is one of these migrants from the town of Iguatu in the rural state of Ceará. Little is mentioned of his early life but he did study medicine before switching to law and becoming a lawyer. Teixeira had limited success in music until he teamed up with fellow Northeasterner Luiz Gonzaga to bring their adaptation of Northeastern baião music to the South. Gonzaga would become the better known singing cowboy front man, but songwriter Teixeira would become the Doctor of Baião.
Baião swept post-war Brazil and dominated popular music until the late 1950s. The lyrics romanticizing country life had great appeal to the many migrants homesick for their Northern lands. It directly influenced the up and coming Bossa Nova musicians, and spread outside Brazil to influence forms as diverse as Jamaican reggae and Carmen Miranda musicals.
There are many performances of Teixeira's songs by many Brazilian musicians. A highlight is a performance of Asa Branca by David Byrne dressed in Brazilian cowboy gear.
The film is an interesting look at a musical form which is largely overshadowed outside of Brazil by the later Bossa Nova movement. Once again, the importance of the culture of Brazil's rural Northeast on the rest of the country is highlighted. The Brazilian brain may lie in the South but its heart is in the North.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Granville 7 Theatre 4
Sunday, October 4 2009 11:40am
This documentary about Brazilian musician Humberto Teixeira was produced and narrated by his daughter Denise Dummont. Even though he raised her she never felt she knew her father as a person and sets out to learn who he was by interviewing his friends, family, and colleagues in Brazil and New York Ciy.
Most of the musicians are unfamiliar to non-Brazilians but notably recognizable are Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Chico Buarque, David Byrne, Bebel Gilberto, and Maria Bethânia. They speak of Teixeira in respectful tones but it is the interviews with his first wife (Denise's mother), and Denise herself which are the most revealing about his character.
Extensive historic footage is used to invoke 1930-50s Brazil. Even the contemporary scenes have a vintage feel as they are shot on old film stock. It is a pivotal time in the industrialization of Brazil with its attendant social upheavals. Northeasterners are streaming into the cities like Rio De Janeiro to escape the drought and build a better life. They bring with them their native culture.
Humberto Teixeira is one of these migrants from the town of Iguatu in the rural state of Ceará. Little is mentioned of his early life but he did study medicine before switching to law and becoming a lawyer. Teixeira had limited success in music until he teamed up with fellow Northeasterner Luiz Gonzaga to bring their adaptation of Northeastern baião music to the South. Gonzaga would become the better known singing cowboy front man, but songwriter Teixeira would become the Doctor of Baião.
Baião swept post-war Brazil and dominated popular music until the late 1950s. The lyrics romanticizing country life had great appeal to the many migrants homesick for their Northern lands. It directly influenced the up and coming Bossa Nova musicians, and spread outside Brazil to influence forms as diverse as Jamaican reggae and Carmen Miranda musicals.
There are many performances of Teixeira's songs by many Brazilian musicians. A highlight is a performance of Asa Branca by David Byrne dressed in Brazilian cowboy gear.
The film is an interesting look at a musical form which is largely overshadowed outside of Brazil by the later Bossa Nova movement. Once again, the importance of the culture of Brazil's rural Northeast on the rest of the country is highlighted. The Brazilian brain may lie in the South but its heart is in the North.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
VIFF Review: The Great Contemporary Art Bubble
The Great Contemporary Art Bubble
Granville 7 Theatre 1
Saturday, October 3 2009 3:30pm
British art critic Ben Lewis exposes the corrupt business practices which lead to the recent astronomical price increases in contemporary art auctions, and how the players followed the classic market bubble to its inevitable catastrophic conclusion.
Lewis conducts surprisingly candid interviews with gallery owners, artists, collectors, and other art insiders who tacitly acknowledge the corruption and manipulation of the system with a nod and a wink. Everyone is in on this confidence game where there is every incentive not to declare the emperor has no clothes.
Lewis' most devastating moment is his acquisition of an inventory list of the White Cube Gallery documenting the vast number of unsold Damien Hirst works. Leaked to the art press it throws the rarified art world into controversy.
Hirst has the last laugh as his Sotheby's auction (ironically on the same day as Lehman Brothers goes bankrupt) without representation by a dealer or gallery generates a record 125 million US dollars directly to him. In order to safeguard the value of their inventories, his former dealers are forced to bid on, and purchase lots to keep prices up.
But all bubbles eventually collapse, and subsequent art auctions become a cruel joke as lot after lot is left unsold and auction houses are plunged into debt over their guarantees in a situation parallelling the financial markets.
Since few of us could ever manage to bid millions on a work of art it would seem this is just a game of one upmanship between billionaires without consequence for the general public. This is far from true as public money must be used by public institutions to purchase significant works at inflated price for their collections. In addition media coverage gives legitimacy to works for their monetary value regardless of any aesthetic considerations.
Lewis bravely declares that the emperor has no clothes, but with the world economy deeply wounded the customers for inflated art have run out. This era of contemporary art as speculative commodity has come to an end as surely as tulip bulbs, derivatives, and subprime mortgages.
Granville 7 Theatre 1
Saturday, October 3 2009 3:30pm
British art critic Ben Lewis exposes the corrupt business practices which lead to the recent astronomical price increases in contemporary art auctions, and how the players followed the classic market bubble to its inevitable catastrophic conclusion.
Lewis conducts surprisingly candid interviews with gallery owners, artists, collectors, and other art insiders who tacitly acknowledge the corruption and manipulation of the system with a nod and a wink. Everyone is in on this confidence game where there is every incentive not to declare the emperor has no clothes.
Lewis' most devastating moment is his acquisition of an inventory list of the White Cube Gallery documenting the vast number of unsold Damien Hirst works. Leaked to the art press it throws the rarified art world into controversy.
