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Notes from the Kuerti Keyboard

Written, Produced and Directed byDavid Eng & Katarina Soukup

PRESS KITContact: Katarina Soukup

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Notes from the Kuerti KeyboardSYNOPSIS

Legendary Canadian pianist Anton Kuerti 'performs' a piece by Beethoven on anantique Underwood. This quirky and slightly surreal short film plays on the visualcorrespondence between the typewriter and a grand piano, and features theScherzo from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3.

Anton Kuerti sits down in front of an antiqueUnderwood typewriter. As he inserts a sheet of paper,we see that in place of the letters “QWERTY” on thekeyboard are the letters “KUERTI.”

As he starts typing, we hear the notes of Beethoven’sPiano Sonata No. 18, Scherzo (second movement) insteadof the sound of the typewriter. While he types we seethe words appear on the page. They are program notes(written by Kuerti himself for his 1992 Analekta CD setof Beethoven Sonatas) and aptly describe the music thatwe hear, as we hear it.

Scherzo (n. Italian "joke")... mock seriousness… Beethovenis fooling... a bubbling intermezzo....

piquant harmonies… a playful kick in the buttocks…

Suddenly, Kuerti’s typewriter is magically transformedinto a concert grand piano. It is as if he is imagining themusic and himself performing the piece on stage as hedescribes it on the page. The piece becomes an excitingduet between typewriter and piano, exposing thebeautiful details and inner workings of each object.Through motion graphics Kuerti's exuberant textoverlays the images of him playing. As the piece drawsto a close, he types “A. Kuerti,” finishing the programnotes with his attribution.

Notes from the Kuerti Keyboard is a music video with a decidedly playful approach. The titlereflects this by encompassing a multitude of meanings that result from various interpretations of themain words. Notes can refer to the tones we hear, the written score, or the text explanation of a work,i.e. program notes. Kuerti is the name of the performer Anton Kuerti, but also a pun on the name“QWERTY” which describes the typewriter from its first six letters. Keyboard can mean bothtypewriter keyboard and piano keyboard. The film makes use of all of these possible meanings.

Notes from the Kuerti Keyboard is also a groundbreaking classical music video. While other filmsuse camera work that is still and remote (to minimize camera noise), this one makes full use of a widerange of filmmaking techniques to reflect the interest and excitement of the music, such as rapid-fireediting, camera movement, varied frame rates, macro photography, fish-eye lenses, and “ramping”(multiple speeds within a single shot, ie. normal motion to fast motion to slow motion). It is a classicalmusic video for everyone, including the MTV generation.

© Anice Wong/Catbird Productions Inc

© Anice Wong/Catbird Productions, Inc

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Eng and Soukup meticulously prepared the shoot, knowing that the flexible tempo and precision of themusic would not allow for easy substitutions as with rock music videos. They conceived many of theshots to reflect Sonata form, so that the first third of the piece (exposition) is mirrored somewhat by thelast third (recapitulation), while the middle section (development) is very free. With certain sections andthe piece as a whole, there is a sense of acceleration and zooming closer, similar to Beethoven’s owncompositional technique of “foreshortening.” The early 20th century setting allowed the filmmakers todraw parallels between the iconic Underwood and Steinway keyboards as well as between the maestrosBeethoven and Kuerti. They highlighted the time period by de-saturating the colour and playing with theframe rates so that certain moments feel Charlie Chaplin-esque. But by using quick, flashy editing, andramping, the piece borrows from the language of action films to create excitement.

Directors’ StatementThe origin of Notes from the Kuerti Keyboard stems from David Eng and Katarina Soukup’s desireto collaborate. One day Eng told her that he knew the pianist Anton Kuerti. Instead, Katarina heard“Qwerty”. The two had a good laugh over that and it got the creative juices flowing. Soukup had justcompleted the documentary Tusarnituuq! Nagano in the Land of the Inuit about the Montreal Symphony’sunique collaboration with Inuit artists on a tour of the Canadian Arctic and was keen to make anotherfilm featuring an unusual approach to music. “I’m primarily a producer of documentaries,” Soukup says,“but I thought it would be an interesting challenge to expand my repertoire into the non-doc world, aswell as try my hand at directing.”

