From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern in China

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Leaburn O 10/02/2024 A quality documentary following Isaac Stern on his visit to Chine in 1979. I loved the way he tried to communicate through his love and vision for music. Particularly interesting to see China at the dawn of opening up to the West and to compare the old traditional feel of the place to contemporary, modern China. Watched on Amazon Prime. See more 06/15/2012 An American violinist goes to China to teach young musicians. There are certainly aspects of this film that bothered me even though they wouldn't bother others. From my post-colonial background, I'm always very cautious about Occidental people going into the "Orient" with a posture of superiority, and Isaac Stern, despite his romanticization of the landscape (scored, of course, by "Oriental" music), fits the bill as one who assumes weakness on the part of his charges, seeking to correct and "teach" rather than being open to learn. His main complaint is his students' lack of passion as they play, but if I closed my eyes, I couldn't tell the difference between Stern's "passionate" playing and his mocking of his students' lack of passion. Overall, I think this is a dated film, reproducing the doctrines of American exceptionalism common to its age. See more 04/22/2012 Very enjoyable. I always liked Isaac Stern. He was a great musician, a wonderful teacher, and a kind and generous man. See more 03/30/2012 '81 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Beautiful See more 03/30/2012 While some parts feel like a run-of-the-mill travelogue, when the film is focused on the distinctions between each culture's interpretation of the music, and even more on the difference between technique and art, the film takes flight. See more 11/01/2009 A decent documentary, if unabashedly West-centric (the arrogant notion that Asians need other peoples to swoop in and teach them about how to be "loose"). See more Read all reviews

From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern in China

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