THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The seats of Tagore Theatre were filled on Saturday evening to witness the spectacle Silent Films With Live music by Jonny Best, British Film Institute Southbank’s house pianist who specializes in improvisation and silent film accompaniment.
Jonny with his magic on piano keys transported the spectators on a spooky ride while narrating the German film, Nosferatu on screen. Yes, Jonny was successful in creating an eerie atmosphere inside the theatre as the standing ovation of the audience at the end says it all. The musician from the United Kingdom who flew down for the IFFK will be performing music accompaniment for four silent films in the coming days at Tagore theatre. TNIE joins in a tete-a-tete with the pianist who also performed at the 50 IFFI.
The musician is all love for his audience who expressed their gratitude for the performance with applause. He is excited to make his second performance in India after playing for IFFI in three silent films. “Including Nosferatu, I will be presenting a total of five shows for the audience here. Through the artistic director, I came to know that the audience here is very knowledgeable about cinema.
So I wanted to show the range of silent films all way from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and even the United States as they are different. On Sunday, the musical approach for the film, The Parson’s widow will be very gentle and subtle as it’s a world drama on the lives of a few people living in the village. It will be a quite opposite experience of day one Nosferatu to the audience. For me, it was an honour to play before them as they are a lovely crowd”.
Ask him about the toughest musical for him among the five and he says, The Foolish Wives is to be screened on Monday as it is two and a half hours film. It is yet another 1922 release and I haven’t played it before”.
Jonny is an expert in the combination of music and dramatic storytelling with a dedicated career for it working in theatre, musical theatre, opera, orchestral music, arts festivals and film. He also performs regularly at venues and festivals around the UK and internationally. In 2022, he completed PhD research at the University of Huddersfield Music Department, which focuses on silent film piano improvisation.
Explaining on his journey in music and silent films, he says, “there is something distinct about silent films with live music. It is a particular kind of experience as I see it as a craft. What I do is tailor my improvisation playing to the film trying to be in the present tense with the film much as possible and express the film. There is something distinct about live music in silent films. It is not the same at all as watching with film with recorded music. There is some kind of dynamic experience that is understood only when experienced”.
On his improvisation of silent film accompaniment, he adds, “I started ten years ago.
I worked in theatre music all my life and I was looking for a change. A friend of mine inspired me in the genre. I wanted to try it. I always loved to work on music which can tell stories. So it is the natural evolution for me to try it as I was mesmerised to look at how music can impact storytelling. I was always fascinated by film music so I want a new challenge. I am still exploring playing the piano with new sounds. Because the more I develop my skills in piano, rather than thinking too much of the fingers on the keys I can immerse in the film”.
Isn’t it difficult to watch the film screen and play, to which he laughs and answers “When I started ten years ago, it was. One needs lots of concentration. I watched the respective silent films multiple times to experience them before making music for them. The beauty of playing music for these films lies in improvisation too. I began improvisation when I started to play the piano at a young age. The keys are lit bright so that I can look at the screen and from the corner of my eyes I can look at the keys too. The more I look at the screen the better relationship between music and film is. I watch the film in a muted version first and think about what contribution the music can make and the kind of syllable I can use after understanding the real sound of film used also”.