As a classically trained musician, Eng, for his part, was frustrated with the stodgy reputation classicalmusic seems to have acquired in popular culture. He had long wanted to do a film that would highlightthe rich depth of this music through a playful cinematic style, and appeal to a broad audience. He wasalso eager to bring some innovative filmmaking techniques to the classical music video genre. “My filmstend towards a Charlie Kaufman-esque self-reflexive quality and often explore the world of film and thearts,” says Eng, “so this fit perfectly with that sensibility.”

Eng and Soukup contacted Anton, who was game for the adventure, and a cinematic collaboration wasborn.

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About Anton KuertiPianist ANTON KUERTI was born inAustria, grew up in the U.S., and haslived in Canada for the last 35 years. Histeachers included Arthur Loesser,Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and RudolfSerkin. Through Horszowski, Kuerti’smusical lineage can actually be traceddirectly to Beethoven (Beethoven –>Carl Czerny –> Theodor Leschetizky –>Horszowski –> Kuerti). He performedthe Grieg Concerto at the age of 11with Arthur Fiedler, and he was still astudent when he won the famousLeventritt Award.

Anton Kuerti has toured 31 countries,including Japan, Russia, and most of Europe. He has performed with most major North Americanorchestras and conductors, such as the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony (Menuhin),Cleveland Orchestra (Szell), Philadelphia Orchestra (Ormandy), and the orchestras of Atlanta, Denver,Detroit, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and San Francisco. His vast repertoire includes some 50 concertos,including one he composed himself.

In Canada, Kuerti has appeared in some 140 communities from coast to coast, and has played with everyprofessional orchestra, including over 30 concerts with the Toronto Symphony. As a chamber musician,he has performed the major repertoire with such artists as Gidon Kremer, Yo-Yo Ma, János Starker,Barry Tuckwell, and performances with the Cleveland, Guarneri, and Tokyo string quartets.

Kuerti is one of today’s most prolific recording artists. Compact discs of his performances include: allthe Beethoven concertos and sonatas, the Schubert sonatas, the Brahms concertos, and works by manyother composers. These recordings air almost daily on the CBC. Kuerti is an Officer of the Order ofCanada and has received several honorary doctorates.

About the MusicNotes from the Kuerti Keyboard features the second movement Scherzo of Ludwig vanBeethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3 (the fourth movement is used in the endcredits). Composed in 1802, this sonata was recorded by Anton Kuerti for his album Complete PianoSonatas of Beethoven (Analekta FL 2 4010, November 12, 1992, www.analekta.com). The scherzo is avery bouncy movement in a generally lively, humorous sonata. Here are Kuerti’s own program notesregarding this piece included with the recording:

One's reaction to a work of art can be enormously coloured by one's expectations, andOp. 31, No. 3 remains an enigma until one realizes that there is hardly a seriousmoment in it. Once we know Beethoven is fooling – sometimes with mock seriousness,often with tongue-in-cheek – then we can really enjoy the fun and not waste our timelooking for profound beauty.

Still from Notes from the Kuerti Keyboard © Anice Wong/Catbird Productions

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Tipping us off to the non-serious nature of the work is the fact that, amongst its fourmovements, the slowest is a menuetto. In fact, it is unique in having both a menuettoand a scherzo, but no slow movement.

And regarding this particular movement, he writes the following:

Where we expected a slow movement, we are offered a scherzo; accepting the offer,we are further astonished to find in it no resemblance to any other classical scherzo, forits meter is two, rather than three beats per measure, and its for is not ABA, as wouldbe reasonable for a short, whimsical interlude, but sonata form. Probably it would nothave been possible to achieve such a scampering, non-stop continuity with a less open-ended form.

This scherzo is a bubbling intermezzo, whose ostinato, pattering accompaniment onlystops a few times, pretending to cower in fear of some awesome event; which turns outto be a mighty – but playful – kick in the buttocks that sets the music back into itsoriginal tizzy. It is an eminently good-natured movement, full of fun, teasing pauses andsudden fortissimo chords; some of the piquant harmonies and a certain home-madequality could make one think of Berlioz.

