Thanks to Yuja and Teddy for your lucid explanations. I learned so much more about what I was listening to ( or should have been listening to). Thank You so.
I'm sorry. I gotta be honest. If I were fortunate enough just to be close to being on the same level as Yuja, and sat next to her for as long as and as close as Ted did, I would be much like a pad of butter that was placed on a super hot piece of toast. She is the epitome of the "Full Package" and I feel fortunate to have only just discovered her today the 26th day of November 2023! I felt like listening to some Gershwin and in particular Piano Concierto in F major around noon today. I've loved that since I was like 13 and to my delight it was absolutely the most perfect rendition I've ever heard and seen! Since then I've been binging on Yuja Wang's videos and almost 4.5 hours later, I am beyond in awe of her. She is a masterpiece!
@@dalethomasdewitt America is one of the Most hypercapitalist countries in the world. Please travel. «Free speech» you’re so proud, aren’t you, land of the fee and home of the slaves.
I am a professional pianist and I worked as MTT's assistant for more than 5 years, So the world of this video is very familiar to me. It's such a joy to be introduced to this concerto, to hear all the artists involved talk about it and hear the performances. It's great fun, inspirational and educational. Thank you so much.
Great that you got to work with him. I met him after a concert with a friend in the orchestra I knew. Great conductor and excellent musician. Sad about his diagnosis. He continues to soldier on though.
Let's be realistic here. It would actually be a disaster and probably a fist fight as well (the Rach as the winner). Why would one waste time on giving us hopeless speculation in fiction. This subject is like predicting a baby between Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein: Although many may truly hope for a beautiful genius, the odds are in favor of a child with Einstein's looks and Monroe's brains!
This video goes well beyond what RU-vid videos normally do. It would be at home as an episode of “American Masters” on PBS. The mix of music, interviews, history, commentary and historical comparison is a joy to watch. Kudos to Tonebase and thrilled to see another premiere for Yuja.
Wow! It would be a disaster and probably a fist fight as well (the Rach as the winner). Actually, why would one waste time on giving us a headache here. This subject is like speculating a baby between Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein: Although many may truly hope for a beautiful genius, the odds are in favor of a child with Einstein's looks and Monroe's brains!
This is a fantastic achievement. Not even the BBC produces films like this. Tonebase brings us some of the world's greatest musicians and lets us see them for the earthly mortals that they are. Humour and honesty abound, while the incredible skill and talent does its own talking. If this were a Christopher Nupen film, and his work was great (RIP), we'd be invited to quietly observe and pay homage to geniuses who graciously bestow their miraculous gifts unto us from a high altar. And this was fine and often insightful, but this type of film by Tonebase is more real. To completely over-egg this brief critique, Tonebase is The Wire of classical music film-making.
How can you produce what is possibly one of the greatest hours ever created on classical music and just give it away? Just astonishing quality on every level - presentation, production, editing, and the content. Oh the content. Remarkable. Thank you.
@@icaruscrane8846 it‘s called the American Project. They are like that over there. It‘s woven into everything, the mentality, how they interact socially, it shaped US society to become the broken nation it is today. The vulgarity of it is really only acceptable when you remind yourself of the great stuff this nation stands for.
As a jazz musician, I’m used to hearing classical composer and musicians paint with a REALLY broad brush when talking about jazz (particularly the word “jazzy”). Hearing Teddy talk about his jazz influences is a breath of fresh air! He clearly really knows his stuff. Beautiful music and great video Ben!
The editing and storytelling is superb. You truly capture what it feels like to be passionate and knowledgeable about classical music in the 21st century. Thank you.
Don’t be put off by the length of this video; it is absolutely riveting. Fascinating to hear Yuja, the pianist, and Teddy, the composer interviewed together. They met at music school when they were both 18, and they work together very well. The video offers lots of musical insights.
As a student of a teacher from Beethoven's lineage I say that I don't need gymnastics when I go to hear a concert of classical music - I go to hear poetry. That's what Tiffany Poon is able to give. If I need gymnastics I'll go to the gym thanks.
