As the tunes of Drei Klavierstücke II, written by Franz Schubert and played by Seymour Bernstein floated through Ashley Square Cinema, there was not a dry eye in the house.
The audience sat through the credits in silence until the lights turned. Many sat for moments after, without making a move to get up off their chairs, still in awe of the film they had witnessed.
Seymour: An Introduction played on Wednesday night to a theater full of music enthusiasts, students and teachers alike.
The documentary is based on the life of world-famous classical pianist and composer Seymour Bernstein. At the age of three, he remembers realizing that playing the piano was what he was meant to do, and after multiple published works, hundreds of concerts and performing on the front lines in Korea, Bernstein decided at the age of 50 decided to leave the spotlight because he “couldn’t stand the commercial aspect of it.”
For the last 25 years of his life, he has been teaching his love of the piano to those who want to learn it. Bernstein came out of his retirement to play a small concert for actor—and the documentary’s producer—Ethan Hawke’s theater group, which serves as the climax to the documentary.
The hour-and-25-minute film currently has a 100% rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes and many critics are saying that it will be nominated for an Oscar.
“I was stunned,” Bernstein said when talking about the film with DePauw students, faculty and staff in Emison on Wednesday night.
Bernstein was brought to DePauw’s campus by DePauw alum James Stewart. Stewart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and columnist for the New York Times is one of Bernstein’s pupils.
“I am the humble student of Seymour,” Stewart said, “I take piano lessons with him, it’s one of the highlights of my life.”
For 90 minutes every other week, Stewart ventures to Bernstein’s one-room New York apartment for lessons.
The film not only focused on Bernstein as a musician but also as a person, detailing some of his personal relationships along with his creative blocks and anxieties throughout his career.
“If you feel inadequate as a musician, you feel inadequate as a person,” Bernstein said in the documentary.
This quote struck a chord with many members of the audience, particularly students in the School of Music.
“That resonated with me very deeply,” said sophomore school of music student Saige Huiet. “I feel like that as a musician often and to hear someone as pronounced and successful as Seymour Bernstein say that, it was very inspirational.”
Bernstein gave a master class to several lucky DePauw University School of Music students on Sunday night. Eric Heaton and Shiyu Su both prepared piano pieces for months in advance.
Bernstein worked with each of the students individually in front of an audience to help make their playing better. “The audience got to watch, listen and learn as he was teaching them,” said senior school of music student Erin Tolar.
“I told the students straight out,” Bernstein said in an interview with The DePauw, “In all the years that I’ve given master classes, this one was way on the top of the list; the two students who played for me were sensational”
The documentary is now on DVD and Bernstein will be releasing a book early next year composed of his conversations with author and religious scholar Andrew Harvey.
Regardless of the fame and the recognition, Bernstein said that it hasn’t fazed him.
“I’m exactly the same,” he said, “above all you have to be humble.”