Couldn’t make it to Phil Grabsky’s In Search of Beethoven so I sent along a musical friend who agreed to be interviewed later in the day.

MF (musical friend): Went to that movie as a your music envoy—it was good, but I’m not sure how it would be if you were not a music type. It makes the case for Beethoven changing EVERYTHING.

ME: Well, did he?

MF: Yeah, pretty much—at least I’ve always believed that.

ME: What about the quality of the production?

MF: Beautiful shots of Vienna and Bonn and otherwise very nice camera work. The interviews were really good too and all the accompanying music—divine.

ME: What kind of people did they interview?

MF: Conductors, pianists, violinists and historians. Funny, no composers!?? [my musical friend is a composer]. That’s kinda lame.

ME: Would you recommend it to your musical friends?

MF: Yes, for sure.

ME: What about a person like me who only hangs around with musicians? Was the movie too academic?

MF: At first blush, it’s pretty dense, but I’m so polluted that I’m not sure. I guess if you love music, love Beethoven—probably you can’t get enough. Even if you’re not a musician.

Mon, Oct 5th 6:15pm / Tue, Oct 6th 3:00pm / Wed, Oct 14th 11:00am / Empire Granville 7 Th 2