Maestro
Endeavor Pictures
Writer/Director:
David Donnelly
Producers:
Ford D’Aprix
David Donnelly
58 Mins. (DVD/Broadcast version)
Maestro is a documentary on the Estonian-American orchestral conductor Paavo Jarvi, and it gives not only a brief but brilliant glimpse into Paavo’s life and career, but also an honest point of view on music (classical music, to be specific) and it’s role in our lives.
The film features Jarvi himself in interviews and various pieces of footage throughout the years, as well as interviews with many of his colleagues in the concert world such as Hilary Hahn, Joshua Bell and several others.
Watching this, it appears that the direction for the film was not to just delve into the life of one person only, but to transcend this and make it more about why the music we call ‘classical music’ exists, what makes it so special, why we need it, and what it means for the other musicians as well.
David Donnelly did a marvelous job with the combination of interviews, archival as well as newly-shot footage, and a lushly-mastered soundtrack of the orchestral music that Paavo Jarvi is known for.
You will no doubt enjoy Maestro if you are a music buff, and it is great for the interviews as well as the music. There’s even a brief archival clip of hip-hop artist 50 Cent talking about his son getting classical training, which is pleasantly surprising.
Before the film’s official US release, the makers of the film have a special goal–The plan is to get Maestro screening in 1,000 schools in 30 days by allowing individuals to sponsor educational DVDs. Bringing classical music to a school of their choice for the price of a pair of sneakers.
The DVDs are available through this link. The information is on the page. It can impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of students who have never been exposed to classical music, and help to make a big difference for the future of music education. Thanks from everyone involved.
The Glass 