To mark the broadcast of his documentary "Hollywood Loves the Piano", producer Peter Rosen gave us the following interview. (für die deutsche Version hier klicken)
Peter Rosen
musik heute: When and how did you hit on the idea for the program "Hollywood Loves the Piano"?
Peter Rosen: That was after making the film "The Golden Age of the Piano" for Philip Classics (now part of Universal). That DVD was so successful for them, and they made quite a bit of money on the Laser disc, then the DVD worldwide, they asked us to propose another film about the piano.
musik heute: How long did you work on the film?
Peter Rosen: It took about a year, which is usual for a long form documentary.
musik heute: How much material of films did you screen before cutting this 45-minutes-program?
Peter Rosen: We came upon a fellow whose doctorate dissertation was on this subject. His list of about 50 Hollywood films provided the starting point.
musik heute: Is there a plan to publish "Hollywood Loves the Piano" on DVD?
Peter Rosen: We do not have the DVD rights to any of the movie clips in the film, and clearing them would cost about $ 50,000. The DVD sales would come nowhere near that.
musik heute: How did you strike on making musical documentaries initially?
Peter Rosen: This gets to the film, "Leonard Bernstein Reflections". Up to that point in 1979 I had made a few shorts, some for USIA (United States Information Agency), on scientific topics like climate research, the monsoon, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). One of the USIA assignments was a portrait of Bernstein, so I learned everything I know about music from that one year long production. After that, many other musicians like Isaac Stern, Midori, Yo Yo Ma, Van Cliburn came to me for some very rewarding and exciting productions over the years. I owe it all to Bernstein.
(Questions by Wieland Aschinger)
(The official website of Peter Rosen: www.peterrosenproductions.com)
