My father was a percussionist. I wish he were still alive to see this video and Paul's masterful playing. The rest of the percussion teams in these videos are pretty awesome as well.
There’s some really really stellar playing here, Paul - the pure, channeled energy in the Leningrad! The technique and control in the Sibelius and Stravinsky! Bravo 👏🏻
Thank you. You've made me appreciate timpanists far more than I did. I would love to hear/see you on Mahler's 3rd! You would have a great time with the finale, I imagine.
As someone who has now played timpani for about a year, I gotta say: this is goddamn impressive 🔥 you have an amazing energy that works incredibly, especially with the stuff from Shostakovic. Incredible stuff!!
Thank you Paul, for the amazing treat of timpani Highlights. Loved hearing you on the Shostakovich 12 3rd movement into the 4th. One of my favorites. You sounded excellent on the Stravinsky too. Great playing sir. Cheers to you mate.
Simply awesome! How you sound timpani (the speed of roll, your arm movement, and mallet control etc.) helps me to improve my skills. Thanks for posting!
Fantastic playing Paul, the videos of MPO brought back quite some memories indeed. I love especially the Sibelius 5’s first movement’s timpani moment, which I had the luck to perform across our recent Sweden/Norway tour. Hope you are well Paul, and hope to meet you for another coffee in the future! ☕️ 🍻
There is something totally utterly amazing to see how musicians (and here, percussionists) can synchronize under the millisecond to play music. There might be an interrest to measure the microseconds delay, if any, between the percussion hits, maybe helping to discover some highly specialized ''wirring'' in our brain to accomplish such impossible marvels. Many Thanks for sharing this excellent video. 👍👍👍👏👏👏👍👍👍👏👏👏
Social distancing has added an extra element for consideration to issues of placement..! The whole issue is a continuing journey of discovery, but I’m delighted that you have enjoyed the video!
It's not the greatest piece of timpani work but Beethoven wrote a cadenza for the Piano Version of his violin concerto featuring the timpani. I've heard it a few times re-transcribed back for the violin. Well worth a listen if you're a timpani fan.
Saylor Twift not particularly, but I’ve been doing this for a long time, and not everything that I play is as energetic. I dare say that it’ll be “interesting” starting to perform again after lockdown though..!! 😲
I think you could have included in your selection the bars 693-774 from 2nd movement of 11th Symphony by Shostakovich, one of the most wild excerpts for percussion imho. But I suppose that you have no broadcast about this work with you involved. It's a pity :S
I do have a recording of myself performing Shosty 11, but there are copyright issues, so I will not publish it. If this magnificent piece of music comes my way again, who knows...! ;-)
The Malaysian Philharmonic started almost 23 years ago now! There are some excellent recordings out there, mostly on the BIS label. There are quite a few good concerts available to watch on RU-vid too! 😊
@@PaulPhilbert It was formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Symphony. I auditioned for it when I was a professor (not of music) in Malaysia, and the orchestra was semi-pro. They decided after the auditions to make it fully professional. They have really come a long way - it is a fine orchestra now. Your playing is astonishing. Tympani was one of my minor instruments, so I have an appreciation for it. You are elevating the instrument.
Hello. Thanks for your enquiry. Most of my mallets are made by Paul Turner (Principal Timpanist BBC Philharmonic), and Bernard Yong (B-mallets). I’m currently working on a signature range with Bernard which I’m very excited about! 😊
Berlioz writes for 4 timpanists in just the latter part of the 3rd movement to simulate the sound of distant thunder. The 1st movement needs just 1 player and the final 2 movements need 2 players.
A question regarding the logistics in Symphonie fantastique: I see the timpani arranged differently in the two clips here, in the 3rd movement they're in a row, and in the 4th movement they're arranged in two sets. I know that these were two different orchestras, and that the requirements in these two movements are different, since 3rd needs four players to play chords, and 4th needs two players manning two sets (with a third rolling the low G on the final chord?) . Since there's really no time between the movements to reconfigure the placement of the timpani, do you simply have another set of four timpani placed in a row aside from the two sets of three required in the other movements?
Hi Kevin, thanks for your question! In theory, the whole work can be performed with just 4 timps (2 “middle pairs” depending on their ranges. You will need low G to C x2 and C to high f x2), BUT, the quality of sound of the lower and higher notes would be compromised somewhat. With this configuration (as per the SPO performance) you will only need to pull up a stool for players T1&T2 and you’re good to go with movement 4! All that said, as a luxury I prefer to have a larger timp for the low G’s (T1&T2) and a smaller timp for the quiet high f’s (T1) in the 3rd movement. As an additional luxury, in order to minimise disruption and on-stage movement during the performance, you might also consider having an additional 2 timps (for T3&T4) within the percussion section. I also remember doing a performance at the Barbican, UK and we played T3 and T4 from up in the Gods behind the audience! 🤓 Have I answered your question properly?
@@PaulPhilbert Thanks for your reply, for some reason it didn't show up in my notifications, and I'm only seeing it a year after I first posted the question! Being a cellist myself, I've always been intrigued by how timpanists choose their gear, and knowing these specifics is indeed quite fascinating.
Dear Paul: Were you a student of Vic Firth? Besides your killer "French" roll, I also see the "uptick" a beat before playing I saw with Vic all the time. Just curious--- fab playing!
Dear Lednew2010, thank you for your question and kind comments. I’m based in the UK and learned timpani from John Chimes (COE & formerly BBCSO). Sadly, I never had the good fortune to meet Vic Firth.