As a living composer myself, I absolutely loved this deep dive on a contemporary piece and topics facing contemporary music! No shade intended, but moments of the concerto took me back to high school band, when the director would always program that one "fun" piece. No doubt, whatever your genre preference a very well composed and brilliantly performed piece. I just hope to be able to write for Yuja one day as well. ☺
Thanks for the homage to the 'high school band'. Looking back (I'm 81) I see that my 'band experience' really formed so much of my later personality. The people I played with, the small groups that we formed, and the intimacy that developed in our 'combos' lasted throughout my life. Music teaches so much to those who participate.... Lessons others will never know.
At this point, we can all consider negative high critics as useless as IMBD and Rotten Tomato professional critic ratings. This was enjoyable as hell. 🎉
this is astonishing. i only wish it were twice as long, so we could hear what they said/played next after certain moments. I hope Tonebase will make a "director's cut" for those of us who just can't get enough of this stuff.....
thank you for making this video! i probably would never have listened to this concerto if not for this video and now i've had it on repeat since hearing it the first time. it is so good!!
You knocked it out of the park here!! Thank you thank you thank you. Draws you in deeper & deeper and I was downright emotional by the end. The friendship of Yuja & Teddy, punctuated by your source Gershwin biographer living across the street ☺
This was a beautiful discovery. Thank you for this! A beautiful exploration through sounds & appreciation of the arts & OMG I’m obsessed with Yuja. One day I shall see her live. ✨✨✨
OMG! This was wonderful on all levels... but mostly on levels that escaped me. And that's what took me places. Thank you Ben, Yuja & Teddy and all those greats!
Glad to see you guys highlight the connection between the Grieg Concerto and both the Rachmaninoff 1st and the Rhapsody in Blue. I remember hearing the Grieg concerto *after* both of those and being like "OH, I wonder if Rach and Gershwin both listened to Grieg a lot growing up" haha. So cool to hear this wasn't too far off.
Many thanks, Ben.This video is thoroughly educational and entertaining. Also, my first exposure to Yuja's delightful personality. Yuja, Teddy, and yourself are so creative and intelligent: a dynamite combination! BTW, you should take Yuja up on her suggestion to write her program notes.
Yuja seems like such an amazing force of nature. Watching this video was like experiencing a fiery ball of positive energy surge through my heart and mind.
It’s pretty obvious, having listened to both Gershwin and Rachmaninoff, that the two influenced each other an incredible amount. And to add onto the point of the critics, Rachmaninoff was criticized by intellectuals because they considered his music too sentimental, relying on themes and melodies written with the intent of making the audience love his music, as the person said, hitting on “philistine taste.”
Aaron Copeland was pretty acerbic in his criticism of Rachmaninoff, complaining that his works were relentlessly somber, and I thought, well yes--he's a Russian. Personally, I think Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto 2 is one of the high points of Western civilization, an accomplishment well beyond Copland's meager talent.
@@williamfankboner4206 Completely agree. To be a composer is one thing (know how to write music, know about musical theory and such), but to know how to use those things to convey things which will immediately draw people in and express conflicting and complex emotions, like Rachmaninoff did, is another. Copeland's works all blend together imo, while every work Rachmaninoff wrote is unique unto itself. Yes there are stylistic choices similar between each, but the second symphony has a completely different tone from the third, as does the second piano concerto from the third and fourth, and the way this tone is expressed within the piece is amazingly clear.
Great Chanel! Being a snobbish Viennese classic freak living a couple of hundred meters away where Beethoven played piano, where Schubert died, having coffee at a place where Brahms smoked his cigars and discussed Paganini variations with Carl Tausig I really enjoy and appreciate your work!
I loved this video and learned so much from it. I haven't listened to the Abrams concerto but that is next to do. I have loved Yuja Wong for years and hope to maybe hear her in person--Maybe in Chicago. I have listened to many artists play the many piano pieces talked about and find that in my later years I find sections of these pieces that I have overlooked now come to the fore. Anyway, I thank you for the amount of work put in to make this video and present the history of this new work played by Yuja Wong.
