Exhaling Music is an informative documentary on the composer Fred Jonny Berg. It is made to take the viewer inside the mind of a composer, musician, and artist. I think that the filmmaker chose to make this film to inform audiences of the amazing talent and hard work that goes on behind the scenes of their favorite musicians. It really makes me think of all the incredible work that goes into just one song. Even though this documentary is specifically about an orchestra and not necessarily the type of music I listen to, I can imagine a lot of work similarly goes on for the types of music I listen to--on a smaller scale, however.
The beginning of this documentary takes you inside the mid of Fred Jonny Berg. It's crazy because he is almost like a schizophrenic but instead of hearing voices, he hears music. He really does inhale and exhale music; melodies and songs are constantly running through his mind. The filmmaker had Fred explain what it was like to create and compose music and at one point he described it as, "turning your soul inside out and letting others step on it." Instead of the thoughts that average people have, he thinks in notes. So to create music, it is like him spilling his thoughts out onto a piece of paper for the world to see.
Fred Jonny Berg seems like he is struggling on the inside. He doesn't connect well with people and is just awkward when it comes to socializing. Even though he has such incredible amounts of talent, he still doesn't seem very happy. I think that a lot of times, people who have such talent in one area kind of struggle with the day to day things because they don't connect or think the same way that most people do. This documentary made me kind of sad for him because despite all the success, he seemed slightly depressed.
He received the privilege of having the conductor that he had admired for years, Vladmir Ashkinazy, to conduct an orchestra in a recording session. He seemed very excited and nervous but during the first day of recording, he still seemed like his uncomfortable/awkward self. The next day of recording, Vladmir came down with the flu and could not conduct. The only possible replacement was Fred. Despite never having conduct an orchestra, he decided that he was better than nothing. As soon as he got out of his comfort zone and started interacting with people as he was conducting, he seemed to have a different light about him. Even though he didn't know what he was doing, he seemed to be happier and to be having more fun. The piece that he had conducted turned out great but I think that more importantly, he tried something new and gained a whole new kind of life experience.
I'm pretty sure that the filmmaker was just trying to inform the viewers of Fred Jonny Berg and his incredible work and talent. I, however, found a slightly different meaning. When Vladmir came down with the flu, it seemed like the worst possible scenario. But I personally believe that with every bad thing, there is something good and worthwhile that comes out of it. And in this situation, it forced Fred to try something new and have an exciting experience.
I really enjoyed this documentary and all that it has to offer. It really made me think about all the work that goes on behind the scenes of things. I also loved thinking about the life lessons that this documentary contains.
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