What amazes me is that they were able to cast a Kelsey Grammar look-a-like to portray his brother, who was also an accomplished pianist in his own right. I wonder how much effort the process took. The casting fit in perfectly with the roles of both characters. Check it Out! Ciao!!!
@@renaissanceman165 I'm old school, so have had the DVD box set for years now. One of the short clips in the "extras" section was about casting for the show. They actually didn't put that much effort into finding David Hyde Pierce ("DHP"). I vaguely recall one of the writers or directors saying that he had already seen some of David's previous works, thought that he looked like a "young Frasier" and thought that he'd be perfect to play Frasiers brother. So when DHP went to audition, he didn't even need to read any lines (because there were none). They just had a short chat and the role was actually created for him once he agreed the offer. I think the same applied to Martin Crane - he didn't need to audition either
@@renaissanceman165 It was all down to an assistant casting agent who worked on the series Wings. She saw a photo of David Hyde Pierce and noted his resemblance to Kelsey Grammer and gave it to the producers who were writing Frasier and said if they are ever considering Frasier having a brother here's the man to play him. They looked at his previous work in The Powers that Be and he was approved without any audition.
This version of Gershwin's "I Don't Want to Walk Without You" is the best I've ever heard. I would love to hear David play the whole song. The up-tempo is what makes it so great.
@@selectedworks5009 - Not sure if this is true, but I read a while back that the first song was Kelsey just noodling around on the piano, which is a shame because it's such a lovely tune! I don't know what song is at 0:33, because I know my pop music much better than my classical. I do know that the last song in the video is the children's song "Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?", but played in minor key -- a bit of a joke because the episode in which it appears is about Eddie the Dog being depressed.
niles plays such a powerful recital of perhaps beethoven's most powerful sonata, add the candles, gothic milieu and.. wow, quite the scene for a mere sitcom!
Niles, Daphne, Martin, Eddy, were my favorites, plus some reoccurring guest stars. Some of this show, so, so funny. Especially, the Hot and Fomy one with Niles. Great show. I miss it, glad to see these clips on here.
@0:00 = I have read that the first piano piece was improvised by Kelsey Grammer @0:08 = Unsure (If anyone knows the song please put in comments) @0:18 = Beethoven Sonata Op 57 "Appassionata" Mov1 @0:33 = Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 - first movement @0:40 = I Don't Want to Walk Without You by Jule Styne @0:55 = Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 (Andante) @1:10 = Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis @1:28 = She’s Such a Groovy Lady by Martin Crane @1:47 = Rigoletto Act 2 - “Ella mi fu rapita... Parmi veder le lagrime” by Giuseppe Verdi @1:53 = Unsure (If anyone knows the song please put in comments) @1:55 = Adaptation of “Oh Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone”
0:17 I find quite amusing that, for 'A Dark and Stormy Night', they went with Beethoven's darkest and stormiest piano sonata. By the way, on earlier drafts it was supposed to be Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G Minor.
0:39 is "I Don't Want To Walk Without You" which has been around forever but Manilow made it famous. Unfortunately, DHP is playing a piano version I've never heard before. I wish it was around.
The benefits of having trained pianists among your actors! (I'd heard that David Hyde Pierce could actually play, but I wasn't aware Kelsey Grammar could! Though it looks like he mimes more often than DH. . .)
Yes DHP studied piano quite seriously. It was his initial career aspiration, to become a concert pianist. He started at 8 and studied all the way to Yale, where he had planned to graduate in Music before switching to English.
I don't remember if this is all of them, but 2 minutes for an entire series is simply not enough. Would have been nice to see them show their talents more frequently...such as great show.
The first two are breathtaking. 🎹🎶 What is the first one? I am dying to know. Also, Frasier did an AMAZING job on Great Balls Of Fire, Loved it!!! Haha! 😍🔥
I'm not sure about David but I don't think Kelsey actually plays the pieces, I remember a blooper when the piano started playing before Kelsey was ready to begin.
CharlyXD09 Well, I don't know if they played all of the songs. But Kelsey and David are both able to play the piano, that's why there's one in Frasier's apartment ;) I don't know if Kelsey really played the piano, but I think David did. He already did in a few musicals ;)
DHP studied the piano from the age of 8 and was serious about becoming a concert pianist. He went to Yale to pursue a career in music, but eventually switched to acting. He is still an accomplished pianist.
@britainrules12 Both of them are talented musicians. They're not pressing down on the keys in the episodes because they're recorded earlier and are edited in. Im not sure if they are playing the clips but they both can play very well.
that scene with martin lening against the piano both niles and martin smoking sigars, all niles needed was a boller hat and you could put him in a saloon in the wildwest
Damn... the one song I was looking for is not included here. During one episode David played a really cool swing number from around the 1930s or 1940s (or an original song based on the style of that era). I've always wanted to hear it again.
Oh, please, I need the piano scores for"where is my little dog gone" (1:56)! It sounds like Chopin and I love it! I am trying to replicate David's playing, as I hear it, but I can make it this good. Please!
@amadeus9man 1:58 is certainly not Greensleeves. I am trying to find the name of this song for ages now and finally came to the conclusion that it's "Oh where oh where has my little dog gone?" played in a minor key to give it a downbeat feel... A serious bummer since this means there are no official recordings of the piece, i really like it though...
both david and kelsey know how to play piano, yes... but they certainly use back tracks to help them, they are actors. if anyone has seen the bloopers on the dvds some hilarious things happen when they try to sync the back track and the playing.
There was a small bit where Kelsey was playing something in the episode Voyage of the Damned it was soo pretty but I cannot for the life of me find the name of it... I don't know if it was something he made up just for that scene or what...
@Mertdawg420 Hey, ViaSoleri is right, Kelsey improvised the piano piece for the show, but it's got such a close relation to The Promise by Michael Nyman, so I think that's where he got it from. :)
Alyssa Stanek David Hyde Pierce is a classically trained pianist. He went to Juliard, I think, and he was planning on going professional, actually, but instead ventured into acting. So, the simple answer is: Yes. He is *actually* playing. :)
I think both Kelsey and David can, but neither do. Personally I think this would be a lot easier, but the piano has a cloth mat covering the screens so that no sound comes out. All piano music is pre-recorded and played on cue.
@flamencogirl1 Granted, the 1st part of Greensleeves is in a minor key and the rhythm is similar to the piece Niles plays from 1:56, but they just arent the same... (Greensleeves: notes 2,3,4 & 5 go up; in Niles' tune, only note 2 goes up, the rest goes down.) By the way it makes perfect sense: In this episode Eddie is depressed, thats why Niles is playing 'where has my dog gone' in a downbeat manner (and thats why the audience is laughing while he starts playing it :)
Wesley Martin Pretty sure it’s a Model A but it could also be a Model O or Model M, it’s one of the smaller models but still smaller than the B which is around 6ft, all stunning either way! :)
