Worth: $16.00
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Cast:
Simone Young
Intro:
… will appeal most to people who know and love classical music, and it is certainly an Australian story worth telling.
With the Cate Blanchett vehicle Tar fresh in our minds, it’s a strategic time to release this Australian music documentary/bio about successful female classical conductor Simone Young, who has had an absolutely stellar career on the podium and is the ultimate trailblazer.
Young is worthy of the sobriquet Maestro. At one point in the film, she reminds us that she is a Maestro not Maestra as, for her, her sex hasn’t got anything to do with it. She would just like to be known as a conductor and not, in some catch up kind of way, as a female conductor.
Still, the film does spend quite a lot of time reminding us that she was the first woman to do this and that. For almost every orchestra and opera for which she becomes the lead conductor (and it is a hell of a list), she was indeed the first female. With such extraordinary achievements apparently against the odds, we can forgive the film for keeping that feminist tally sheet. She is also the daughter of immigrant parents, which speaks to her talent and tenacity.
Then there is the business of conducting itself. It is not just a matter of waving a stick (er, baton) around, although of course it must look a lot like this to the uninitiated. Having perfect pitch and being a multi-instrumentalist doesn’t hurt either.
Simone Young has all of that, but she is modest enough to downplay it. Almost all of the real work of the conductor is in rehearsals, so that the actual performance should seem more or less effortless. It is in rehearsal that the conductor establishes their relationship to the players, puts their stamp and interpretation on the work, and gets down to the nitty gritty of making their vision happen. The great conductors, and she is certainly one, can be very picky. However, if they have the respect of the players, then it’s a sign of a positive perfectionism.
With music docos, one always wants more of the actual music, but this has to be balanced with telling the human story, which director Janine Hosking has done in the past with her music themed films The Eulogy and I’m Not Dead Yet.
The portrait of Young is pretty one-note positive, but that too is understandable. Structurally, it is mostly chronological, becoming a little bit “then she achieved this, and then she achieved that”. A little more contradiction, and lows as well as highs might have made it more interesting. No doubt, this will appeal most to people who know and love classical music, and it is certainly an Australian story worth telling.