Hirst has the last laugh as his Sotheby's auction (ironically on the same day as Lehman Brothers goes bankrupt) without representation by a dealer or gallery generates a record 125 million US dollars directly to him. In order to safeguard the value of their inventories, his former dealers are forced to bid on, and purchase lots to keep prices up.
But all bubbles eventually collapse, and subsequent art auctions become a cruel joke as lot after lot is left unsold and auction houses are plunged into debt over their guarantees in a situation parallelling the financial markets.
Since few of us could ever manage to bid millions on a work of art it would seem this is just a game of one upmanship between billionaires without consequence for the general public. This is far from true as public money must be used by public institutions to purchase significant works at inflated price for their collections. In addition media coverage gives legitimacy to works for their monetary value regardless of any aesthetic considerations.
Lewis bravely declares that the emperor has no clothes, but with the world economy deeply wounded the customers for inflated art have run out. This era of contemporary art as speculative commodity has come to an end as surely as tulip bulbs, derivatives, and subprime mortgages.
Friday, October 02, 2009
VIFF Review: The Jazz Baroness
The Jazz Baroness
Granville 7 Theatre 5
Thursday, October 1 2009 6:00pm
This film is Hannah Rothschild's personal journey to learn about her great aunt Pannonica of whom her family rarely spoke. Hannah had only a brief relationship with Pannonica having only met her a few years before her death.
Pannonica was born into the English branch of the prominent Jewish Rothschild banking family. Named after a species of moth that her naturalist father collected, she led a sheltered life of privilege in palatial estates. Pannonica was brought up to become a wife and mother which were the only acceptable roles open to high society women in the early 20th century. But world events would test her strength and hint at new possibilities.
The wealth and privilege of the Rothschilds could not save unlucky European family members who were caught by the Nazi regime and perished in the concentration camps. Pannonica's husband was sent to fight in Africa. She only left Normandy for America just in time. Leaving her children in America, she enlisted as a private and aided the Allied war effort in Africa.
After the war the family settled in Mexico. But one day on a visit to New York her friend played Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight for her and she fell in love with his music. She stayed in NY and effectively left her family but would not meet Thelonious Monk until a concert in Paris where they were introduced by pianist Mary Lou Williams.
Pannonica became nursemaid, chauffeur, gopher, banker, and best friend to Monk and many of the bebop era jazz musicians in New York City. But mainstream society would not accept an independent white woman associating with disreputable black jazz musicians without a fight. Vicious rumors and speculation about Charlie Parker's death in her hotel suite are put to rest. The infamous incident when she takes the rap for drugs found in her car to protect Monk is recounted but it is never revealed who they actually belonged to.
The film includes extensive interviews with musicians, family, and colleagues including Thelonious Monk Jr, Quincy Jones, Archie Shepp, Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes, Clint Eastwood, and Pannonica's siblings. Naturally, the soundtrack is a greatest hits package of Thelonious Monk's as well as other musicians compositions dedicated to Pannonica.
Hannah admires her great aunt's reinvention of herself but wonders about the family left behind. Her doubts are assuaged with the discovery of Pannonica's loving letters to her family in Mary Lou Williams' archive.
Alongside Clint Eastwood's Straight, No Chaser, this movie documents a remarkable relationship between music lover and music creator. Monk's fragile genius might not have flourished without the unwavering support of the Jazz Baroness.
Granville 7 Theatre 5
Thursday, October 1 2009 6:00pm
This film is Hannah Rothschild's personal journey to learn about her great aunt Pannonica of whom her family rarely spoke. Hannah had only a brief relationship with Pannonica having only met her a few years before her death.
Pannonica was born into the English branch of the prominent Jewish Rothschild banking family. Named after a species of moth that her naturalist father collected, she led a sheltered life of privilege in palatial estates. Pannonica was brought up to become a wife and mother which were the only acceptable roles open to high society women in the early 20th century. But world events would test her strength and hint at new possibilities.
The wealth and privilege of the Rothschilds could not save unlucky European family members who were caught by the Nazi regime and perished in the concentration camps. Pannonica's husband was sent to fight in Africa. She only left Normandy for America just in time. Leaving her children in America, she enlisted as a private and aided the Allied war effort in Africa.
After the war the family settled in Mexico. But one day on a visit to New York her friend played Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight for her and she fell in love with his music. She stayed in NY and effectively left her family but would not meet Thelonious Monk until a concert in Paris where they were introduced by pianist Mary Lou Williams.
Pannonica became nursemaid, chauffeur, gopher, banker, and best friend to Monk and many of the bebop era jazz musicians in New York City. But mainstream society would not accept an independent white woman associating with disreputable black jazz musicians without a fight. Vicious rumors and speculation about Charlie Parker's death in her hotel suite are put to rest. The infamous incident when she takes the rap for drugs found in her car to protect Monk is recounted but it is never revealed who they actually belonged to.
The film includes extensive interviews with musicians, family, and colleagues including Thelonious Monk Jr, Quincy Jones, Archie Shepp, Sonny Rollins, Roy Haynes, Clint Eastwood, and Pannonica's siblings. Naturally, the soundtrack is a greatest hits package of Thelonious Monk's as well as other musicians compositions dedicated to Pannonica.
Hannah admires her great aunt's reinvention of herself but wonders about the family left behind. Her doubts are assuaged with the discovery of Pannonica's loving letters to her family in Mary Lou Williams' archive.
Alongside Clint Eastwood's Straight, No Chaser, this movie documents a remarkable relationship between music lover and music creator. Monk's fragile genius might not have flourished without the unwavering support of the Jazz Baroness.
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