AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS

THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893–1993

Movie Title

Concert Magic (1948)

65 or 70 mins | Documentary | 1948

Cast:

Yehudi Menuhin, Jakob Gimpel, Eula Beal [ More ]

Director:

Paul Gordon

Producers:

Paul Gordon, George Moskov

Cinematographer:

Paul Ivano

Editor:

Douglas Bagier

Production Company:

Concert Films Corp.
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HISTORY

According to a Jun 1948 NYT news item, this film was recorded at Republic Studios, but shot to playback at the Chaplin Studios. The news item also stated that the film had been edited in two versions, a conventional one for theaters, and a "close-up" version for possible television transmission. Producer Paul Gordon also disclosed that a sequence of Yehudi Menuhin playing Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto had also been made, but not edited. It has not been possible to determine which of Chopin's two Etudes in F Major Jakob Gimpel performed. ...

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According to a Jun 1948 NYT news item, this film was recorded at Republic Studios, but shot to playback at the Chaplin Studios. The news item also stated that the film had been edited in two versions, a conventional one for theaters, and a "close-up" version for possible television transmission. Producer Paul Gordon also disclosed that a sequence of Yehudi Menuhin playing Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto had also been made, but not edited. It has not been possible to determine which of Chopin's two Etudes in F Major Jakob Gimpel performed.

Less

SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
21 Sep 1948
---
Daily Variety
15 Oct 1948
p. 3
The Exhibitor
24 Nov 1948
pp. 2512-13
Film Daily
30 Dec 1948
p. 2
Hollywood Reporter
15 Oct 1948
p. 3
Los Angeles Times
16 Oct 1948
---
New York Times
20 Jun 1948
---
San Francisco Chronicle
9 Oct 1948
---
Variety
20 Oct 1948
p. 16
CAST
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Concert Films Corp.
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
Morris Safier
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTOR
Paul Gordon
Dir
PRODUCERS
Paul Gordon
Prod
George Moskov
Prod
PHOTOGRAPHY
Paul Ivano
Photog
FILM EDITOR
Douglas W. Bagier
Douglas Bagier
Film ed
MUSIC
Dr. Victor Clement
Mus adv
SOUND
Republic Studios
Sd
SOURCES
MUSIC
Rondo Allegro from Violin Sonata in D Major, Opus 12 by Ludwig van Beethoven; Malagueña , Opus 21, No. 1 and Gypsy Airs by Pablo Sarasate; Scherzo Tarantelle by Henryk Wieniawski; Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms; Labyrinth No. 5 by Pietro Locatelli; Calabrese by Antonio Bazzini; Song Without Words and Etude in F Major, Opus 104, No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn; Etude in E Major, Opus 10, No. 3, Waltz in E Minor and Etude in F Major by Frédéric Chopin.
SONGS
Contralto aria from St. Matthew Passion , music and lyrics by Johann Sebastian Bach; "Ave Maria," music by Charles François Gounod, based on themes from Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach, lyrics traditional; "Der Erl-Koenig" music by Franz Schubert, lyrics by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; "None but the Weary Heart," music by Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky, lyrics by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
DETAILS
Premiere Information:
World premiere in San Francisco: 8 Oct 1948; Los Angeles opening 14 Oct 1948
Production Date:
at Republic and Chaplin Studios
Duration(in mins):
65 or 70
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

In this concert film, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, accompanied by pianist Adolph Baller and the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, performs music by Beethoven, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Brahms, Locatelli and Bazzini. Contralto Eula Beal sings a Bach aria, with violin obbligato by Menuhin and orchestral accompaniment. As a soloist, Beal, accompanied by pianist Marguerite Campbell, sings selections from Gounod, Schubert and Tschaikowsky. Pianist Jakob Gimpel performs works by Mendelssohn and ...

More Less

In this concert film, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, accompanied by pianist Adolph Baller and the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, performs music by Beethoven, Sarasate, Wieniawski, Brahms, Locatelli and Bazzini. Contralto Eula Beal sings a Bach aria, with violin obbligato by Menuhin and orchestral accompaniment. As a soloist, Beal, accompanied by pianist Marguerite Campbell, sings selections from Gounod, Schubert and Tschaikowsky. Pianist Jakob Gimpel performs works by Mendelssohn and Chopin.

Less

GENRE
Genre:
Documentary
Sub-genre:
with songs


Subject
Subject (Major):
Classical music
Concerts
Orchestras

Subject (Minor):
Entertainers
Pianists
Singers
Violinists
From AFI's 100 Years Lists...
Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award
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Concerts, Orchestras, Violinists, Classical music, Pianists, Singers, Entertainers
The American Film Institute is grateful to Sir Paul Getty KBE and the Sir Paul Getty KBE Estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and without whose support AFI would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor.