The Master and His Pupil (2003) User Reviews

Fantastic and truly enlightening documentary

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 29 November 2013]

For those considering conducting as a career or classical music fanatics in general, The Master and his Pupil is a must see. As a documentary The Master and his Pupil is one of the most enlightening documentaries I've personally seen for anything. It is beautifully and intimately shot, taking on a less is more approach and when watching it actually feels that you are part of the orchestra. The music is outstanding, the film-score-like music composed especially is lovely stuff and works really well though the two Scriabin pieces(Poems of Ecstasy is enough to blow the mind) are two such pieces that would have sufficed on their own. The orchestra play with a lot of power and beauty of tone as well as giving a sense that they understand the music and the context of it. The three young conductors show talent of it and show a lot of promise, Jason Lai can be on the methodical side and perhaps a little over-eager while Alexis Soriano clearly shows love for the music and shows fiery passion too and Otto Tausk is the most authoritative of the three. Valery Gergiev couldn't have been a more perfect teacher, he is incredibly insightful and when he criticises he is firm and to the point but never offensive or arrogant- on the contrary he is very charismatic and warm- while he has a nice sense of humour too. He makes what he wants easy to understand, and what he teaches is the sort that makes your prior knowledge seem simplistic. It is clear too that he is incredibly charismatic, loves his job and feels the music, true he isn't the most subtle of conductors(in his demonstrations he can have a drunken madman look about him) but it is very fun to watch and doesn't distract at all. It's not just what Gergiev teaches that is interesting, we do get close to Gergiev, the perspective in relation to music and performance is intimately explored and we learn about not just conducting specifics but also how to remain focused and maintain composure regardless of how hectic or not your schedule is(Gergiev is a great example to this because he is a notoriously busy person). Overall, a fantastic documentary that anybody would learn from. 10/10 Bethany Cox