BEETHOVEN IN BEIJING
USA, 2019, 87 min
Directors: Jennifer Lin, Sharon Mullally
Producers: Sam Katz, Jennifer Lin
Editor: Rachel Sophia Stewart
Cinematographer: Paul Van Haute
Beethoven in Beijing is more than just an eye- (and ear-) opening look into a forgotten chapter in history when President Richard Nixon recruited the Philadelphia Orchestra to visit communist China in hopes of reopening the closed-off nation to the West. The film uses classical music and the legacy of this iconic American orchestra to reframe the narrative on U.S.-China relations. Director Jennifer Lin is a former China correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer; the idea for this film grew out of an assignment for the newspaper. Lin uses the historic 1973 tour as the starting point for her narrative, and ends it in the present, showing through musicians like composer Tan Dun and pianist Lang Lang how China is energizing the world of music.
Jennifer Lin is an author and former journalist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, including postings as a correspondent in Beijing, New York and Washington, D.C. Sharon Mullally is an Emmy Award-winning producer, director and editor whose work has appeared in more than 20 feature-length documentaries.
UP CLOSE Intro by Director Jennifer Lin