A year and a half ago, Colgate University music professor Laura Klugherz received a letter from a film company interested in using a piece of her music for an upcoming documentary about World War II.
Klugherz didn’t think much about the request. In fact, she tucked the letter away in her files.
“When you make recordings, one gets a letter from a film company every once in a while and you don’t take it seriously all the time because they’re considering other pieces of music from other artists as well,” explains Klugherz.
Fast forward to September 2007.
With the release of Ken Burns’s The War drawing closer, Klugherz’s curiosity got the best of her. “I started wondering about that request from Florentine Films, the company making the documentary,” she said.
Sure enough, Florentine Films chose her work “La Captive” from Klugherz’s album Amy Beach: Music for Violin/Viola and Piano.
“I was surprised that they found this particular piece because it was recorded about ten years ago with my music partner Jill Timmons. However, I could see how it would fit in with the film because ‘La Captive’ is very soulful, very pensive.”
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The cut of “La Captive” is played twice in episode two of The War, a critically acclaimed documentary airing on PBS. The music, paired with different poignant situations, is an essential element in evoking emotion and telling the story of heroism and heartbreak during World War II.
“Music brings emotions to a place that words can’t always go,” said Klugherz, a celebrated violinist who has performed around the world.
Her recording is mixed in with the works of well-known artists such as Wynton Marsalis, who actually composed and performed a number of works specifically for the documentary.
In September, Klugherz attended a special preview of The War at The Hamilton Movie Theater. Watching the documentary for the first time was a deeply personal and emotional journey for her.
The connection went beyond her music.
“I spent formative years of my life in Germany, so I was very much able to relate to the places. Also, to have my ‘La Captive’ played at a place where I spent time and be able to relate to that history as I did when I was living in Germany as a student was very moving.”