Wow, you all really nailed it. This exploration of Mr. Abrams concerto and the musical traditions that preceded it is a cornucopia of ideas, trends, influences, which I wasn't anticipating. Really fun and exciting to hear and feel. Bravo!
Thank you, Thank you Yuja and Teddy and Tonebase for creating an exciting recording of extraordinary musical artists and composers and the history of American music. The historical videos are amazing, especially Horowitz playing at home and MTT conducting with the San Francisco Orchestra with Yuja playing/surprising him "You Come Here Often?" written for Yuja by MTT. The video and audio editing are amazing. Great cuts between performers playing the same piece. I am now happily Subscribed to Tonebase and look forward to seeing and hearing more wonderful music.
Let's be realistic here. It would actually be a disaster and probably a fist fight as well (the Rach as the winner). Why would one waste time on giving us hopeless speculation in fiction. This subject is like predicting a baby between Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein: Although many may truly hope for a beautiful genius, the odds are in favor of a child with Einstein's looks and Monroe's brains!
When I listened to Rhapsody in Blue and Rhapsody in a Theme of Paganini I felt like I wasn’t sure if it was Rachmaninov’s or Gershwin for either of them. And it’s cool that even though I don’t know anything about music that I can feel that influence they had on each other.
Thanks you for this beautiful video, I'm such a fan of Yuja Wang ! Did you know that Rachmaninov actually liked to visit bars in New York at night, and improvise piano contests and "boeufs" with his two best mates : Horowitz and Art Tatum ! (you can imagine the level of virtuosity) ; Chet Baker, Miles Davies, Charlie Parker... they all paid tribute to Rachmaninov. And yes, the "ultra-romantic" music of Rachmaninov is filled with jazzy chords or phrases.
Kudos to the producers of this video. You take an extremely high-minded and multi-facted concept, and then you break it down into digestible and delicious bites. Easy to say, but oh, how you executed this so flawlessly! I was engaged from the get-go, and you held my rapt gaze till the end! Bravo!!
For me, a lightweight concert-goer, this video was a wunnnnnderful story. VERY enjoyable exploration both into classical greats -- music and musicians -- and the story of their connections and inventions. Thank you so much. And KUDOS!!!
Honestly nothing after him really comes close to the glory I feel in his music. It’s just not got the same weight for me, no matter how „inspired“ by Rachmaninow it’s supposed to be
@@williamtaittinger4529 come on, of course it‘s neither Rachmaninoff nor Gershwin, but it‘s a fun piece. I find it such an American thing to say something like «I‘m writing a concerto that‘s the musical child of Raaak and Gershwin» - it‘s so self-aggrandising and a little dim. But it‘s not a bad piece. It lacks strong melody and harmony most of all, there‘s no part that goes straight to the heart, no depth, a lack of emotion.
@@MFRU-vid683 all dude did was to steal some melodies from the composer's and insert some "pop cultivate" references, cause the dude is a geek, and blend it all in a big piece of SHEET. Shameful display.
