Bream has shown me an entirely new concept to music interpretation in this video. The actions behind the sounds. "whats that mountain? Fuji? It sounded like you tumbled all the way down it!"
Bream's understanding of the pieces, the tone required, the dynamics, the tempo is something else, so sensitive, it's fantastic, how many of us play a piece and are thinking about breakfast or something else :)
i love listening to Bream his articulation and expressiveness when either praising or reproaching is commendable; definitely something worthy of imitation
These videos are truly inspirational. At roughly the 13:15 point, where Bream sensitively ‘corrects’ Britten’s pianistic markings and then demonstrates this mesmerising section of repeated chords... I hate to be pretentious or to romanticise but one can actually see the fire behind his eyes. Whatever you want to call it... it’s there. The sheer depth and the ease of his musicianship is almost scary to witness up close in these classes. The combination of Bream and Britten and their respective geniuses is a 20th/21st century treasure for humanity. I make no apology for any perceived hyperbole!!
No hyperbole. This is an honest observation. If anyone chooses to dispute this then we really need to enjoy their legacy and look forward to those master classes.
Incredible how much thought Bream has put (and wants the student to put) in the playing of virtually every note, in the phrasing, articulation, dynamics etc... That painstaking process explains the unique musical quality of all of Bream's interpretations. Which does not exclude an ironic wink 28:22.
What I find with all of these, the moments in the pieces where I start to lose concentration in my listening are the moments he picks on to correct. These ideas Bream has of an overall integrity of sound and shape, a high level of conscious playing at all times, listening to one’s own sound rather than just aiming for technical reproduction, enable the music to hold our attention throughout.
Well said. His interpretation of every moment is better than the student’s interpretation of that moment, and these students are excellent. He is just a genius, and they are merely excellent. You have to be better than excellent to truly be moving in your playing.
“As though you can’t remember something” .. “no, you remembered it”. Oh man! the subtlety of this piece! Never was there a piece where the player must express from so deep inside the mind. Yes it is dark but no it’s not ‘evil’ - it’s honest to the visceral nature of mind. Mæstro Bream with this piece written for him - must have been an intimidating class!
We should never forget what we owe to those pioneer guitarists who had to fight against the poor image of the guitar, as we were not even born and who were masters as were still were babies. Julian Bream must be reminded and honoured as a truly open-minded musician, it means as musician, who knew and felt the greatness of creativity in classical and jazz music. We all will miss him.
And never forget the pioneering work & compositions of allan holdsworth ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-la_Y0kZs5bc.htmlsi=MFpVodQniGMHrWzL
This piece takes some exposure and study to fully appreciate, but I now truly feel it is the most profound piece ever written for the guitar. Difficult, but written beautifully for the instrument, beautifully scored, and with such fresh ideas. No cliches anywhere, truly groundbreaking for 1964, and still so today. We owe Both Britten and Mr. Bream our everlasting gratitude. A technical comment: A way to add more depth to the right hand thumb sound is to bend the thumb tip slightly inward, letting the nail push (fall) downward through the string instead of dragging it across with the tip bent outward. This could help the first player play with a darker, fuller tone even when playing softly.
The thing is that they ARE good. It’s just that he is a genius. He is WAY beyond where they are, but they are still legitimately excellent players. It’s amazing to me how his advice is always on point and he is able to drop into a really complicated piece at any point and instantly be amazing. He is the best classical player that I have ever heard, and on top of that he is a great teacher.
Fascinating watching and listening but for the life of me not sure how anyone to withstand the torture of learning this piece ,its so off the wall ,be agony to learn it
I think they really appreciate the constructive criticism, but yeha, pretty nerve racking on camera. Bream certainly has a nonsense approach. In demeanour he rather reminds me of an 18th century innkeeper or something, you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of him. His meticulous attention to detail seems deeply engrained within him. Could you imagine seeing how he practiced every day? Brutal!!
