
Bernadette Wegenstein
The Conductor
The prejudices she had to conquer to make it as conductor, but also her generosity and vision on music; it's all in this documentary about the first female Maestra.
Born into a musical family in New York, Marin set her sights on becoming a conductor at just nine years old while accompanying her father to one of Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s concerts. Her journey to professional success was neither easy nor straightforward, however at a time when, according to NYT reporter Michael Cooper, “it was easier for a female to become a leader of a G5 nation or a Five Star General than to become a conductor of a major symphony.” Despite being told “being told “girls can’t do that” and being repeatedly rejected by the establishment of classical music,” Marin Alsop persisted and never let go of her dream of becoming a conductor. And now, as she says, “Look at me, I’m doing it!”
Set to a breathtaking soundtrack of her performances, The Conductor tells Marin’s story through a combination of intimate interviews and shared professional and private moments, encounters with musicians and cognoscenti in the music world, unseen archival footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein, and Vérité scenes of Marin conducting some of the world’s great orchestras and teaching the next wave of conductors who, like her, were being excluded from the classical music canon. (Cargo Film & Releasing)
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Credits
Bernadette Wegenstein
Marin Alsop
Stefan Fauland, Bernadette Wegenstein
Shana Hagan, John Benam, Judith Benedikt
Stefan Fauland
Annette Porter
Soundtrack
More information
English
United States of America
2021