whether Gassman and Ericson played violin and piano resp. in real life? I realize they did not really play in the movie, but it looked like they must have had some knowledge of the instruments. Amazing performances.
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Ah f++k it dude, let's go bowlin'.
I think Gassman did play violin in real life (don't know about Ericson).
And yes, they were amazing performances. ;)
They both knew a lot about the instrument! And not only about the instrument, but they were also knowledgeable of the pieces they played: Tchaikovsky's violin Concerto and Rachmaninoff's 2nd Concerto
Every parting from you is like a little eternity.
I was just going to ask the same question. The scenes where Gassman plays the violin look pretty darn authentic! I played the violin for years, so it's pretty hard for someone to fool me very easily. No mention of him playing the violin in his imdb bio, though. I would just love to know!
shareI just checked with TCM. Here is what it says about the film:
>>MGM pulled out all the stops to make the classical performances convincing. One-time child prodigy Michael Rabin supplied Gassman's violin playing, while Claudio Arrau dubbed for Ericson on the piano.<<
Well, all I can say is that his playing sure did look authentic!