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40-475: Franz Liszt is living in Chamonix with Countess Marie D'Agoult, the mother of his children, when Frédéric Chopin and George Sand visit him. They tell him about all the things he has missed since he left Paris , and how a new piano virtuoso, Sigismond Thalberg , is captivating audiences. The Countess wants him to remain in seclusion and compose. She views performing as a tawdry occupation. Liszt cannot stand

80-455: A humid continental climate ( Dfb, according to the Köppen climate classification ) , with an average annual precipitation of 1,280 mm (50 in). Summers are mild and winters are cold and snowy . Chamonix is a winter sports resort town that still attracts skiers ready to test themselves both on the pistes in the official area and against the challenges of the backcountry skiing. As

120-405: A code for the keys that made sense only to him and flummoxed Aller. He frequently bled on the piano keys during filming, particularly when he had to mime the virtuosic La Campanella . Two soundtracks were released for the film. Colpix Records , a division of Columbia Pictures released Song Without End: Original Soundtrack Recording featuring Bolet on piano. In their first soundtrack recording,

160-628: A marginal activity, while the number of tourist beds available rose to around 60,000 by the end of the 20th century, with about 5 million visitors a year. The commune of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc includes 16 villages and hamlets. From north to south: Le Tour 1,462 m (4,797 ft), Montroc, Le Planet, Argentière 1,252 m (4,108 ft), Les Chosalets, Le Lavancher, Les Tines, Les Bois, Les-Praz-de-Chamonix 1,060 m (3,478 ft), Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Les Pècles, Les Mouilles, Les Barrats, Les Pélerins, Les Gaillands, and Les Bossons 1,012 m (3,320 ft). Due to its elevation, Chamonix has

200-474: A new screenplay. In 1958, veteran producer William Goetz took over the project with Oscar Millard as his screenwriter. Charles Vidor was finally assigned to direct using elements of all three screenwriters' scripts. It was continuously revised even as filming was underway. On June 4, 1959, Charles Vidor died of a heart attack. Bogarde was initially relieved because he thought it meant the film would be cancelled. Everyone had been miserable, particularly Capucine who

240-510: A rehearsal of the overture, he becomes a champion of his music. He agrees to premiere Lohengrin for Wagner after the composer has to flee an arrest warrant . Liszt is shown conducting the finale of Tannhäuser . The composer begins an affair with the Princess. She asks her husband for a divorce. After it is granted the couple are happily on the verge of marriage. When the Church discovers

280-648: A student of Jascha Heifetz ; his nephew, son of Felix Slatkin and Eleanor Aller, is noted American orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin . Leonard's brother, Frederick Zlotkin, an outstanding cellist, is the principal solo cello of the New York City Ballet, and a member of the Lyric Piano Quartet. Library of Congress authority record citing birth and death dates [1] Neil Lerner, Music’s Role in Hollywood’s Social Erasure of

320-489: Is a cog railway that provides access to the tourist site of Montenvers. Opened in 1909, its rail station was built next to SNCF's Chamonix station on the St Gervais-Vallorcine Line. In fact the two stations are directly linked. Montenvers provides further tourist access to middle and high mountain areas. Chamonix has one of the highest cable cars in the world, which links the town to the summit of

360-807: Is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France . It was the site of the first Winter Olympics , held in 1924 . Chamonix is situated in the French Alps just north of Mont Blanc , the highest mountain in Western Europe. Between the peaks of the Aiguilles Rouges and the notable Aiguille du Midi , it borders both Switzerland and Italy . It

400-516: Is linked to Switzerland by what used to be RN 506a. In 2006, it was converted to a Route Départementale 1506, with a part of it integrated into RN 205. The nearest airport to Chamonix is Geneva Cointrin International and it is 88 kilometres (55 miles) away. Chamonix is served by the metre-gauge St Gervais-Vallorcine Line , operated by SNCF . The line from Saint Gervais (on the standard-gauge rail network) to Chamonix opened in 1901; it

440-608: Is one of the oldest ski resorts in France, popular with alpinists and mountain enthusiasts. Via the cable car lift to the Aiguille du Midi it is possible to access the off-piste ( backcountry ) ski run of the Vallée Blanche (White Valley). The name Campum munitum, meaning fortified plain or field, had been used as early as 1091. By 1283 the name had been abbreviated to a similar form to the modern Chamonis. Other forms through

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480-680: The European Curling Championships in 1991 and 1999. The town of Chamonix is served by French Route Nationale 205 ( RN 205 ), nicknamed the Route blanche , or "white route", due to its snowiness. This is an extension of French autoroute 40 ( A40 ), similarly nicknamed the autoroute blanche , which ends at Le Fayet, a village in the commune of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains . The 11.6-km Mont Blanc Tunnel , which opened in 1965, links Chamonix to Courmayeur in Italy. Chamonix

520-480: The French Alpine Club rather than local residents. From the late 19th century on, tourist development was dominated by national and international initiatives rather than local entrepreneurs, though the local community was increasingly dependent upon and active in the tourist industry. The commune successfully lobbied to change its name from Chamonix to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1916. However, following

