From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China
The Oscars® Winners & Nominees • 1h 23m
Directed by Murray Lerner • Documentary • 1979 • 84 minutes
This Oscar-winning film chronicles with affection and intelligence the great violinist’s 1979 visit to China. Stern was supposed to attend a rehearsal and give one recital but instead wound up playing a formal concert, touring two cities, and teaching many master classes due to his overwhelming love for music and even more so for the musicians he met, some as young as 10. On hand to document the historic event was filmmaker Murray Lerner, who gathered footage of Stern's encounters with both traditional Chinese musicians and conservatory students versed in Brahms and Mozart — encounters that, only a few years prior, would have been politically controversial.
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