Cat. No.: 475 8176
Barcode: 0028947581765
Label: Decca CD
Release Date:
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SOUNDTRACK | Copying Beethoven

ARTISTS

Bernard Haitink

Takács Quartet

Stephen Kovacevich

TRACK LISTING

Includes Grosse Fuge in B flat major Op.133 and excerpts from Piano Sonata No. 5, Symphony No. 9, Diabelli Variations, String Quartet Op. 59 No. 3, Piano Sonata No. 32

An aspiring composer of humble means, 23-year-old Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger) is seeking inspiration and career advancement in the world's music capital, Vienna.

A student at the music conservatory, she is recommended for a position at a venerated publisher, and, in a fortuitous turn of events, orchestrates an opportunity to work beside the greatest, most mercurial artist alive - Ludwig van Beethoven (Ed Harris).

When the sceptical Beethoven issues an impromptu challenge, Anna demonstrates her competence and musical insight. The maestro accepts Anna as his copyist, beginning a remarkable relationship that will transform both of their lives.

Featuring Harris' remarkable incarnation as the celebrated composer, and a breakthrough performance by Kruger ("Troy," "National Treasure"), COPYING BEETHOVEN centres on the last years of Beethoven's life...a turbulent period in which his struggles with deafness, loneliness and family trauma provided profound inspiration for arguably the greatest symphony ever written, his astonishing Ninth.

Directed by Agnieszka Holland ("Secret Garden," "Europa, Europa"), the film is a U.K./Hungary co-production produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Film & Entertainment VIP 2 Medienfonds. Sidney Kimmel, and Michael Taylor are producing, with Marina Grasic, Andreas Schmid and Andreas Grosch executive producing. Written and produced by Stephen Rivele and Christopher Wikinson ("Ali," "Nixon"), the film co-stars Matthew Goode ("Chasing Liberty,"), Ralph Riach (TV's "The Canterbury Tales"), and Bill Stewart ("Anna and the King"), and was shot on location in Hungary.

Filmmakers include SKE producer Victor Teran, line producer Ronaldo Vasconcellos ("Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels"), director of photography Ashley Rowe ("Alfie"), production designer Caroline Amies ("Carrington," "Name of the Father") and costume designer Jany Termime ("Harry Potter" films).

CAST: Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Matthew Goode, Ralp Riach
http://www.copyingbeethoven-themovie.com

Showing in cinemas from 19 April 2007
Sydney - Cremorne Orpheum, Roseville, Dendy Opera Quays, Gu Bondi Junction, Hoyts Broadway
Canberra - Dendy Canberra
Melbourne - Village Rivoli, Cinema Nova, Dendy Kino, Dendy Brighton, Hoyts Eastland
Brisbane - Gold Coast Arts Centre, Dendy Portside, Brisbane Regent
Adelaide - Trak, Palace Nova Eastend
Perth - Windsor Nedlands, Cygnet Como

http://www.hopscotchfilms.com.au

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Cat. No.: 4759152
Barcode: 0028947591528
Label: Decca CD
Release Date: April 21

SOUNDTRACK | The Namesake

TRACK LISTING

1.   Shoes to America
2.   The Namesake Opening Titles
3.   First Day in New York
4.   Jhiri Jhiri Choyetali
5.   Flight IC408
6.   Airport Grief
7.   Mo's Affair
8.   Farewell Ashoke
9.   Ashima Becomes a Widow
10. Aftermath
11. Ye Mera Divanapan Hai
12. Baul Song
13. Taj Mahal
14. The Chosen One
15. Max Arrives
16. Boatman's Song
17. Postales
18. Amra Reformed Hindus
19. The Namesake Reprise
20. The Same Song
21. Falling

Links:

The Soundtrack
The Namesake is an original motion picture soundtrack. The soundtrack consists of half original score material composed by Nitin Sawhney and half licensed tracks that contain elements of Indian folk and pop or Dali music, to hip-hop by artists such as Geeta Dutt, State of Bengal, Susheela Raman, Lakhan Das, The Elements and Mykill Miers, Kartik Das, Federico Aubele, Partha Chatterjee, and includes the track "Falling" written and performed by Nitin Sawhney and Aqualung and featuring the vocals of Matt Hales from the band Aqualung.

The Composer
Over the last decade Nitin Sawhney has carved out a singular niche in British culture melding the musical barriers between East and West, between classicism and popularity, interspersing music from around the world to club-land-culture. His 4th album, Beyond Skin (released in 2000) was short-listed as one of the albums of the year for the Mercury Music Prize and it also won the prestigious South Bank Show Award. Its successor, 2001's Prophesy - recorded in five continents and featuring over 230 musicians - won Nitin further honors including a MOBO, an EMMA and a BBC Radio 3 Award. Sawhney's latest album, Philtre, was released in 2005. Besides his own albums, Nitin Sawhney film scores include Pure (directed by Gilles Mackinnon) and Anita and Me (directed by Metin Husseyin).

The Film
The Namesake is the story of the Ganguli family whose move from Calcutta to New York evokes a lifelong balancing act to meld to a new world without forgetting the old. Though parents Ashoke and Ashima (Irrfan Khan, Tabu) long for the family and culture that enveloped them in India, they take great pride in the opportunities their sacrifices have afforded their children. Paradoxically, their son Gogol (Kal Penn) is torn between finding his own unique identity without losing his heritage. Even Gogol's name represents the family's journey into the unknown.

Produced and directed by the Academy Award®-nominated Mira Nair, (Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, Kama Sutra and Salaam Bombay! to name a few) The Namesake is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri.

With The Namesake, Mira Nair found ways to link New York and Calcutta not only visually, but via sound as well. Like the story itself, the film's soundtrack traverses both time and cultures. "I love Indian classical music and I wanted to link that classical sound with the pulsating New York sound of today," comments Nair. "So the soundtrack not only crosses 25 years of time but also moves from Bengali folk music, Geeta Dutt's "Jhiri Jhiri Choyetali" to hip-hop, "The Chosen One." And then there is Nitin Sawhney's haunting score mixed throughout."

The film's screen adaptation was penned by Sooni Taraporevala, with whom Nair previously collaborated on Mississippi Masala and the Oscar®-nominated Salaam Bombay!

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