560-506: The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra was conducted by Morris Stoloff . The album include works by Liszt, Paganini, Handel, and Wagner. Liberty Records released The Franz Liszt Story to showcase the arrangements Harry Sukman made for the film. Sukman plays the piano and leads the orchestra. Liszt's music is given alternative titles on several tracks. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther praised

600-405: The Aiguille du Midi at 3842 m. It is based on an older system built in 1920, rebuilt in the first half of the 1950s over five summer seasons, fully modernized in 1979, and upgraded again in 2008. On the other side of the valley, another cable car links Chamonix to the viewpoint of Planpraz. A second line links Planpraz to the summit of Le Brévent at 2525 meters. Many other cable cars exist in

640-556: The Brahms piano quartets. Aller had family and professional ties to the quartet. His sister, Eleanor Aller , was its cellist, and her husband, Felix Slatkin , was its first violinist. They and the other quartet members were all musicians with the Hollywood studios of the era, and Victor Aller was the orchestra manager at Warner Bros. during the 1940s; by 1949, his hourly earnings amounted to $ 19.95 according to company records. Aller

680-451: The Princess lied about her husband marrying her when she was underage, they prevent her divorce. Liszt wills his estate to his children and retreats to a monastery. The success in 1945 of Charles Vidor's A Song to Remember about Frédéric Chopin was the germ for a biopic about Franz Liszt. By 1946, Columbia had three spec scripts from musician Theodore Kolline, but serious production did not begin until studio head Harry Cohn announced

720-514: The ages include Chamouny in 1581, Chamony in 1652, Chamouni in 1786, and the particular spelling Chamonix from 1793. Chamonix is the fourth-largest commune in metropolitan France , with an area of 245 km (95 sq mi). Its population of around 8,900 ranks 1,089th within the country of France. The valley was first mentioned in 1091, when it was granted by the Count of the Genevois to

760-477: The early 19th century led to the formation of the Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix in 1821, to regulate access to the mountain slopes (which were communally or co-operatively owned), and this association held a monopoly of guiding from the town until it was broken by French government action in 1892; thereafter guides were required to hold a diploma issued by a commission dominated by civil servants and members of

800-567: The fact that Vidor only shot about 15% of the film, Cukor refused a directing credit. As nearly 40 musical selections were heard in the film, Morris Stoloff , head of Columbia's music department, began immediate work on the soundtrack. After selecting the pieces to be played, he engaged piano virtuoso Jorge Bolet , the Roger Wagner Chorale , and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to perform the score. Harry Sukman

840-746: The finest biopics in terms of its musical content" because of its seamless incorporation of classical pieces throughout the film. The film won the Best Music score Academy Award for Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture (Musical). Both Bogarde and Capucine were nominated for Golden Globe Awards . Song Without End won Best Film - Musical at the 18th Golden Globe Awards . Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( French pronunciation: [ʃamɔni mɔ̃ blɑ̃] ; Arpitan : Chamôni-Mont-Blanc ), more commonly known simply as Chamonix ( Chamôni ),

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880-457: The great Benedictine house of St. Michel de la Cluse , near Turin , which by the early 13th century had established a priory there. However, in 1786 the inhabitants bought their freedom from the canons of Sallanches , to whom the priory had been transferred in 1519. In 1530, the inhabitants obtained from the Count of the Genevois the privilege of holding two fairs a year, while the valley

920-506: The highest European mountain west of Russia, Mont Blanc attracts mountain climbers . The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc has been held every August since 2003. There is a cable car up to the 3,842 m (12,605 ft) Aiguille du Midi . Constructed in 1955, it was then the highest cable car in the world and remains the highest vertical ascent cable car in the world. Chamonix is divided into three separate ski areas (Les Grands Montets, Brévent - Flégère, le domaine de Balme) which run along

960-638: The host city for the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 further raised Chamonix's profile as an international tourist destination. During the Second World War , a Children's Home operated in Chamonix, in which several dozens of Jewish children were hidden from the Nazis. Some of those who hid them were recognised as " Righteous Among the Nations ". By the 1960s, agriculture had been reduced to

1000-585: The lack of an audience and agrees to a recital in Paris, which is a sensation. In the audience is Princess Carolyne Wittgenstein, and Liszt is smitten. He travels to Russia to perform for the Czar. He resumes his performing career and avoids the Countess while he pursues the married Princess. Richard Wagner approaches Liszt after a performance with a score for Rienzi . Liszt brushes him off, but when he later hears

1040-747: The longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860. The first party to publish (1744) an account of their visit was that of Richard Pococke , William Windham and others, such as the Englishmen who visited the Mer de Glace in 1741. In 1742 came P. Martel and several other Genevese, in 1760 Horace Bénédict de Saussure , as well as rather later Marc-Théodore Bourrit . The growth of tourism in

1080-472: The loss of its monopoly, the Compagnie reformed as an association of local guides, and retained an important role in local society; it provided the services of a friendly society to its members, and in the 20th century many of them were noted mountaineers and popularisers of mountain tourism, notably the novelist Roger Frison-Roche, the first member of the Compagnie not to be born in Chamonix. Serving as

