Bradley Cooper spent six years learning how to conduct a six-minute and 21-second music sequence featured in Maestro.
Per IndieWire, Cooper revealed during a New York City screening of Maestro that he spent six years learning how to conduct a sequence, which was recorded live, with the London Symphony Orchestra.
“I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976,” Cooper said. “And so I had that to study. And Yannick Nézet-Séguin made videos with all the tempo changes, so I had all of the materials to just work on.”
He added, “It was really about dialing exactly what I wanted cinematically and then inviting them into then inhabit that space and trusting that they have all done the work. Because I think that I knew, I was terrified, absolutely terrified that if I hadn’t done the work that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself in these scenes. And everybody did.”
What is Bradley Cooper’s Maestro about?
“Maestro is a towering and fearless love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein,” reads the official synopsis. “A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love.”
Maestro is directed by Cooper, who also co-wrote the script with Josh Singer. Cooper plays Bernstein in the film, while Carey Mulligan plays Felicia Montealegre, Matt Bomer plays David Oppenheim, Maya Hawke plays Jamie Bernstein, Sarah Silverman plays Shirley Bernstein, Michael Urie plays Jerome Robbins, and Brian Klugman plays Aaron Copland.
Having premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, Maestro is getting a limited theatrical release in the United States on November 22, 2023, before it then hits Netflix on December 20, 2023.
