You can read the articles here:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/14/112513/963/388/708463
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/jane-fonda-beethoven-and_b_173865.html

What is your project about?

I’ve been traveling across the globe, tracking the impact of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on individuals 184 years after the premiere in 1824. But to say the film I am doing is about the Ninth Symphony is to diminish the art in a way. Rather, I might well have said that I’m following the impact of one of the greatest gifts to human beings, period. As long as there are humans with ears to listen, Beethoven’s Ninth will be one of our greatest treasures.

But to be more specific, I’ve have been to China where the students at Tienanmen in 1989 broadcast the Ninth over makeshift loudspeakers as the troops came in to crush them. I have been to Chile where women sang the Himno a la alegria (a song based on the Ninth) in the streets throughout Chile, even singing the Ode To Joy over the walls of prisons where people were being tortured for resisting the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

I have followed the Ninth to Japan where hundreds of orchestras perform the Ninth (the Daiku as they call it) each December, often with choral ensembles of five or ten thousand people.

And now I have been to South Africa, a continent I had never had the opportunity to visit, where Maestro Ben Zander led the Cape Town in one of the most invigorating and exciting renderings of the Ninth I have ever heard. In fact, although I admit I am no musicologist and no expert on these matters, I think the Ninth in Capetown under the baton of Mr. Zander should demand a much wider audience. He conducted the most grand piece of music in the most grand kind of way, with tempi that can only be described as rightly Beethovian.

What is it about the Ninth that has led you to pursue this?

As I have intimated, my love of music comes not from the classical repertoire, but from more contemporary and popular forms of musical expression: namely, rock n roll. But the Ninth touched me deeply in a way that no other music has, and especially the third movement, which represents to me all that is beautiful, glorious, nuanced, serene and profound within western musical culture. And I woudn’t even want to limit the significance of this music to a specific geography. For as I have found in my travels, from China to Chile, from Japan to Great Britain, from South Africa to the United States, this music is universal in its appeal. The Ninth contains multitudes, and is no more the possession of the “West” than Buddhism is limited to the “East.” This kind of music breaks through all artificial barriers, and that is perhaps why it appeals to me most.

What was it about Ben that led you to ask him to participate? Well, when I saw Ben Zander speak on the subject of music and passion I thought just how right he is. Classical music, he pointed out, is not alien to us, but, really, part of our DNA, that we need only–to revise a phrase of Timothy Leary–Tune in, Turn on, and Drop in to an experience that can change our lives. Ben pointed out, and he and Roz Zander keep pointing out, that we can easily loose touch with the deepest parts of our beings. I’m sorry, this sounds too abstract. Rather, if we open up to the sounds of music, to its rhythms and melody, and simply follow the music, it will take us on a journey to places we have never been before. Ben asks us, I think, to make a bet on the best of classical music, to not fold our cards before they are even dealt. He asks us to stay at this sumptuous table that has been laid before us, prepared over hundreds of years. He guarantees that if we follow the music, the bet will pay off. And I think, from watching him, it’s easy to believe that he is exactly spot on. The bet he asks us to make will be paid several times over.

Did you have expectations for what it would be like to take part in a Ben Zander interpretation of the Ninth?

I had no expectations about a Ben Zander Ninth. I only knew that the effort would be full-throttle, that Ben would put his heart and soul into the performance. It’s all there in the speaking and relating to people. His heart and soul are in it, whether it’s a talk before schoolchildren or CEOs from the fortune 500. If those two things are in place, heart and soul, it’s hard to imagine a bad performance from Ben, be it the Ninth or anything else.

What did Ben create that was unique?

The unique aspect of Ben’s rendering of the Ninth is the tempi. I have heard the Ninth performed more times than I can count. Ben returns to what he and others maintain is the intended tempi of Beethoven when he put pen to paper over the years he was writing his final Symphony. It’s a stepped-up tempi, and when heard in person and performed well is daemonic. The term shouldn’t be taken to be pejorative if we understand that the daemon seduces or possess human beings in a most ecstatic fashion. The performances in Capetown were ecstatic, propulsive, the Ninth captured with the kind of power and empathy for Beethoven’s intentions that seem to fit his temprement.

You are a certain type of expert on this piece of music - did Ben’s interpretation teach you anything new? Are there any notable elements of your experience that you might like to tell?

The chorus for the two performances of the Ninth in Capetown were multi-racial, and quite a good group of singers it was. But the symbolism of that picture, of people of all backgrounds coming together to celebrate the Ninth’s universal call to connection across all borders, well, in South Africa, that was a sight to behold. I’ll never forget the experience. I hope to pass it on in the film.

Battle Hymns filmed the renowned conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and inspiration speaker, Benjamin Zander www.benjaminzander.com, leading the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra in two spirited performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the film Following The Ninth. Maestro Zander also particpated in several leadership seminars with his wife Roz, author of the best selling book, The Art of Possbility. 

While in South Africa, Kerry and the Battle Hymns crew also visited the Khayelitsha township where they filmed the accapella group Abonwabisi Brothers doing their own version of the Ninth Symphony, twelve singers, no instruments, and one small room with tin walls. The Brothers will also be a part of the Ninth documentary, and will record their version of the Nint for the CD to be released with the film. The CD, Nine On The NInth, will feature musicians from across the globe, from Japan, Chile, China, Great Britain,  reinterpreting one movement from the Ninth, a world-music compilation that embraces Beethoven’s message of connection through music. 

