Doylestown Writer To Screen Film, Discuss Book 'Beethoven In Beijing'

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A documentary film chronicling a true story of Philadelphia's music history — and spanning continents — will screen at Doylestown's County Theater on Thursday.

Jennifer Lin, a Doylestown-based journalist, wrote "Beethoven in Beijing: Stories from the Philadelphia Orchestra's Historic Journey to China" by looking back 50 years in the archives, to when President Richard Nixon pulled back the "bamboo curtain" isolating the U.S. and China and the Philadelphia Orchestra became the first American orchestra to tour the People's Republic.

Maestro Eugene Ormandy later called the 10-day visit in 1973 “bigger than music.”

Lin's book on the subject also led to the documentary film she co-directed, now set to screen in Doylestown — and on Wednesday night at the Ambler Theater.

The screenings will feature a Q&A with Lin, co-director Sharon Mullally, and producer Sam Katz, founder of History Making Productions. Lin will also be signing her new book, an oral history of the 1973 China tour of the Philadelphia Orchestra published by Temple University Press.

“I had spent years researching the history of classical music in China, but only a fragment of that material was included in the movie,” said Lin, a former Beijing correspondent for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

She decided to use that research, as well as fresh material from personal journals, press reports and unclassified diplomatic cables, to weave an oral history of the China tour, a milestone in U.S.-China relations.

At the time of the visit, Nixon was trying to normalize relations with China. Their job was to win over the Chinese public, and they succeeded.

“This tour was memorable both for the Americans and the Chinese musicians they encountered,” Lin says. “I wanted to let them tell the story in their own words.”

The Philadelphia Orchestra also opened up its archives, lending almost 100 photographs for the book.

Lin notes that the book and film come at a time when relations between the United States and China are increasingly tense. She hopes the film reminds people of the power of culture to connect people.

“That’s as true today as it was in 1973,” she said.

Sponsored by the Doylestown Bookshop, the event at the County Theater at 20 E State St. will start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, and general admission tickets are $12.

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