From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China

In 1979, virtuosic American violinist Isaac Stern accepted a state invitation to China. On this historic trip to Beijing and Shanghai, Stern happily exercised his “musical passport” to share the best of Western classical music with the people of China. Producer-Director Murray Lerner captured a kaleidoscope of experiences and encounters, and one could see from this documentary that the music education in China started to revive from the Cultural Revolution. With Stern’s passionate performance and generous tutoring, Chinese musicians and conservatory students who focused merely on technicality, were able to grasp refreshing musical expressions and interpretations.

By the time Murray Lerner (1927–2017) graduated from Harvard University with a poetry degree, he had already co-produced and co-directed a full-length feature film, and helped co-fund the first film production society in the school’s history. Lerner felt that film should be a unified art and taught himself every aspect of filmmaking.

Lerner was long involved in the music circles and his subjects have included Isaac Stern, Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and Leonard Cohen. He was also a pioneer of the popular 3D technology that is the industry standard today with the films Sea Dream and Magic Journeys.