He was a master. My mother, bless her, was a concert pianist and a music teacher. She always told me that Chico Marx was a genius. I never tire of watching him doing these miraculous antics on the piano. I love all the Marx Brothers films. They were a unique family.
While he was good, my grandmother who knew him in vaudeville said they Chico was an entertaining piano player. However she said Harpo was a musician extraordinaire. Chico took lessons in piano where Harpo taught himself piano, harp and clarinet- he didn’t have formal lessons until he was famous- but he had the music inside of him
@Mxyzptlksac In his memoirs, "Harpo Speaks" , Harpo confessed that Chico would pass each lesson on to him, as soon as the piano teacher left. However, the teacher was only proficient with her left hand, which explains Chico's creativity with his right hand. True that Harpo was entirely self taught on the harp, in fact, his harp was improperly tuned so that Harpo played only the upper 2/3rds of the strings, placing rubber bands on the lowest 1/3, so he could stick his foot through them, fire arrows and other comic nonsense. No harpist on Earth has yet figured out how Harpo could play so improperly.......... and yet so beautifully. I highly recommend reading Harpo Speaks ( one of the funniest books ever ) that reveals the brothers as case studies in personality development. Chico spoiled and vain. Harpo forever in Chico's shadow. Groucho cynically resenting his brother's behavior, driven intellectually and constantly seeking mom's approval while never truly feeling loved by any woman. Poor guy lost virginity and caught the clap at the same time. Read it. You'll thank me for the recommendation.
Nobody could play like him. It's not even so much what he is playing, but how he is playing. The finger theatrics are one of a kind. I also love in this video how his hands look like they are floating detached from his body.
Actually it's an Italian song, called "Reginella Campagnola" ("farmer belle"), very very famous in Italy, of the late 30s by Eldo Di Lazzaro and Bruno Cherubini , whick has been re-arranged in the most famous Glenn Miller's "Woodpecker Song". Chico is fantastic here.
Great! I´d like to add that I first heard about the Marx brothers from my father. He always had a broad smile when telling me about them. That is why I got interested in them and I found the reason why it was so.
How on earth does Chico even think of playing with an apple. It would never come to my mind. He's much more entertaining to listen to and watch more than any concert pianist
I play piano and I wonder how many hours of practice it takes to have that kind of stamina. Teachers always tell you to practice slowly, you don't build your hand stamina that way. Of course, all of the practice in the world I wouldn't be as good as Chico. He is a true Master at the piano.
It's called "The Woodpecker Song." It was composed by Eldo Di Lazzaro in 1939. English lyrics were added by lyricist Harold Adamson, who is probably best remembered for "Around the World" (with Victor Young). The song was made famous by Glenn Miller, The Andrews Sisters, and Kate Smith, all of whom recorded it in 1940. It was also sung that year by Gene Autry and Mary Lee in the movie "Ride Tenderfoot Ride".
He was always brilliant on the piano, as was Harpo on the harp. He was self taught and it was only after he started to earn some money that he could afford harp lessons. He then found out that he had been playing the harp the wrong way round. When he plays harp on film you can see his true personality come out. Same as Chico with the piano.
The song was "Reginella Campagnola" (Woodpecker Song) which was composed in 1939 by Eldo Di Lazzaro, with lyrics written by varous lyricists. Its first major recording was by Kate Smith with the Glen Miller Orchestra, and many others recorded it thereafter. Chico Marx liked it and got permission from the copyright holders to use his version of it in the movie.
His left hand DOES stop at 1:15? There are some other places where his left hand does not jive with what is being heard? Anyways.... Still a very cool song.... and I'm sure he COULD play the piece..
@@accipiterignitus5123 not fake, if you knew anything about film making you would know that the soundtrack is added post production and that occasionally continuity issues slip through. Chico was a concert pianist and Harpo played the Harp and piano at professional levels as well. You're obviously too young to understand what talented people there were in the family, and what natural talent is compared to the auto-tuned cgi world of today. Sad little world you live in, you should educate yourself in the arts more, you might enjoy it. Have a nice day
@@roberthunter4884 You know nothing about me. What I see is you saw my comment and started to criticize me as if I'm your student. I was unclear but I thought exactly what you said in your comment. I meant the live performance shown in this clip is fake, in other words, it's not a live performance, it's just a movie so it's normal seeing fingers moving weird. You didn't even know what I meant, what are you arguing for?
@@roberthunter4884 then your advice is useless, I already know this world is packed with ''auto-tuned cgi'' and I never enjoyed these trash (just let u know in case u didn't) and if you think my old comment makes you unhappy, just report it
Chico and Roy Clark were both geniuses at entertaining the audience with their musical skill, humorous antics, weird playing styles and facial expressions. Liberace was also in that category to a lesser degree. You could not help but smile listening to and watching them.
He did the apple thing in a TV show a few years later, it must have been a part of his solo show in later years. However, in this clip, there seems to be a trick of some kind: the sound of the keys pressed by the apple actually starts before the apple reaches them. What's weird is that the rest of the performance seems live, everything in the image is perfectly in sync with the sound.
Sweet song. But was that a playback recording? Notice the notes at: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lQeuw880tKI.html when he's fetching the apple and not yet laid his finger on the piano, but we hear the music.
Paul's good, but he'll never be Chico good. Same as for Chico's talents (which are never shown to their full potential) in comparison to Liberace (basically genius level on piano, tied with Victor Borge).