Look, I listened to the the whole album on Spotify just now. The pieces are not bad, but ‘Do You Come Here Often?’ didn’t hit my spot, to be frank. But credit where it’s due: Yuja Wang is Yuja Wang and it’s superbly performed and recorded album. Well done. I do however take issue with the way the names of these composers are just thrown around, as if that would in any way make the piece a great composition - it‘s not nearly Gershwin and most certainly not Rachmaninoff, not in blueprint, never in melody or harmony (except occasionally where it borrows heavily) although in texture it does achieve the feeling of some sort of hybridity between the two multiple times. Everyone involved in this is a great musician and it‘s not a bad concerto, I’d go as far and say it’s at times quite bold and the jazzy bits are a novelty, I’ve never heard a symphonic piano concerto quite like it although you could argue Bernstein and Adams, but it suffers from what I would describe as Addinsellism: too many notes and too loud over lengths that aren‘t carried by the story, the character or the feeling of the music (and it‘s not the performance on the record at all). What makes Gershwin and Rachmaninoff the monoliths they are in music, is how their work makes the hair all over my body stand up and fills me with the most intense joy and melancholia at the same time, it still makes me want to laugh and cry at once while listening to it after 18 years. Those two composers wrote often simple melodies you can sing along to, but created emotion and brought stories to life through excellence in harmony, Rachmaninoff most distinctly with his sevenths and seconds and through the perfect instrumentations. A piece won’t simply achieve that by calling it the «child of Gershwin and Raaak» 🙄🤔😂 unless the music earns it. And while it‘s an admirable effort, a little humility wouldn‘t be out of place. Still, it‘s mostly enjoyable and fun and it literally made me laugh with its cheek. I found the guitar somehow out of place, it‘s the only thing I honestly criticise apart from the premise of it being a child of the two composers it was advertised as. Favourite part (duh) XI. Cadenza & IV. Coda is the center jewel in this dazzling piece, what a f***ing ball hahaha, bravo! To everyone! The record itself is superb, who would have guessed that pristine Yuja could go from the cleanest in the game to a REAL Cat within the blink of an eye? ★ ★ ★ ★☆
OMG! I'm feeling guilty! I got to listen to and watch some of this masterful, charming, erudite, magnetic, fascinating program while chopping vegetables for my chicken soup. That is disrespectful of gifts and talent shared with this amazing creation. I cannot wait to buy this recording along with the American Album just out by Fatma Said. Also looking forward to my second listen to this. So much knowledge shared! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot! Just when I thought I was done with the internet for good and was never going to scroll RU-vid again (except of course for my beloved jazz videos) you had to appear Good job it's good to know at 66 years old I can learn something new everyday.. oh yeah and for all you people in the comment section that are talkin about how can anyone not send money to this channel for what they produce I hope you do because I know I would if I had any money at all
Congrats on your big day of uploading this. I know it must've taken ages to get finished and you probably felt a lot of pressure, but trust me when I say your video lives up to the piece it's discussing!
Let's be realistic here. It would actually be a disaster and probably a fist fight as well (the Rach as the winner). Why would one waste time on giving us hopeless speculation in fiction. This subject is like predicting a baby between Marilyn Monroe and Albert Einstein: Although many may truly hope for a beautiful genius, the odds are in favor of a child with Einstein's looks and Monroe's brains!
@@dennisdougherty7538 Excuse me; I don't want to spend much time digressing on an off-topic tangent, but I wanted to jump in just long enough to inform you that Marilyn's IQ has actually been compared with that of Einstein. I don't know how accurate that assertion really is, but I do know that she was FAR from the "ditzy blonde" image that Tinseltown fabricated. She was very well-read, well-spoken, and, for the love of God, she married Arthur Miller in 1956, converting to Judaism in the process. Yes, Marilyn was no dummy, rest her soul.... 🤗📚👩🎓🙏
The lexicon of musical invective - one of my favourite books. I’m especially fond of the Reger story …. Awesome video - pastiche or not, I guess I’ll need to hear it !
As an unschooled consumer of classical music, I am so very happy to have watched this. I like Rhapsody in Blue and Rachmaninov, and Yuja's playing always just amazes me. This has taught me so much about the process and thinking that creates a piece of music. Thank you for telling this story, and thank you for this concerto because it is so beautiful to hear!
I MUST now listen to the Abram Concerto. This video captivated me. I learn so much about my favorite composers. Can a man cry at that point in RonaTP and still be considered manly? Thank you for this video.
Brilliant idea..and I thank Yuja Wang, and Teddy Abrahms for inspiring me to learn of this uniquely American/Russian music... i loved thas video and especially the references to Horowitz MFP...also I have to say i am now convinced that in certain brilliant pianists, that each finger has its own brain and Yuja verifies this in every performance...So many thoughts came to me while watching this ...one that we need way more contemporary composers willing to integrate classical music onto theor repertoire..
