The Conductor (2018)

The Conductor is the English title of a Dutch historical and biographical drama (based on a true story) which premiered in 2018. The title refers to the Dutch-born American pianist Antonia Brico who was the first female conductor of a philharmonic or symphonic orchestra. Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Original Dutch title: De Dirigent

** Writer and director: Maria Peters

** Music composed by Quinten Schram and Bob Zimmerman

** Languages spoken: Dutch, English, German

** Run time: 139 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Christanne de Bruijn as Antonia Brico (1902-1989)

** Gijs Scholten von Aschat as Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951) – a famous Dutch conductor

** Richard Semmel as Karl Muck (1859-1940) – a famous German conductor

** Scott Turner Schofield as Robin Jones – an American jazz musician

** Seumas F. Sargent as Mark Goldsmith – an American music teacher

** Carole Street as Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) – wife of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt

** Benjamin Wainwright as Frank Thomsen – manager of a concert hall in New York – a fictional character

** Annet Malherbe as Mrs Wolthuis - Antonia’s stepmother

** Raymond Thiry as Mr Wolthuis - Antonia’s stepfather

 

Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them in this review.

 

While this drama is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. But the basic story is true.

 

Here is a brief biography:

 

Antonia Brico was born in the Netherlands in 1902. Her biological mother gave her up for adoption when she was still an infant. She was adopted by a Dutch couple, Mr and Mrs Wolthuis, who gave her the name Wilhelmina Wolthuis.

 

In 1908, the Wolthius family immigrated to the US. They settled down in California where Antonia (Wilhelmina) grew up and went to school. In 1912, at the age of 10, she began to take piano lessons. Soon it was clear that she had a great talent for the piano.

 

In 1919, when she graduated from high school, her stepmother told her that she was adopted. She also told her that they had given her a new name when she was adopted. Antonia was so upset to learn these facts about her life that she walked away from her foster parents and never had any contact with them again.

 

In 1919 she enrolled into the University of California at Berkeley where she studied music and foreign languages. She graduated in 1923 with a BA in music. After graduation she decided to move to New York to start a new life. In 1924 she began to use her real name Antonia Brico.

 

As a young child she had dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. As a teenager she found a new dream: she wanted to become a conductor. But when she talked about this dream, most people told her it was impossible and unrealistic.

 

They said: a woman cannot be a conductor. There are no female conductors anywhere in the world. Forget it! However, Antonia could not give up on her dream.

 

In 1926, she travelled to the Netherlands to see if she could find some members of her biological family. While she was there, she met the famous Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg. She wanted to study with him. He told her it was not possible, but he still wanted to help her. He suggested that she should go to Germany and meet with the famous German conductor Karl Muck. Maybe she could study with him? He wrote a letter of introduction that she could give to the German conductor.

 

In 1927 Antonia travelled to Germany where she met with Karl Muck and asked if she could study with him. At first he said no. But she insisted and after a while he accepted her. She stayed in Germany to study for her dream job. In 1930 her dream became true: she conducted the German Philharmonic orchestra. It was the first time a woman had done this.

 

In 1932, Antonia returned to the US where she worked as a conductor in several locations. She was lucky to have the support of several important and well-connected people, including the First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

But there still was one problem: whenever she had a job, it was always just one or two concerts. Nobody wanted to give her a permanent position, because she was a woman!

 

In 1942 she moved to Denver, Colorado. This place became her main base for the rest of her life. She died there in 1989.

 

What about the movie? The movie is about Antonia Brico, but it does not cover her whole life from the beginning in 1902 until the end in 1989. The focus is on the 1920s and the 1930s.

 

** The drama excludes the first part of her life (1902-1926), more than twenty years

 

** The drama excludes the last part of her life (1940-1989), more than forty years.

 

In the drama, we follow Antonia’s life and career during the 1920s and the 1930s. When the drama begins, the year is 1926. The location is New York where she works as an usher in a concert hall. She is not a musician; she is not a conductor. Working as an usher in a concert hall is as close as she can get to her dream.

 

Antonia is 24. She still lives with her foster parents. Every week when she is paid for her work, she must go home and hand over her salary to her stepmother.

 

In 1926, when she is told about the adoption and the change of name, she decides to go to the Netherlands to look for members of her biological family. She is too late. Her mother is dead.

 

While she is there, she meets the famous Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg who writes a letter of introduction for her. He tells her to go to Germany and see if she can study with the famous German conductor Karl Muck.

 

In 1927 she travels to Germany where she meets with Karl Muck. At first he says no. He does not want to accept an apprentice, but she does not give up and after a while he allows her to study with him.

 

In 1930 her dream finally comes true: she conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. When she returns to the US, she is able to work as a conductor in several locations, but only for one or two concerts. She cannot get a permanent job as a conductor.

 

This is what we see in the drama. 

When you compare the movie with the brief biography above, you can see that not everything in the drama is accurate, but the basic story is true.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama? Here are the results of two review aggregators:

 

70 per cent = Rotten Tomatoes (the general audience)

72 per cent = IMDb

 

As you can see, the ratings are not bad. On the other hand they are not great. They are somewhere between three and four stars on Amazon. I can understand why. Antonia’s life is unusual, colourful and interesting, but the movie about her life is rather disappointing. There are a number of flaws:

 

** The chronology of events is inaccurate – an example: Antonia was not living with her foster parents in New York in 1926; she walked away from them seven years before (in 1919)

 

** Basic facts are distorted – an example: Antonia was not told about the adoption and the change of name in 1926; this happened seven years before (in 1919)

 

** Basic facts are excluded – an example: details about her stay in the Netherlands and about members of her biological family

 

** Fictional details are introduced – an example: a love story

 

** A fictional character is introduced – an example: Frank Thomsen, manager of the concert hall in New York

 

It could have been a great movie. Unfortunately, it is not. This drama is not great; it is not even good; it is average and therefore it cannot get more than than three stars (a rating of 60 per cent).

 

PS # 1. Maria Peters (born 1958) worked on this project for more than ten years. It is a shame she did not use the time to write a script that is historically accurate. Why is historical truth violated in so many ways?

 

PS # 2. For more information, see the following items:

 

** Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman is a documentary film which premiered in 1974. Director: Judy Collins, who studied with Antonia Brico when she was young. Run time: 58 minutes. This film is available online.

 

Unfortunately, the copy which is posted online suffers from poor technical quality. What is wrong? The speed is not constant. The sound of the music is distorted in a horrible way. But the interview parts of the film are quite interesting and give good insight into Antonia’s life and career.

 

** I Will Not Be Deflected From My Course: The Life of Dr Antonia Brico by Lance Eugene Christensen, a dissertation, Master of Humanities, Colorado University, 2000. 140 pages. This dissertation is available online (PDF).

 

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Antonia Brico (1902-1989)

A photo from 1940

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Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951)

A famous Dutch conductor

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Karl Muck (1859-1940)

A famous German conductor

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