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The documentary KEEPING SCORE: MTT ON MUSIC was produced and directed by David Kennard and Joan Saffa, who lead Independent Communications Associates, Inc. (InCA). Some of the many educational programs they have produced for PBS and other networks over the last 18 years include THE HEART OF HEALING, THE PROMISE OF PLAY, WE THE PEOPLE WITH PETER JENNINGS, and AMELIA EARHART'S LAST FLIGHT.
GREAT PERFORMANCES: How and why did you become involved in this project?
David Kennard: Our executive producer, Janette Gitler, consulted with a symphony board member about a TV project that the SFS [San Francisco Symphony] wanted to create, and suggested that Joan Saffa and myself at InCA Productions might be able to bring the symphony's idea to creative life. We were delighted to be involved in such a broad multimedia production.
Joan Saffa: Janette and I had worked together for many years at KQED-TV, San Francisco, before I joined David Kennard at InCA Productions in the early '90s. David and I were both intrigued with this project right from the start, and we jumped at the chance to work with Michael Tilson Thomas and this superb orchestra.
GP: How familiar were you with Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony before you started the film?
DK: Not at all.
JS: While David and I both enjoy classical music, we're complete laymen on the subject, which helps us relate to most of our audience.
GP: Can you talk a bit about working with MTT and the members of the San Francisco Symphony?
DK: MTT is a brilliant communicator. Unusually for a conductor, he can communicate just as well with words as he can with music (in this, he has often been compared to Leonard Bernstein). Joan and I discuss the basic ideas for a program with MTT, making creative suggestions, and then base our script on his general vision. He eventually ad libs his pieces to [the] camera (based on the ideas we've all agreed [upon]), to maintain the spontaneity and energy for which he is famous.
We also interviewed several musicians whose work is featured in the composition, to get a different perspective on the significance of the piece. Again, we do everything we can to help them make their contributions lively and spontaneous.
JS: In particular, our intent is to portray the musicians as individuals as well as members of an orchestra. In Tchaikovsky's Fourth you've got 100 people playing as a single unit, but knowing them as unique individuals heightens the experience.
GP: How did you decide on which orchestra members to interview for the film and include in the final version?
DK: Partly, they're chosen because their instrument plays a key role in the piece; partly because they can put their expertise into words; and partly because (in pre-interviews) we have found that they are lively and good on camera.
GP: Was there anything that surprised you about how either MTT and/or the musicians approached the Tchaikovsky piece?
DK: The extent to which they really reinterpreted the piece, rather than replaying a "standard" interpretation. The SFS is generally considered a very innovative orchestra.
JS: I was also surprised at the amount of work involved in the making of a single performance, from the music librarian painstakingly copying the conductor's notes into each part to the oboist making his own reeds to get just the right sound. The fact that there are only a handful of rehearsals in which to bring each piece together is pretty stunning, especially when you consider how many different works are performed in a season. It's a testament to the professionalism of each orchestra member.
GP: With the dearth of television programs about classical music and the ascendancy of reality shows, what appeal does this type of program have for viewers?
DK: We believe that viewers will learn that music can play a crucial role in revealing the depth and significance of human emotions. Our program is about the meaning of life as much as it is about the meaning of music. Most TV isn't about the meaning of anything.
JS: Plus, a dedicated Web site, radio series, educational component, and the like will all reinforce the themes of the television show and also widen the appeal of this type of program.
GP: How did you approach filming the documentary?
DK: Every film we do at InCA Productions is uniquely designed to accommodate the subject matter and the featured performers. We knew that MTT would be the central pole that holds the tent up, so we built it around him, looking at three stages of his work (and that of the musicians): how they rediscover and understand the piece, how they rehearse/work at it, and finally, how they perform it with as much joy and energy as possible. The editing constantly cuts [among] all three of these stages, which gives the film drama and tension.
JS: We also conceived the show so that it would work on a number of different levels. At face value it is, of course, a look at the making of a performance and the behind-the-scenes workings of an orchestra. But on a deeper level it's about a composer speaking to us across the centuries, sharing his view of what it means to be human.
Text of an e-mail interview with David Kennard and Joan Saffa for GREAT PERFORMANCES Online (top left photo by Victoria Simpson).
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