In Search of Chopin

In Search of Chopin is a 2014 British documentary film written and directed by Phil Grabsky. The film features the voice of David Dawson as Fryderyk Chopin as well as Leif Ove Andsnes, Daniel Barenboim, Ronald Brautigam, Hershey Felder, Kevin Kenner, Jeremy Siepmann and Lars Vogt as themselves.

In Search of Chopin
Directed byPhil Grabsky
Written byPhil Grabsky
Narrated byJuliet Stevenson
CinematographyPhil Grabsky
Edited byClive Mattock
Production
company
Seventh Art Productions
Distributed byDirect Cinema Limited
Release date
  • 22 August 2014 (2014-08-22) (Australia)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
French
Polish
Box office$52,616[1]

Plot

Phil Grabsky is on a quest to discover new revelations about Fryderyk Chopin and how did he became a musical genius. For over four years, Grabsky travels the world and records performances by world's famous musicians, as well as interviewing renowned historians and musicologists.

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 80% based on 5 critics, with an average rating of 7.3/10.[2]

Phil Hoad of The Guardian wrote "What it lacks in the kind of central episodic hook much favoured by the modern biopic, or visual virtuosity, it doubly pays backs in informed piano-side commentary by top pianists..."[3]

Evan Williams of The Australian called it "One of Grabsky's best films",[4] while John Daly-Peoples of the National Business Review called In Search of Chopin "a superb account of a driven artist".[5]

Both Simon Weaving[6] and Paul Byrnes of The Sydney Morning Herald wrote positive criticism of the film, with Byrnes writing "British documentary maker Phil Grabsky has fine form in covering the great composers, but his take on Fryderyk Chopin rarely hits the high notes".[7]

According to Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader "[the film] at times [feels] like a[n] infomercial for [the] greatest-hits album".[8]

References
  1. "In Search of Chopin". The Numbers. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  2. "In Search of Chopin". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. Hoad, Phil (26 February 2020). "In Search of Chopin review – the composer with 'a gift from God'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  4. Williams, Evan. "Phil Grabsky places music centre stage in Chopin documentary". The Australian. Retrieved 28 October 2021. (subscription required)
  5. Daly-Peoples, John (10 May 2014). "Film Review: In Search of Chopin". National Business Review. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  6. Weaving, Simon (19 August 2014). "In Search of Chopin: Phil Grabsky's take on composer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  7. Byrnes, Paul (21 August 2014). "In Search of Chopin review: Musical portrait is off key and a little flat". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  8. Sachs, Ben (18 September 2014). "In Search of Chopin". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 28 October 2021.


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