We would like to thank Louise van Rhyn and Symphonia for having the Battle Hymns team to Cape Town for this once in a lifetime event.  

Battle Hymns filmed the classical Indian group Tarang, led by the tabla virtuoso Abhijit Banerjee, with special guest Kenny Endo, the renowned Japanese taiko drum master . The finished film will be shown in early 2009 on PBS and other networks.

The diverse community of Los Angeles will be the royal guests as a full orchestra and chorus perform the North American premiere of Billy Bragg’s version of the 9th Symphony. First performed in Vienna in 1824, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony transcends boundaries of geography, race, nation. As the words of the 9th’s choral “Ode to Joy” clearly state, “Alle menschen werden bruder” - all peoples of the earth are connected by a common humanity.

British balladeer and lifelong social activist Billy Bragg has translated the German words of “Ode to Joy” for a new generation. Commissioned in 2007, Bragg’s new version of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony premiered with the London Philharmonic last November at the Royal Festival Hall, before Queen Elizabeth.
The performance will feature musical groups from across the ethnic and cultural landscape of Los Angeles, bringing their versions of the Ninth. A shared stage will reflect the best of Ethiopian tizeta and ambasel, Oaxacan brass ensembles, Persian dastgahs, South Central hip-hop, blues, Indian raga Jazz and Armenian-inflected rock. The performance will end with Billy Bragg’s rendering of the 4th movement’s chorale arrangement in contemporary English.

The event is co-produced by Battle Hymns Productions, national and international award-winning Grand Performances, and selected community partners.
Public Benefit

The concert will garner broad cultural interest from Los Angeles citizens of all ages, with active participation from the Latino, African-American, Persian, Ethiopian, Euro-American, and Asian communities. Residents will experience, free of charge, a symphony orchestra and choir in concert with local, culturally diverse musical groups –offering varied interpretations of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.

Advertising/Marketing
The populist nature of the event itself will engender local coverage by Los Angeles media, on-line and off-line outlets, radio PSAs, and Grand Performances publicity outlets. Participating partners will utilize snail-mail flyers and email “viral” outreach. Non-profits such as the African Marketplace, the Chinese American Museum, Plaza de la Raza, and the Watts Towers, serving the different ethnic communities in Los Angeles will be encouraged to email their memberships on our behalf. Posters will be placed with strategically located businesses and non-profits throughout Los Angeles. Paid advertising will be used in select ethnic newspapers.

Project Executive Team

Kerry Candaele, Producer
Kerry is the founder of Battle Hymns Productions, a multi-media company established in 1997. He has directed and produced several documentary films, including the 2008 Following The Ninth: In The Footsteps of Beethoven’s Final Symphony (www.followingtheninth.com). Author of two books of American history, Kerry has also released two CDs of popular music. He has worked internationally as a project analyst for the Los Angeles-based NGO Democracy Council.

Danny Feingold, Producer
Danny is communications director with the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), a nationally recognized leader in the effort to reduce working poverty. Under his direction, LAANE has attracted national press attention for the successful campaign to stop Wal-Mart from building a Supercenter in Inglewood, the Santa Monica living wage campaign, and other efforts. Mr. Feingold was a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly, and served as news editor and managing editor for the Los Angeles View. He has worked as editor of fiction, health, and business books. Additionally, he is an experienced choral singer.

Betto Arcos, Co-Producer
Betto is host of NOCHE DE RONDA, a weekly 3-hour Latin and World music show on KCSN-88.5 FM. As Music Director and Director of Operations at KPFK-90.7 FM for seven years, Arcos created the daily world music program “Global Village.” A contributing reporter and producer for NPR’s Latino USA and Radio Biling¸e’s Noticiero Latino, Arcos has co-produced experimental radio art with performance artist Guillermo Gomez-PeÒa. Arcos is also an independent music promoter and artists’ manager. A native of Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico, Arcos graduated cum laude in journalism from the University of Colorado.

Grand Performances
With over 20 years of service to the community, Grand Performances is Southern California’s largest presenter of free performing arts programs, and a landmark nonprofit arts institution whose mission is bringing together the peoples of Los Angeles for concerts celebrating the community’s multi-ethnic cultural contributions. Partially conceived by the Community Redevelopment Agency as part of an 11-acre complex at California Plaza, the organization has attracted widely-diverse audiences of as many as 7000 to the free concerts at the outdoor Water Court Theatre.
Before coming to Grand Performances, Executive Director Michael Alexander was Director of Performing Arts for the LA Department of Cultural Affairs, and managed the AMAN Folk Ensemble and the San Francisco Ballet. Former Co-Chair of California Arts Advocates, Mr. Alexander is now the organization’s Legislative Chair. He has participated as consultant and panelist for the NEA, HUD, the California Arts Council, and the LA County Arts Commission, and currently co-chairs Arts for LA.

Tracy Yassini, Development & Marketing
Tracy brings over 15 years of experience in nearly all facets of nonprofit fundraising in addition to strategic planning, organizational development and management which include key positions at City of Hope National Medical Center and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. As Development Director and Associate Director at LA Alliance for a New Economy from 2001-2003, she developed a deep awareness and continuing dedication to social justice issues. She is now focused on a range of clients and projects which involve fundraising workshops and trainings, managing capital and endowment campaigns, grantwriting, board development and just plain old fashioned grassroots fundraising (her favorite!).

Read more about the documentary here.

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-kc