This channel hopes to ignite a love of music in viewers, whatever their musical background, with a mixture of stimulating musical content, a little bit of analysis and cultural context, and a tiny spot of humour.
The Music Professor is a collaboration between Professor Matthew King and Ian Coulter. Matthew is a composer, pianist and professor of composition at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Ian is also a composer and pianist, as well as director and editor of the channel.
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I remember having a go at playing this piece and thinking 'there's got to to something I'm missing here, there's no way a Chopin piece is this easy to pick up' (relatively speaking). Then it came to the second half and I found that a bit more difficult, thinking 'Ah, there we go.' Still, this piece is one of my favourites out of the preludes.
I've never "learned" either version, but I've heard, and occasionally read through, the 1810 version. I much prefer the 1822 rethinking. The arpeggios displaced from the downbeat are *fun* to play, and give the passages something like... well... maybe a kind of 3-dimensionality or depth lacking in the on-the-beat original. The only part that I really stumble over is the new transition at 27-29. I can't yet get a grip on what you call its elegance. Maybe the original's no-nonsense, get-on-with-it transition is just too deeply embedded in my brain, so the new transition feels like an interruption, as though the needle skipped on the LP or I'm suddenly reading the wrong line in the score. Hmmm. Practice more!!
I really did not know about the original/fast tempo and I feel like it changes the mood behind the piece, it becomes a less peaceful, more tormented, fluctuating up and down and ultimately less comforting in a way It is almost like slowing it down erases that “torment” by making it closer to an Ave Maria type of piece (i don’t know where I’m going with this, just wanted to say thank you for this great video!!!)
Thanks I wish he would sing it to us instead of talking it out , that could be the singer in me talking . Also I can listen to him for hours lik therapy.
Since probably the late 19th century there has always been this desire by certain composers to knock Beethoven down a few notches. This either stems from massive ignorance or massive insecurity, or in the case of the video - drugs??? The only other composer near his level is Bach. Regarding melody - he was probably the greatest true instrumental melodist. The Ninth alone is a masterclass of melody. From the opening melody based on the primal 5ths to the invention of the never ending lyrical melody of the 3rd movement to the fact that he purposefully created, in the Ode to Joy, a melody so simple a child could play it, yet so profound that it has inspired people for 200 years, Beethoven shows that he bends the nature of melody to his will. I don’t know of any other composer that could distill so much power into a melody that only has 5 notes played stepwise. I know it’s sacrilege, but I revere his fugues more than Bach’s, and I LOVE Bach! Beethoven just did so much more with the concept. The Grosse Fuge alone is probably the single greatest piece ever written, but the variety and depth of his fugues are just beyond astonishing. When I studied music there was so much to be made about the mathematical underpinnings of Bach’s fugues, which is truly amazing, but I think Fugal writing really came into it’s zenith with the late works of Beethoven. And Bernstein never discussed rhythm, for which again Beethoven is at his greatest. Even Stravinsky was forced to acknowledge this. His rhythmic genius gives his music immense power - a power that was not even close to equaled until the 20th century. He was also a great harmonist, his focus being on the teleological nature of his work instead of just for color. I think Bernstein, talented though he was, shows himself to be a true idiot for putting this nonsense on video.
Interesting comment. I too am a huge fan of Beethoven's fugues. I think Bernstein is using hyperbole here to make a dramatic point. He loves Beethoven really!
Very interesting analysis, thank you. I really would like to hear this series continue. My favourite part of the first movement is the beginning of the development where he starts to shift the key of the opening, just before the bassoon solo.
Fun question for anyone here; how do you rate Michel compared with Tatum, Peterson, Powell, Benny Green or more modern players like Jesus Molina??? Ive got grade 8 piano but i cannot fathom these players out. I can do two different versions of Michels "Looking up" from transcriptions though. I would give anything to learn the jazz language of these guys but i get zero help from people. Ive had great classical piano teachers who just say - oh its above me that kind of playing. Is there any online course from Berkley or similar teaching this stuff? l have tried countless note for note books of solos, but just go round in circles. Its like tongue twisters for your fingers:) Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
The Tondichter! He knew the last wonder before the grave, he led captivity captive, and his courage and refusal to despair have saved countless numbers of those of us who have had to suffer.
The list is arbitrary by nature. While it would be almost impossible to make a significant comment on each piece, the music was however mostly glossed over by an almost dismissive attitude. Who, currently alive, hasn't heard of Morricone and/or The Mission and/or Gabriel's oboe? Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto is however unarguably a good choice.
