To live in or near Buffalo is to be close to music – and in terms of classical music it is to be in a major center of activity. The Buffalo Philharmonic is among the most-community-supported orchestras anywhere; WNED-FM is one of only seven such stations in America (broadcasting classical music exclusively 24 hours a day); the Chamber Music Society, and a long list of other sponsors arrange concerts and recitals both in the city and at the UB campus – and the end result is that we have more opportunities to hear great performances of great music than any individual could possibly take in. And to this wonderful treasure trove The Marker Arcade Film and Arts Center will add a superb film – Daniel Anker’s Music from the Inside Out – from February 17 through 20.
What is remarkable about this film is that not only is it outstanding as a basic document about what a symphony orchestra in America is all about (and what it does) in our day, but it is much more: members of the world-renowned Philadelphia Orchestra make us aware that the love of music is a very powerful phenomenon. This film makes one aware of a love story as old as humankind – the love for a unique means of self-expression which can touch human lives in a deeply moving way.
If you enjoy going to concerts, operas, recitals, choral presentations; if you listen to WNED-FM; if you have some classical music recordings to which you return again and again for the pleasure they bring – then it is certain that you will find this movie not just enjoyable, but enriching – even at times a little tears-evoking. The musicians who share with us their lives and their approaches to music-making are exceptionally articulate about their work and the satisfaction it brings. If I had the money I would arrange for this film to be in every household in the nation where there is a child between the ages of 5 and 15, because I believe it could readily open receptive young minds to what Leonard Bernstein called The Joy of Music. All Music. What more precious gift could one offer?
Isaw Music from the Inside Out at a preview, but I plan to go to see it again at the MAFAC center, and I expect I shall end up buying a DVD of it so that I can be inspired by it many times in the years to come.
Do not miss this fabulous film!
This post is from HECTOR, Emeritus Dean of Columbia University’s School of the Arts and a Past President of the Vermont Council on the Arts.
For more information, visit www.mafac.org or www.mftio.com.