Look at it like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Individually very good. But together, even better. Verde Valley Sinfonietta and the Sedona International Film Festival have teamed up for a unique performance Saturday, Oct. 12, called “Beethoven in the Movies.” The collaboration features live music performed on stage by the Sinfonietta with film clips that tie in with the music. The music is all by one of the world’s most renowned composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
The project came about last winter when Patrick Schweiss, executive director of the film festival, approached Sinfonietta board president Al Vander Peut with the idea of a collaboration. The Sinfonietta board asked music director Kevin Kozacek if he would be interested in creating a project. He agreed. According to Kozacek, there are 17 scenes telling the life of Beethoven through clips assembled from five separate films. The films are “Immortal Beloved,” “Copying Beethoven,” “Eroica,” “Beethoven Lives Upstairs,” and “In Search of Beethoven.”
“We then put narration to the films, and the VVS will play live pieces that accompany the theme of each scene,” he said. “The music is the Best of Beethoven, with selections from six of his nine symphonies, and his best known piano concertos and sonatas. The result is a 90-minute biopic of his life, everything from his struggles with deafness and personal interaction, and his major accomplishments.”
Kozacek said this has been a huge undertaking and along the way they ran into many little difficulties with creating the film clips, and assembling and timing everything so that it fits seamlessly. But with the assistance of SIFF’s Jeremy Hawkes, the editing of the films has gone smoothly.
“We wanted the music to flow continuously, and the films and narration to be informative, yet very entertaining,” Kozacek said. “I would call it a live documentary, but with the films selected, it is much more entertaining than just dry information.”
Schweiss said the collaboration with Verde Valley Sinfonietta is a natural one for the film festival.
“It combines two powerful art forms — music and movies — in a live theatrical setting that makes for a phenomenal evening celebrating one of the world’s greatest composers,” he said. “The Sinfonietta is an amazing organization with incredibly talented musicians and a conductor that is truly brilliant. Kevin has taken this event to levels beyond expectation in picking just the right movements of music and clips from movies to tell the story of Beethoven’s life through a live production. We are honored to be a part of this spectacular event.”
The event is supported by the city of Sedona and individual donors to the film festival and the Sinfonietta.
“Beethoven in the Movies” will be approximately 90 minutes. Tickets from $15 to $60 are available on the SIFF website at www.Sedonafilmfestival. com, or