I'd say I'm a rather accomplished player myself, but in the grand scheme of the totality of classical genius I'd say I'm about 5% of Breams, and I may be too generous to myself. He was the total package. Probably the most dynamic classical guitarist .
The single note appraisal on a very good guitarist from 8:30 on-wards - imagine! This is back to basics stuff.... However, I'm prepared to train hard and get that one note correct ! Bream's interpretation throughout is as always amazing and the format of the show is what we need today as entertainment AND to benefit the scholar. Why can't we see more "Magician and Apprentice" (c) - Andy Jackson (2020) on TV in various skill formats ??
They thought they were good until they met "The Man"! (Pressure must be intense for them). Some years ago, a friend asked if I would play my guitar for him. I had never played for anyone previously, (& to be frank I was not very good!), but I made a lot of mistakes I didn't usually make. My friend asked if it would help me if he looked out of the window!... lol I said it may help if he went out into the garden & put a brown paper bag over his head!, ha!, ha!, ha! (a true story!)
Bream's brain should be examined to see what is needed to play this instrument once he dies. If he agrees to do so of course... but that would be done for the good of the world of classical guitar. Maybe in the future it will be possible to edit our brains to make it possible to play this instrument. See how he plays the nocturnal in the last part of the video. Just beautiful, beautiful! in his hands the guitar becomes the most beautiful instrument of the universe. so being the most beautiful instrument I suppose its fair to be also the most difficult and demanding instrument of all.
Pffff Julian.... you are out of this world. You can't pretend that we can play it. We are just missing something in our brains, something you only had.
Soytu19 He’s not dead! He mentioned in an interview recently that he feels that he is a better musician now more than ever, even if he has retired from public performance.
He should have taught the students to see the music, the concepts. what comes first? the feeling or seeing the concept of the music in your head? Stravinsky used to say that music has to be seen. Music are concepts. And out there there isn't another instrument which is as capable as the guitar in conceptualizing the music. For being the greatest instrument of all, it's as the same time the most difficult to "dominate".
Julian, what you ment by "out there there isn't another instrument which is as capable as the guitar in conceptualizing the music" ? in what sense os conceptualizing ?
Gui Andrade Thats difficult to explain, but i will try. For me the guitar is an instrument that has the capacity of conceptualizing the music the most, that is to say that, when played by good hands and intellect, its able to conceive each piece as a more visible single concept of music. It is the instrument that has the greater "respect" for the music itself. Just compare it with other instruments, the clarinet or the saxophone for instance. When we listen different pieces in those instruments, the instrument itself has so much, sort of, "presence" that we perceive little difference between one piece and another. They dont conceptualize the music itself. On the other hand instruments like the piano and the guitar, apart from their obvious poliphonic capacity, they are able to create "clearer" musical concepts out from each piece of music. The piano is the easiest to realise, because its easier to play than the guitar. But in the case of the guitar. Its such a "delicate" and limited instrument that it only allows pure music. Its the instrument which only admits objectiveness and not so much ambiguity, as it is the case of the piano. To put it briefly: it is the instrument that "builds" single musical concepts better than any other instrument out from every piece of music it is played on it . When i hear different pieces played in the guitar at least in those good hands, for example Bream, Segovia and Yepes i listen to totally different worlds.
Many greats going this year. Maybe better off after the reality of mass death fully sets in,already used to the obituary headlines.. Rest well sir with my cousin guitarist who also went only a few weeks before. :(
Fuck the extremely difficult technical aspect of this instrument! If it wasn't for it we would all be dreaming happily in this wonderful world of pluck sound. See the students playing wonderfully the easier parts, but "failing" musically in the most difficult parts. Really, fuck it! Besides, apart from being extremely difficult it's also an instrument that forgives very little. I mean by that that the music that the guitar produces is too delicate and the most little mistake can destroy your whole credivility. I must find out the secret for the technical aspect of this cursed instrument.
