San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Enjoy the world premiere of ‘The Red Violin’
When “The Red Violin” was released in 1998, the film was celebrated for its soundtrack as much as its story of a mysterious antique violin as it travels through four centuries and five countries. In fact, composer John Corigliano’s work on the movie won the Academy Award for Best Original Score, among several other Best Score honors from international awards organizations.
Credit must also be given to Grammy Award-winning Joshua Bell, the solo violinist who performed the lyrical, often haunting music, and to director-filmmaker François Girard.
So it’s quite the impressive opportunity for 2018 Festival Napa Valley attendees to see the celebrity trio live in an exclusive concert July 26. Through the interactive experience, guests will watch the film on a giant screen, while Bell performs the score alongside Festival Orchestra NAPA. Girard and Corigliano are special guests for the evening, too.
This will be the first time Bell has performed the entire score live, and it will be a significant experience for him, he noted.
“One of the great privileges of my life was my collaboration with Corigliano on his extraordinary score for The Red Violin two decades ago,” Bell said.
Film and music lovers will also want to tune in for another exceptional event on July 25 at Far Niente Winery, when Festival Napa Valley hosts a moderated conversation with Bell, Corigliano, Girard and Niv Fichman from 6 to 6:30 p.m. The discussion will be streamed live on the festival’s social channels as well as “The Violin Channel,” the world’s leading classical music news source.
Easy to follow, but revealing its secrets slyly, “The Red Violin” resonates with audiences today. The storyline is compelling: at an auction house in present day Montreal, a famous Nicolo Bussotti violin, known as “The Red Violin,” is being auctioned off. In a series of flashbacks, the film chronicles the creation of the violin by a legendary craftsman in 1681 Cremona, Italy, then follows the violin as it makes its way through an 18th century Austrian monastery, to a violinist in 19th century Oxford, to China during the Cultural Revolution, and finally back to Montreal, where a collector tries to establish the identity and the secrets of the mysterious instrument.
Produced by Israeli-Canadian film producer, actor and director Niv Fichman, the movie starred notable talents including Samuel L. Jackson, Carlo Cecchi and Sylvia Chang.
The Academy Award-winning picture also won eight Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture. For more information, visit www.festivalnapavalley.org/ events-calendar.