Other Minds Special Programs ➔ Other Minds Presents: Post-Screening Q & A with Frank Scheffer and Chou Wen-Chung

Digital Moving Image


Event Type
Lectures and Panel Discussions
Origin
Other Minds
Identifier
OMP.2010.04.19.2
Program Series
Other Minds Presents
Program Length
25 min
Dates
2010-04-19 | created
Description
Following the Other Minds sponsored, U. S. premiere of the film “Edgard Varèse: The One All Alone,” held in San Francisco on April 19, 2010, Charles Amirkhanian talks with the film’s director, Frank Scheffer, and Varèse’s student and protégé, the Chinese composer Chou Wen-Chung. Dutch director Scheffer makes it clear that his film is not an attempt to visually interpret Varèse’s music, something that he would consider impossible and ill-advised. However he does talk of the possible transformative nature of film, while also explaining his technique for using images in conjunction with music and interviews, in order to give some sense of the famous composer’s life and work. Chou Wen-Chung provides additional insights into Varèse, including his occasional use of salty language and the various ups and downs in his early career as he sought approval for his radical vision of what music could be. Also discussed is how Holland proved to be receptive to experimental composers like Varèse and some of his American contemporaries, like George Antheil, as well as more modern composers like Chou Wen-Chung.
Genres
Avant-garde
Subjects
Motion pictures and music