About the TypewriterThe rare Underwood Model No. 1 used in Notes from the KuertiKeyboard comes from the Martin Howard Collection, the largestpublic or private antique typewriter collection in Canada. Comprisedof typewriters from the very beginning of the typewriter industry(1880s and 1890s), the collection contains many rare and historicallyimportant typewriters, showing the remarkable diversity and beautyof the world's first typing machines. The Underwood was the firstwidely successful, modern typewriter. It pulled together the two maindesign elements that would be found on all later machines: a four-rowkeyboard; front strike type-bars, giving visible typing. The Underwoodwas not the first to offer these essential features, but it was by far thebest engineered machine to have done so by 1896.

Underwood Model No. 5 remained in production from 1900 to the early 1930s, making it the "SingerSewing Machine” of typewriters with many machines surviving. The Underwood No. 1, though, is ascarce find today and is what is featured in our film.

The “Q-W-E-R-T-Y” keyboard was transformed into a “K-U-E-R-T-I” keyboard for the film by MartinHoward himself.

The other beauties in the Martin Howard Collection can be perused at www.antiquetypewriters.com

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The FilmmakersDAVID ENGDAVID ENG is filmmaker, actor, musician and writer originally hailing from Toronto but now based inMontreal. He has directed over a dozen short films, including Perfect Pitch and The Audience(Golden Remi Award, WorldFest-Houston) for Bravo!FACT. His films have screened at many Canadianfilm festivals including The Worldwide Short Film Festival, ReelWorld Film Festival, The Reel AsianInternational Film Festival and NSI Film Festival. He wrote the short film Shaolin Delivery Boy,produced for ZeD/CBC Television. He writes reviews and articles on cinema and the arts forRicepaper Magazine and his own film site Chino Kino (http://chinokino.blogspot.com). He iscurrently developing two feature film projects in association with Catbird Productions including MusicLessons, a story set in the music world.

KATARINA SOUKUPPrimarily a documentary producer and director, this is KATARINA SOUKUP’s first non-documentaryfilm. She founded Catbird Productions, one of Montreal’s newest and most dynamic production houses,in 2006, bringing with her almost ten years of experience as a documentary and multimedia producerwith Igloolik Isuma Productions, the award-winning creative team behind the Canadian cinema classicAtanarjuat The Fast Runner (2000), winner of the Caméra d'Or at Cannes 2001.

Under Catbird she has already produced Umiaq Skin Boat (World Premiere, Hot Docs 2008),Kakalakkuvik (Where the Children Dwell) (World Premiere, RIDM 2009) by Jobie Weetaluktukand Tusarnituuq! Nagano in the Land of the Inuit (2009), a documentary by Félix Lajeunesseabout the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and conductor Kent Nagano’s first ever tour of the CanadianArctic. Tusarnituuq! had its World Premiere at the 2009 Montreal World Film Festival and airs onRadio-Canada, ARTV, APTN and SVT Sweden.

Before focusing on filmmaking Soukup’s sound art projects, such as Radio Bicyclette, Live from theTundra and Arctic Phonographies were presented at art venues in Austria, Germany, Japan, theNetherlands, the Czech Republic, the USA, and in Canada at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). Keenattention to sound remains an essential aspect of all her films.

Soukup was selected to participate in the Talent Lab at the 2009 edition of the TorontoInternational Film Festival. She is currently developing a number of different documentary, short,fiction and interactive projects for Catbird, including a documentary she herself will direct on the life ofpioneering Inuit photographer, artist and historian Peter Pitseolak. She holds an MA in Media Studiesfrom Concordia University, Montreal.

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The Creative TeamDIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – John Minh TranWith an extensive background in still photography, John brings a true film aesthetic to all the work hedoes. Recent feature documentary credits include: Astra Taylor’s Examined Life (Sphinx) and KevinMcMahon’s Waterlife (Primitive), for which he received a Canadian Society of Cinematographers(CSC) Award in 2010. He also received a CSC and Yorkton Golden Sheaf nomination for LarryWeinstein’s Mozartballs (Rhombus) and a Gemini nomination for Eric Geringas’ Cheating Death(NFB). Other feature documentaries include Kevin McMahon's Stolen Spirits of Haida Gwaii(Primitive), An Idea of Canada (Primitive/Rhombus) and McLuhan's Wake (Primitive), and BrunoMonsaingeon's Glenn Gould Hereafter (Idéale Audience/Rhombus). John is also well-versed indrama, lensing Trisha Fish's feature, Dragonwheel (IMX) and the Gemini award winning puppet seriesNanalan’ (Grogs/Lenz Entertainment). His award winning short films include Paul Quarrington’s AMan’s Life and Adam Reid’s The Best Girl. John recently finished a puppet series for BBC Kids Big& Small (Grogs/Lenz Entertainment).