Not intentionally dismissive. The whole thing is a bit of a joke because, as you point out, the list is arbitrary, and so we were just having a bit of fun with it. I'm a Morricone fan but I have to admit I've never seen The Mission.
8:22 Ok, l was ready to like this after the Beethoven, and l just went into another world. But please, don't ever denigrate Barber. I absolutely agree that Barber wrote many more amazing pieces, and so did Grieg. Lol, I'll just shut up and enjoy! But if you ever want to enjoy a public debate about the best concerto of the 20th century, l would be happy to stump for Barber. Now, l am a trombone player and l have a huge bias toward pieces like the Chavez bone concerto and many others. But literally nobody has ever written a movement like the 2nd movement of the Barber piano concerto. I mean, it's not even close for 60 years later.
I really admire Barber. I wasn't wanting to denigrate him here. I think I was just commenting on how the Adagio has become a trope. Not Barber's fault of course.
@themusicprofessor My friend, l have to heartfeltly apologize for the fact that l stumbled upon this video while l had had a few too many glasses of wine after a long week at work. And l have absolutely no idea what l was going on about! I actually agree with everything you say here and love your impromtu keyboard renditions of all the various famous themes as well as your analysis. I hope you will accept this apology and l look forward to more of your content going forward. Again, my sincere apologies.
@themusicprofessor And to be more specific about Barber, l absolutely agree that the Adagio is vastly overplayed and overrated compared to much of his other work. I do enjoy listening to it in its original context within his string quartet, but it has probably been a couple of decades since l willingly listened to the string orchestra version by itself.
Interesting that he agreed with his critics and replaced the middle movement (andante favori) of the Waldstein with a remarkable introduction to the finale. Shows how much he moved on.
And he listened to critics at the end of his life and replaced the Grosse Fuge with a new finale to his Op. 133 quartet, which I think is a bit of a shame!
Fine lecture, inspiring, I am taken to my knees every day playing Chopin. I remember nothing of theory and find it a difficult task, so everything I appreciate is on instinct
Awesome! The tritone seems like he's adding a blue note. We play the flat 5th as the blues note playing pentatonic blues. I guess the big difference is playing them together, right? Thx for the great video!
McCartney's genius really shines in this Rubber Soul through Abbey Road. His melodies are absuktely brilliant. I agree - Lennon and McCartney's competitive ness really drove them forward. Love it! Thank you!
Hi! I'm a catalan fan of Mompou too! You have to know that in the midle of the composition Mompou uses a traditional catalan song called "La filla del marxant". Mompou is full of catalan songs in "Cançons i danses" and, at the same time, wrote variations on Chopin. You can find his complete works played by himself. It's an amazing recording!
I had never heard of him before, but this is wonderful and l will certainly check out more of his stuff. Thanks for posting this! Also, l just have to say that my first impression was that he sounds like better Radiohead from decades before Radiohead existed.
@themusicprofessor Yes, exactly. His voice is nothing like Thom Yorke's, nor is the timbre of the music similar. But in terms of melody, harmony, and rhythm, there is definitely a resemblance. I could imagine that he might have been a major influence for Yorke.
18th century listener and me waking up after pardy hardy: "At least i know where i am now ... -" i love this sonata so much because its like still classical but somewhat 18th century is definitely over lol. And in the development theres already a chord my beloved Webern would have composed! Guess where!
@@themusicprofessor thats so cool too but by far not the spiciest sound! The trill in T174, 182, 184! The whole „chord“ with that extreme stretched voicing (as you showed) including the highlighted F almost sounds Webernesque for my taste, althogh it can be explained through doubledominant, organ point in the middle and f just being an ornament, not part of the Harmony, i believe this is no accident that Beethoven reaches the Most modern spheres right before the recap.
What will future listeners make of this in 50 /100/200 years’ time? I’m always fascinated by the filtering of music which happens - it’s almost evolutionary, I suppose, composers writing odd stuff 300 years ago would probably have died out pretty quickly… Unless they got famous first, so looking back, there’s a sense of the successful appropriating the more experimental stuff around. So, how to make sense of the past - what happened to B/H/M/B’s contemporaries? Who established a performance tradition enabling a foothold on the slippery climbing wall to avoid being swept away ? Constantly fascinating question, and surely the source of the great joys of rediscovery of stuff that fell by the wayside….
And just not to forget: Beethoven is the Mozart of music! So I am eagerly waiting for the second theme (and your next +22 episodes about the 9th symphony! :) )
