“You have to find your own path.”
And Cleveland Baroque Orchestra Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell blazed hers.
In Allan Miller’s documentary Playing with Fire: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting–available now on digital platforms–the film captures the Grammy Award-winning Sorrell in her musical element, from rehearsals to the stage.
The opening moments of the film show Sorrell in the midst of conducting a performance. Her face is expressive as she gestures in an intense yet lively manner. Up top, Sorrell reveals to the camera that during her audition at Julliard, it was suggested that she pursue another field as orchestras would not hire a woman conductor. This sentiment would again be expressed to her later in her career, and by chance, is what ultimately led to the creation of Apollo’s Fire in 1992, truly a culmination of Sorrell’s long-held orchestral aspirations.
“By the time I was 17, I knew that my dream was to conduct a chamber orchestra,” she shares in the film.
Pushing past the “no’s” paid off, as Apollo’s Fire often plays to sold-out audiences in its home city of Cleveland and venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the BBC Proms in London.
Miller wastes no time displaying the celebrated conductor and harpsichordist’s passion for her craft, which is immediately evident in an early rehearsal scene. She leads her fellow musicians (“a group of baroque specialists,” as she describes them) with seeming ease as she provides feedback, receiving an immediate response.
Sorrell’s ability to translate the music on the page and tell a story proves to be a pivotal part of her process and how she helps evoke certain sounds and emotions in the pieces she conducts. In one rehearsal shown with Apollo’s Fire, as she works, she walks them through a story of one’s morning as they play. Later in a workshop at the Aspen Music Festival and School, she discusses the history of a piece, recalling details as she works with a group of young conductors on technique.
Intercut with Sorrell’s story are performance pieces with Apollo’s Fire and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Sorrell’s dynamic approach is front and center as she conducts and plays the harpsichord. Among them is a standout performance at Tanglewood of Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No.5.” The piece features a harpsichord solo from Sorrell. Watching her hands and fingers move fervently up and down the keys is mesmerizing. Even then, she engages her fellow musicians, motioning to them with her head as she plays.
For music fans–whether chamber music is your thing or not–Playing with Fire is a fascinating watch. Through the lens of Sorrell’s story, Miller has crafted a film that is an insightful and informative look at what it means to be a conductor. As a subject, Sorrell’s devotion to her craft and orchestral storytelling within it can only be described as awe-inspiring.
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