Playing With Fire
Composers write the notes on the page. Musicians perform the notes. The conductor is the conduit between the two, bringing the composer’s intentions to how the musicians perform the music. If you are not a musician with experience in band or orchestra, the conductor’s job may seem to be, simply, to help the ensemble stay on track, aligned so that the piece is performed properly, and doesn’t sound like a train wreck. One thing I admire about Allan Miller’s documentary is how we get a close up look at the conductor as a musician unto themselves, except they are thinking not just about a single part, but the whole. In doing so, “Playing with Fire” illuminates why a conductor is more than just someone keeping time- their interpretation of the music is a vital piece of the performance, and has found a great subject for that is Jeannette Sorrell.
The full title of Miller’s film is “Playing with Fire: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting.” Sorrell is a Grammy-winning conductor whom was told, first at Julliard, and then the Cleveland Orchestra, that no one would hire a female conductor. In response, she formed her own ensemble, Apollo Fire. Apollo Fire specializes in Baroque-era music, performed on period-accurate instruments, and Sorrell acts as the Artistic Director, Conductor, as well as a performer in her own right. A lot of the film is her telling her story, us hearing about her from colleagues, and seeing footage of performances and residencies at schools such as the Tanglewood Festival.
Miller’s film is looking to do two things- highlight the ways in which Sorrell has basically manifested her own successful career after being dismissed by a system that didn’t see the value of woman leading an orchestra, as well as giving insight into the nature of conducting. In a post-“Tár” film world, that may not seem like enough for some audiences who have a particular idea of conductors in their head, but for me- who performed for a variety of conductors in 12 years of performance- it brought back my days as a trombonist in school, trying to implement the ideas of performance my band directors had in mind when it came to the performance of the pieces on the programs. Sorrell’s story of how she starting practicing piano at 11, what drew her to the harpsicord in school, and the challenges of being not just the conductor of an ensemble, but the person most responsible for how an ensemble operates from a business level, is fascinating, and will resonate with the musically- and creatively- inclined. In 69 minutes, “Playing with Fire” helps us appreciate both the creative, and financial, challenges of creating art, through the life of a woman who saw herself doing one thing, and taking on more to make that happen. That alone makes the film something to admire.
