Today’s Guest: Philippe Quint, virtuoso violinist, actor, Downtown Express
Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of knuckleheads who don’t know a violin from violette… in the NEW new media capital of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida!
Let me see.
The last time I stopped what I was doing to listen a world class violinist was…
Okay, it hasn’t happened yet.
But after watching Philippe Quint move gracefully between classic violin and pop-jazz in David Grubin’s new indie film Downtown Express, it is definitely more likely to happen in the future.
PHILIPPE QUINT podcast excerpt: “I have great respect for the craft of acting. So when I was cast in Downtown Express, I took acting lessons with a wonderful teacher, Sondra Lee. She really trained me while the film was in pre-production. It was extremely beneficial.”
Downtown Express stars Quint – who is a four-time Grammy Award nominee for his violin virtuosity – as a Russian immigrant struggling to balance his love and respect for his domineering father with his desire to be part of Manhattan’s much broader musical melting pot.
That, and, of course, there’s a love story, as his character, Sasha, meets and plays alongside funky Ramona, played by another accomplished real-life musician, Nellie McKay.
This is an irresistible movie that magically melds the Julliard School of Music, Russian immigrant society, American jazz and classical music and not one but two romantic stories. I especially recommend it for inspiration if you have kids studying music in high school or college.
Philippe Quint Website • Twitter • Facebook • Wikipedia • IMDB • Order Bruch & Mendelssohn Violin Concertos/Beethoven Romances on CD from Amazon.com
The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!
Leave a Reply