1120-496: The music: “A little bit of everything reflective not only of the talent of Liszt but also of most of the great composers of his highly romantic age—Wagner, Paganini , Beethoven , Verdi , Chopin—artists whose work he respected, assisted, embellished and often played, is packed into this picture. And it is brilliantly and beautifully performed...” However, he observed that “the host of characters were brushed in so superficially that they carry little conviction or emotional strength, and

1160-520: The performances of the actors are, by necessity, more elaborate than they are deep... However, as we say, the music thunders; the settings and costumes are superb—such Viennese concert halls and palaces and lush romantic trappings have never been surpassed in a color film—and, indeed, the sheer posing of the actors by the late Charles Vidor and George Cukor is so suave that anyone moved by musical richness and pictorial splendor should go quite nutty over this film.” Song Without End has been praised as "among

1200-518: The project in 1952. The film went through a kind of development hell for the next seven years as the script went from one writer to another and had to be edited extensively to please the censors. Cohn initially hired his friend Oscar Saul to write the screenplay and William Dieterle to direct. When the studio delayed going forward with the project due to production and casting issues for three years, Saul backed out, and Columbia announced in 1955 that Gottfried Reinhardt had been commissioned to write

1240-606: The rail route continues over the border into Switzerland, meeting the SBB network at Martigny . This latter section, a metre-gauge cog railway , is operated by Transports de Martigny et Régions SA. The train service from Vallorcine to Martigny is known as the Mont Blanc Express . Timetables on the St Gervais-Vallorcine and Vallorcine-Martigny sections are synchronized. The 5.1-km Montenvers Railway

Song Without End - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-588: The scenes in the film industry, and he taught piano in Hollywood , where his students sometimes included actors preparing to depict musicians on screen, such as Dirk Bogarde and Cornel Wilde. His present fame, however, rests primarily on his performances in acclaimed 1950s-vintage Capitol Records recordings with the Hollywood String Quartet , including accounts of piano quintets by Johannes Brahms , César Franck , and Dmitri Shostakovich , and

1320-633: The valley from Le Tour down to Les Houches. In addition to the 1924 Winter Olympic Games, the town hosts a round of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and the Arlberg-Kandahar . It previously hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1937 and the 1984 and 1988 Biathlon World Championships for women. The 1930 Ice Hockey World Championships was mostly held at Chamonix. The town also hosted

1360-471: The valley, and are heavily used by skiers and residents. The Plan Joran chairlift at the base of Les Grands Montets is due to be replaced by a 10-person gondola for the Winter 2014/15 season. Chamonix is twinned with: Victor Aller Victor Aller (March 26, 1905, New York City – May 1977, in the area of Los Angeles , California ) was an American pianist. He had a successful career behind

1400-470: Was acting for the first time. Vidor was extremely harsh towards her and difficult for everyone on set. George Cukor was flown in to finish the production. He set everyone at ease and made major changes to the entire film. He replaced James Wong Howe with Charles Lang , changed the costumes, and even had Anna Lee dub Patricia Morrison's dialogue. Cukor also abandoned Liszt's famous long hair, opting to make Dirk Bogarde look more like Elvis Presley . Despite

1440-400: Was extended to Vallorcine in 1908. The line holds the record for the steepest gradient on any standard ( adhesion ) railway. There are 10 stations on this line within the commune of Chamonix: Montroc-le-Planet , Argentière , La Joux , Les Tines , Les Praz-de-Chamonix , Chamonix-Mont-Blanc , Chamonix-Aiguille-du-Midi , Les Moussoux , Les Pélerins and Les Bossons . From Vallorcine ,

1480-452: Was in charge of the music editing and adaptations that were required of the scores. Musicologist Abram Chasins was a musical consultant on the film. The piano pieces were recorded before filming so Bogarde could learn the finger movements necessary to make him appear to be realistically playing piano. Bogarde had never played one. Victor Aller coached him for weeks before filming and was present on set to help with miming. Bogarde worked out

1520-535: Was married to violinist Ester Heller whom he met while both were attending Juilliard . A Warner film in which Victor Aller had direct input was The Beast with Five Fingers . Mr. Aller made a piano arrangement for the left hand of the Chaconne from J. S Bach 's Violin Partita in D minor , and, according to a press release, he spent 200 hours training actor Victor Francen in proper technique. Victor Aller's hand

1560-519: Was often visited by the civil officials and by the bishops of Geneva (first recorded visit in 1411, while St. Francis de Sales came there in 1606). But travellers for pleasure were very rare. Chamonix was part of the historical land of Savoy and emerged as the feudal territory of the House of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries. The historical territory is shared between the modern countries of France, Italy and Switzerland. The House of Savoy became

1600-437: Was used when the hand plays the piano in the film. Victor sat underneath the piano, wearing black velvet on his arm, so that the hand appeared disembodied. For Song Without End Victor provided technical instruction to Dirk Bogarde , who played the leading role of Franz Liszt . Aller's musical heritage lives on with relatives in succeeding generations. His daughter is concert violinist Judith Aller , and son Richard Aller

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