Copying Beethoven
Synopsis
As her work of copying down the music of Beethoven proceeds, Anna is drawn into the maestro’s tortured and inspired world. She sees their collaboration as a God-sent opportunity to prove her own talent as a composer; he glimpses in her a pure soul who might help him realize the culmination of his art – the creation of the last string quartets, the most sublime and spiritual music ever written.
Beethoven reveals his growing need and affection for Anna as they work together on the string quartets. She boldly shows Beethoven her own work. Thoughtlessly, he derides it and she leaves him in despair.
Desperate, Anna accepts her longtime paramour, Martin’s, proposal of marriage. Beethoven storms after her - she must choose between Martin and him. Anna tries to flee Vienna but cannot; her destiny is linked to Beethoven’s. She returns to finish their work and finds him dying. From his dictation she copies the last of the quartets. His work on earth done, he frees her to become what he tells her she was born to be – a composer.
Details
- Year
- 2007
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 104 mins
- Format
- 35mm
- Director
-
Agnieszka Holland
- Producer
- Sidney Kimmel, Michael Taylor, Stephen J Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson
- Screenwriter
- Stephen J Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson
- Director of Photography
- Ashley Rowe BSC
- Principal cast
- Ed Harris, Diane Kruger
Genre
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
Copying Beethoven Ltd
Sales Company
Myriad Pictures
3015 Main Street, Suite 400Santa Monica CA 90405, USA
T+1 310 279 4000
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Mr. Jones
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Year: 2019
Academy Award™ nominee Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA, SPOOR, IN DARKNESS) brings to the screen the extraordinary untold story of Gareth Jones, an ambitious young Welsh journalist who travelled to the Soviet Union in 1933 and uncovered the appalling truth behind the Soviet “utopia” and Stalin’s regime. Initially a regular news investigation, Jones’ quest quickly turned into a life-or-death journey… his experiences helped inspire George Orwell’s famous allegory Animal Farm. Official Selection Berlinale 2019 - Competition - World premiere Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2019 - Debate Strand
The Short Life of Jaxon Blume
Director: Oliver Walker
Year: 2026
Two brothers embark on the journey of a lifetime to see the ocean, all while being hunted down by a detective for a murder they may or may not have committed.
Lluest
Director: Gareth Bryn
Year: 2028
Eryri, North Wales, 1780. Maggie Jenkins has spent her life caring for her dying father in isolation. When he finally dies, she sees a chance to escape the life of duty that has defined her. But then her brother Endaf, long presumed dead, returns through the snow with a wounded Algerian soldier in tow. Welcomed home as a hero, Endaf soon reveals himself to be cold, controlling and dangerous. When the village takes Maggie’s home and inheritance from her and gives them to Endaf, she is pushed to the brink. Set against the brutal winter landscape of 18th-century North Wales, LLUEST is an elemental revenge drama about a woman forced to fight for her freedom — and what happens when she finally refuses to be silenced.