Music of the Heart

19991999
PGPG
2h 4min

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 5 wins & 11 nominations total

Roberta & Isabel in the classroom

Roberta & son

Meryl Streep stars as Roberta Guaspari

Meryl Streep stars as Roberta Guaspari

Roberta instructs a boy in playing the violin

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Meryl Streep in Music of the Heart (1999)

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

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The true story of a young teacher who fights against the board of education in her bid to teach underprivileged kids in a Harlem school the beauty of music through the violin. In her struggle she loses everything as the system comes down on her with all their might but her determination for the kids happiness helps her to battle back with wonderfully inspirational results. —Kryp <capthowdee@hotmail.com>

violin teacher school female protagonist musician 38 more

Taglines
- She gave them a gift they could never imagine. They gave the system a fight it would never forget.
Genres
- Drama
- Music
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG for brief mild language and sensuality
Parents guide

Trivia
Meryl Streep learned to play the violin, by practicing six hours a day for four weeks.

Goofs
At the end of Roberta's first week of teaching, Brian visits her apartment to celebrate. When he enters the room, Roberta has just finished putting three large curlers in her hair on the left side. They disappear after the two of them kiss.

Quotes
Roberta Guaspari: [entering Dorothea's house after a stressful rehearsal for a huge concert] Oh, I can't believe I *ever* agreed to do this! You should hear the Bach double. Ha-ha-ha! It's a *complete* disaster!
Dorothea von Haeften: Good morning...
Roberta Guaspari: Good morning. Well, the good news is the tickets are selling like hotcakes. The bad news is, the kids sound like shit...
Dorothea von Haeften: There's more bad news. We've lost the Y.

Crazy credits
Please support arts and music education.

Connections
Featured in At the Movies: Double Jeopardy/Jakob the Liar/Mumford (1999)

Soundtracks
Turn the Page
Performed by Aaliyah
Written by Guy Roche and Shelly Peiken
Produced and arranged by Guy Roche
Mixed by Mick Guzauski
Arranged, orchestrated & conducted by David Campbell (uncredited)
Aaliyah appears courtesy of Blackground Entertainment, Inc.
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

Top review

Inspiring, Heart-warming Film Thanks To Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep was made for the part of Roberta Guaspari, a woman who is convinced she can teach ghetto chidren to play the violin, one of the most difficult of all instruments to learn. Against all odds, she perseveres to convince the parents of the valuable lessons that can be learned through music. If you liked Mr. Holland's Opus, chances are that you will love Music of the Heart. Meryl Streep makes this movie work although she gets some acting help from Aidan Quinn, Angela Bassett and Cloris Leachman. Even though it is a little overly dramatic at times, it still touches you with its message and its spirit.

helpful•32

3

gitrich
Nov 22, 1999

Did Meryl Streep actually play the violin in the movie?

Release date
- October 29, 1999 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Official sites
- Official Facebook
- Official site
Languages
- English
- Spanish
Also known as
- Fiddlefest
Filming locations
- New York City, New York, USA
Production companies
- Craven-Maddalena Films
- Miramax
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $27,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
- $14,859,394
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,653,281
- Oct 31, 1999
Gross worldwide
- $14,936,407

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 2h 4min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Angela Bassett, Meryl Streep, and Gloria Estefan in Music of the Heart (1999)

Top Gap

By what name was Music of the Heart (1999) officially released in India in English?

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