PRODUCTION DESIGNER – Rosanna LagacéROSANNA LAGACÉ is an independent production designer and art director who worked onnumerous independent feature films, short films, music videos and television projects. Rosanna grew upin Welland, Ontario and flourished in the fine arts at a young age. After graduating from Niagara Collegeshe decided to pursue her filmmaking dreams and subsequently moved to Toronto. Some of her creditsinclude the feature film At Home By Myself... With You (Pocket Change Film) starring KristinBooth and Aaron Abrams, the feature science fiction thriller Mystic, and the HBO TV Series BodyLanguage. After premiering at Cannes in 2009, the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival and the Los AngelesMovie Awards awarded her work Best Production Design for the short film Patient. Lagacé alsodesigned the short film Champagne, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

EDITOR – J. Joseph Weadick J. JOSEPH WEADICK’s dramatic feature credits include Silent but Deadly (MJC Entertainment), Kingof Sorrow (Noble House Entertainment), Due Process (Otherwise Reasonable People) and Ulysses(Ulysses Productions). He is currently editing Sacrifice (Voltage Pictures), a thriller directed by DamianLee starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Christian Slater.

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Production DetailsEnglish Title NOTES FROM THE KUERTI KEYBOARD

Duration 5 minutes 30 seconds

Production Company Catbird Productions, Inc

Language No dialogue, some printed English

Aspect Ratio 16:9

Shooting Format Red One (4K)

Screening Format HDCAM, HDCAM-SR or DigiBETA

Sound LtRt Stereo or 5.1 Surround

Notes from The Kuerti KeyboardFULL CREDITS

written, produced and directed byDAVID ENG & KATARINA SOUKUP

typist/pianistANTON KUERTI

director of photography JOHN M. TRAN

production designer ROSANNA LAGACÉ

editor/animator J. JOSEPH WEADICK

first assistant director LOUIS TAYLOR

first assistant camera PIERRE BRANCONNIERsecond assistant camera ANDREW HILLSgaffer NABIL MILNEgrip/swing ZACH ZOHR

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studio technician DENNIS PATTERSONcontinuity KEVIN EDWARDS

wardrobe JACQUES CHARETTEhair and make-up ROXANNE DeNOBREGAart intern ALLISON HICKEY

still photographer ANICE WONG

PAs/drivers CLAIRE HODGSONKATE McEDWARDSANICE WONG

assistant editor JOHN HUREJsound editor MARTIN GWYNN JONESassistant sound editor AVALON MacLEANfoley artist STEFAN FRATICELLIfoley recordist RON MELLEGERSre-recording mixer KIRK LYNDS

artists WENDY BOYDSANDRA HENDERSONANDY SOOKRAH

catering PETITE THUET

insurance FRONT ROW INSURANCE

accounting BENOIT GAUTHIER

Underwood Model No. 1THE MARTIN HOWARD COLLECTION

www.antiquetypewriters.com

thank youJUDY GLADSTONE, JANE TATTERSALL, JOHN HOSKINS,

ALAN THATCHER, ALEXINA LOUIE, SARA MORLEY, ESTHERPFLUG, CRAIG WRIGHT, ANJALI CHOKSI, JONATHAN BALDOCK,MIKE CARROLL (CBC Glenn Gould Studio), FIONA McKEOWN (Arts& Letters Club of Toronto), CITY OF TORONTO (Film and Television

Office), HART HOUSE FILM BOARD, THE ENG FAMILY

music“Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31, No. 3”

(Movement 2, Movement 4 excerpt)Ludwig van Beethoven

performed by Anton Kuertifrom the album

Complete Piano Sonatas of Beethoven (Analekta FL 2 4010)courtesy of Anton Kuerti

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sheet musicDover Publications, Inc

produced with the support ofTHE LLOYD CARR-HARRIS FOUNDATION

produced with a grant awarded by CTV’sBravo!FACT (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent)

www.bravofact.com

www.catbirdproductions.ca

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