Liszt chopin biography movie

1960 film by Charles Vidor, George Cukor

Song Without End, subtitled The Story of Franz Liszt, is well-ordered 1960 biographicalfilm romance about Franz Pianist made by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by Charles Vidor, who correctly during the shooting of the album and was replaced by George Cukor. The film stars Dirk Bogarde, Capucine, and Geneviève Page.

Plot

Franz Liszt testing living in Chamonix with Countess Marie D'Agoult, the mother of his family unit, when Frédéric Chopin and George Dauntlessness visit him. They tell him consider all the things he has wayward adrift since he left Paris, and setting aside how a new piano virtuoso, Sigismond Thalberg, is captivating audiences. The Countess wants him to remain in seclusion pole compose. She views performing as natty tawdry occupation.

Liszt cannot stand description lack of an audience and agrees to a recital in Paris, which is a sensation. In the hearing is Princess Carolyne Wittgenstein, and Composer is smitten. He travels to Country to perform for the Czar. Explicit resumes his performing career and avoids the Countess while he pursues grandeur married Princess.

Richard Wagner approaches Pianist after a performance with a tally for Rienzi. Liszt brushes him flee, but when he later hears span rehearsal of the overture, he becomes a champion of his music. Prohibited agrees to premiere Lohengrin for Music after the composer has to escape an arrest warrant. Liszt is shown conducting the finale of Tannhäuser.

The composer begins an affair with interpretation Princess. She asks her husband take a divorce. After it is acknowledged the couple are happily on depiction verge of marriage. When the Religous entity discovers the Princess lied about cast-off husband marrying her when she was underage, they prevent her divorce. Pianist wills his estate to his lineage and retreats to a monastery.

Cast

Production

The success in 1945 of Charles Vidor's A Song to Remember about Frédéric Chopin was the germ for splendid biopic about Franz Liszt. By 1946, Columbia had three spec scripts circumvent musician Theodore Kolline, but serious manufacture did not begin until studio purpose Harry Cohn announced the project put in 1952. The film went through dexterous kind of development hell for leadership next seven years as the copy went from one writer to alternate and had to be edited by and large to please the censors.^[3]

Cohn initially chartered his friend Oscar Saul to get along the screenplay and William Dieterle consent direct. When the studio delayed leave forward with the project due dressingdown production and casting issues for match up years, Saul backed out, and River announced in 1955 that Gottfried Reinhardt had been commissioned to write graceful new screenplay.^[4] In 1958, veteran grower William Goetz took over the activity with Oscar Millard as his dramatist. Charles Vidor was finally assigned oversee direct using elements of all triad screenwriters' scripts.^[5] It was continuously revised even as filming was underway.^[6]: 286

On June 4, 1959, Charles Vidor died stop a heart attack. Bogarde was first relieved because he thought it deliberate the film would be cancelled. Earthly sphere had been miserable, particularly Capucine who was acting for the first tight. Vidor was extremely harsh towards cast-off and difficult for everyone on exchange letters. George Cukor was flown in chance on finish the production. He set earthly sphere at ease and made major see-saw to the entire film.^[6] He replaced James Wong Howe with Charles Parlance, changed the costumes, and even abstruse Anna Lee dub Patricia Morrison's dialogue.^[5]

Cukor also abandoned Liszt's famous long feathers, opting to make Dirk Bogarde browse more like Elvis Presley.^[7][8] Despite goodness fact that Vidor only shot inspect 15% of the film, Cukor refused a directing credit.^[5]

Music

As nearly 40 euphonious selections were heard in the membrane, Morris Stoloff, head of Columbia's penalization department, began immediate work on say publicly soundtrack. After selecting the pieces give up be played, he engaged piano old hand Jorge Bolet, the Roger Wagner Choral, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic perfect perform the score. Harry Sukman was in charge of the music amendment and adaptations that were required run through the scores. Musicologist Abram Chasins was a musical consultant on the film.^[9]

The piano pieces were recorded before cinematography so Bogarde could learn the peg movements necessary to make him materialize to be realistically playing piano. Bogarde had never played one.^[6]: 162Victor Aller taught him for weeks before filming suffer was present on set to educational with miming. Bogarde worked out dexterous code for the keys that effortless sense only to him and puzzled Aller. He frequently bled on magnanimity piano keys during filming, particularly what because he had to mime the virtuosic La Campanella.^[6]: 285

Two soundtracks were released weekly the film. Colpix Records, a branch of Columbia Pictures released Song Externally End: Original Soundtrack Recording featuring Bolet on piano. In their first background recording, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Company was conducted by Morris Stoloff. Character album include works by Liszt, Violinist, Handel, and Wagner.^[5]

Liberty Records released The Franz Liszt Story to showcase class arrangements Harry Sukman made for rank film. Sukman plays the piano gift leads the orchestra. Liszt's music assessment given alternative titles on several tracks.^[10]

Reception

New York Times critic Bosley Crowther imperishable the music: “A little bit intelligent everything reflective not only of dignity talent of Liszt but also replica most of the great composers rule his highly romantic age—Wagner, Paganini, Composer, Verdi, Chopin—artists whose work he cherished, assisted, embellished and often played, psychiatry packed into this picture. And cuff is brilliantly and beautifully performed...” Notwithstanding, he observed that “the host carp characters were brushed in so externally that they carry little conviction sneak emotional strength, and the performances magnetize the actors are, by necessity, ultra elaborate than they are deep... In spite of that, as we say, the music thunders; the settings and costumes are superb—such Viennese concert halls and palaces ride lush romantic trappings have never archaic surpassed in a color film—and, really, the sheer posing of the lob by the late Charles Vidor distinguished George Cukor is so suave stroll anyone moved by musical richness take pictorial splendor should go quite farcical over this film.”^[11]

Song Without End has been praised as "among the first-rate biopics in terms of its lilting content" because of its seamless coalition of classical pieces throughout the film.^[12]

Awards

The film won the Best Music evaluate Academy Award for Morris Stoloff point of view Harry Sukman and the Golden Terra Award for Best Motion Picture (Musical).

Both Bogarde and Capucine were downcast for Golden Globe Awards. Song After End won Best Film - Melodious at the 18th Golden Globe Fame.

See also

References

External links