New Film About the Ninth

[GregMitch]

I posted once before about my friend Kerry Candaele's great upcoming film, "Following the Ninth," and linked to the terrific trailer. He received funding to get it close to the finish line but now needs a small sum more to get there and finish by April for wide release. He's just written a brief appeal, with video and link to that trailer. Please consider donating.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ethovens-final

[susanwen]

Done. I consider it a privilege to be allowed to support this worthy project.
- Susan

[DavidO]

Signed.

Greg, I didn't know you were the editor of Crawdaddy! You guys ran a cover story on Fleetwood Mac in 1976, interviewing Christine McVie, that I still have to this day.

In those days, Christine's onstage electric piano of choice was the Hohner Combo Pianet, an instrument Beethoven never unfortunately tried.

[susanwen]

I made a donation, and got onto the mailing list. I received a message today that they have met the goal, so presumably they will be able to complete the movie. There is still time to donate, however, and assure success, and also to receive the reward package for your donation.
- Susan

[susanwen]

It appears that they raised enough money to complete the film. They said they would not collect the pledged money until they met their goal, and today they cashed my payment. Good news!

[Ed C]

Superb interview with the creater of this film:

http://tradeyourtalent.blogspot.com/2011/03/documentary-following-ninth-in.html

"The second reason for my attraction to the Ninth as a cinematic possibility is the man behind the music. Beethoven biography is, simply put, the material of justified legend. In brief, here is a man who at the height of his musical powers confronted a cosmic joke: he started to go deaf, to lose the one sense that we imagine would be the most critical for a composer of his stature. By the time he composed the Ninth, his final symphony in 1824 and just three years before his death, he could have added up all his suffering and come to the conclusion that life was a bust, an absurd con, and that it would be fine and just to write music that reflected these existential facts. But instead Beethoven wrote a symphony about human connection across all borders, about how art delivers us from fear, pain, heartbreak and wretchedness. Beethoven composed a Symphony about all these emotions and experiences, but settled on joy as the final statement for the Ninth, about how music can heal and repair. "