Collaboration to join film and classical concert

UWindsor professor Vincent Georgie will join the Windsor Symphony Orchestra string quartet for a discussion of the film A Late Quartet and the Ludwig van Beethoven composition at its heart on Saturday, February 16, at the Capitol Theatre.

A performance of the String Quartet no. 14, Op. 131, will follow a screening of the film. The evening is a collaboration between the orchestra and the Windsor International Film Festival. Georgie, who sits on the boards of both organizations, calls it “a natural alliance.”

“It’s a gateway for aficionados of both art forms,” he says. “It is definitely a unique opportunity to combine the two.”

A Late Quartet explores the intense and multifaceted relationships between members of an established string quartet. Its writer and director, Yaron Zilberman, built the story around a performance of the String Quartet no. 14. With its seven movements and playing time of 40 minutes, the piece was reportedly Beethoven’s favourite of his own compositions.

Georgie saw the film last fall, when it was presented by the festival. He said it centres on the challenges of playing this work.

“I can barely play the spoons, so I can’t comment much on the musical qualities of the piece, but I understand that with a 40-minute uninterrupted playing time, it takes a lot of nerve to pull it off,” he says. “We are generating a lot of interest from classical music fans all over, who understand that this piece gets performed exactly zero times a year.”

The evening begins in the Kelly Theatre at 6 p.m. with a screening of the film. The concert follows in the Pentastar, featuring Min Xie and Michèle Dumoulin on violin, Roman Kosarev on viola and Andrew McIntosh on cello.

Guests will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the musicians at a wine reception in the Joy Theatre after the concert. Tickets are available through the orchestra’s box office, 519-973-1238, ext. 2, and must be purchased by today—Thursday, February 14.

Watch a preview of A Late Quartet: