Word: brico
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...when she was 28, Antonia Brico became the first woman ever to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic. Today, at age 73, she is dedicated to an orchestra of skillful semi-professionals in Denver. This wonderful documentary tells the story of an extraordinary musician's life-how she survived with spirit ind intelligence, how she was scarred out not humbled by the problem of being both a woman and an artist in America. The result is a film that is both a testament and a tribute. Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman is much the best example...
Invigorating Talent. What is immediately noticeable, if not most remarkable about Antonia Brico is that she savors equally the headiness of her successes and the ironies of her reversals...
COLLINS AND GODMILOW were both present at the opening night screening of Antonia at the Boston Center for the Arts, and spoke more on this point. They said that while they were filming, they tried to lead Brico to say that yes, she was gratified to have pioneered a trail for other women to follow. Brico's answer came back crystal clear--"I would have given up that odious distinction to have conducted more." That is perhaps a hard thing for us to hear. We would rather think our martyrs find a comfort in their roles. But Brico is first...
...film deals with this loss largely through indirection, and it gains much eloquence in the understatement. Rather than dwell at length on the frustrated promise of Brico's early career, Antonia shows us Brico at work today. A memorable sequence of shots has Brico coaching a young woman for her piano debut with Brico's symphony, culminating in that debut itself. The young woman strides out on the stage, amid Brico's tears of pride, with the glowing energy of youth for whom all things are still possible. There could be no more moving account of Brico's life than...
...film has an irrepressible optimism, caught no doubt from its subject. Brico is not one to suck on the bitter fruit of "might have beens." At age 72, clearly not all things are still possible for Antonia Brico--but many are. As Brico says simply, "I have a habit of living in the present." And not the least of this film's achievements lies in its making real some of those possibilities. As a result of the exposure the film has given her, Brico has received one firm, and several tentative, offers of conducting engagements. For Antonia Brico...