Finished 10k Point Giveaway!

I will give 10k in points to whoever can impress me the most by posting a song by a classical composer. Providing actual knowledge on the piece/composer will earn you a better shot at it, as well. Keep in mind that I listen to 99% classical music, every day, and you're not going to impress me by posting the basics (Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata, Mozart - Requiem, Wagner - Ridge of the Valkyries, etc... Don't even try that shit on me).

This will also, hopefully, work in a way to get people more interested in classical music (yey!)

Now let's get started! Contest ends Monday (at some time).
(Please note, contemporary is not classical. Anything past early 1900's most likely won't work. Rachmaninoff death date is the latest, I'd say).

 

I always liked this one ^

 

Nice. Especially nice that Rachmaninoff plays it himself, if only we had recording capabilities when some of the other greats were alive.

 

What time form music. 1960s or earlier

 

Classical, Romanticism, Baroque, Renaissance, etc.
Should be safe if you're posting songs before the 1940's. Around 1600-1900, usually. (just have to make sure that they would fall under the category of classical).

 

Too well known, overhyped, also 60 minute version. Try again tomorrow. 0 points, you lose.

 

Listz liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat Major has been one of my favorite pieces on piano so far. Learning it right now

 

Very big fan of this



High at 5:41
favorite part at 6:52

 

This is a great song I love alot of Joe Hisaishi's stuff, My favourite is Howl's moving Castle but this is just as good and not related to the Studio Ghibli movies.

Another edit for anyone saying it's not classical http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hisaishi Style of Music generally considered European Classical / Japanese Classical .

 

Saying "Oh this guy incorporates Classical music so it makes it Classical" is nonsensical
Playing a piano is not what is Classical to drunk's ears, it's more about the time period

 

Due to the sheer difficulty


However seeing I can play this piece after much, much practise I´ll go with this as my fav (I don't like the faster versions played by valentina or natalia, I think it takes away from the beauty) :



However, to broaden your horizon I could really recommend vkgoeswild on youtube. She's been brought up as one of the most promising classical pianists in Russia, however she changed her style and arranged the most diffcult, beautiful and insane pieces for classical rock/metal! She needlessly incorporates up to 4 melodies, playing 2 different sets of melodies with each hand, which is even for me, impossible to do.

Spoiler

Edit: Can't forget one of the most epic string compositions ever made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJTfG1MmMwQ


(Unrelated) Edit2: As I play piano, I've always been interested in ragtime, it's challenging as a technique since I haven't put much practise into it. This version,... it blew my mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCfGXwx1mJs

(Unrelated) And this is my genre, live performed. I hope you like it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttmx0V5-E60
(more difficult, same performance! ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVZ5d-Paklk

 

Always a good one. Fun little thing, the composer, Franz Liszt, is known as "the first rockstar". As people, especially women, would be completely overcome with hysteria at his performances, and of course, he had a rockstar-like following. Look up Lisztomania for a good read on wikipedia (it was pretty much treated as some sort contracted disease, in the eyes of scientists and doctors, at the time). Always really loved Liszt, never knew why women wanted to have sex with him for than they did with Beethoven, though.

With all the big rage over Russia's stance on homosexuality (with the band pussy riot being held prisoner, and everything with the winter olympics), it's pretty interesting to know that their (debatably) most famous musician from their country, was in fact homosexual. Anyways, you posted a Tchaikovsky song and didn't post swan lake, good for you.

I did give a specific time period, vague it may have been, but there's a reason for this, specifically that I'm trying to get people in this thread to look at an era of music that generally they may not care for. So even though I enjoy Mr. Hisaishi, here, and even if I may enjoy Philip Glass, or John Cage, or even if you're going to post "Billy Joel - Piano man", this is not the place for it. Sorry that I am uptight about my classical.

When I think of "Rachmaninoff" and "sheer difficulty", I usually think of the rapid succession of notes/chords in complete accuracy while the hands of Satan himself glide up and down the keyboard, brining along the wrists, arms, and body of Valentina Lisitsa, in her performance of prelude no. 5 in g minor. That being said, I've never heard (fully, at least), the song you posted, and am looking forward to that. So far so good.

Once more, Liszt has always been a favorite. The man's fingers must have just been... wow. Long, gentle, majestic little creatures. One of my favorite things about Liszt is that he went out of his way to transcribe every Beethoven symphony for solo piano. Not only that, but countless other works of Beethoven and other musicians. Incredible man who has made my life, and goal of learning the 9th one day, a hell of a lot easier. If only we all could have been alive to see him perform his compositions in whatever tuning he tuned his piano in (back then pianos, harpsichords, and organs generally had different tunings, as their was no standard tuning in place. Vivaldi had a method of tuning that was based off of the singing of Tibetan Monks, and the conspiracy around it is that Vivaldi's tuning, or the frequency of it, brought a sense of "loving" in the universe. Whereas the standard tuning that we all use today was set to create a feeling of anger and hatred to get people to go to war. Fun fact, Germany adopted the standard tuning method just before Wolrd War 2. Just a little conspiracy theory going around. Why I bring it up specifically with Liszt is because the characteristics of Lisztomania are pretty close to the characteristics of someone who is extremely high on drugs, and I partially believe it may have something to do with his method of tuning).

The Russian chicks technique sounds interesting. I'm wondering if you're into fugues at all? The compositional method behind them is probably the most ridiculously complex method in any music genre... I like "dark" sounding music, and she does that in a very nice way. She also plays a couple of my favorite songs from back when I was 14, so that's cool to hear again (especially in such a different way).

What I like about Vivaldi is that as a Baroque composer, he was probably the most emotional one out there. Touching on aspects of late classical music even before the actual "Classical" period really started (or before the compositional techniques were in place). It's almost even touching on Romanticism (this is probably wrong, just how it has always felt to me).

Seen the ragtime fur elise before. Pretty crazy stuff, I tend to change the rhythms when I get a little bored of playing a piece, but never anything like that.

Are you saying this is you in the Fast Boogie live videos? If so, congratulations on your talent. Do you look at the theory aspect of a song while composing? Or is it more of an improve, kind of thing? Very cool stuff.

 

I have no technical background whatsoever. I can't even read one note...
I've had one year of musicschool, but the notes somehow 'dragged me down'. When I got home and had to learn an assignment, I found that I just had to 'remember' the melody, the sounds and the chords and I could play it far easier than having to learn notes.
As I progressed into more difficult pieces I quickly found that I lacked quite a bit of knowledge and techniques, and found an amazing teacher who manages to teach me without me reading notes.
My prime piece would be La Campanella, and I don't think I'll ever go higher tbh.

A few years ago I was asked to join a band, they played the old rock and roll like "Johnny B goode" and I found myself in a completely new genre. As I was also just starting to play guitar by then, I was amazed by "Stevie Ray Vaughn" a Blues guitarist.
As I couldn't reach the 'level of blues' I wanted yet on my guitar, I began to play as a pianist in that band (seeing they had an amazing solist anyways) and taught myself the boogie-woogie and blues. I then kept practising and perfecting the blues on the piano. I've went leaps from when I started with that band, however It is not yet on the level as I shown with the shared video.

With both piano and guitar I find myself playing a very wide variety of genres, just as my taste in music is very wide.
I can play classical, modern, blues, a bit of jazz and some pop/top40. Heck, I can even rock on with some metal and rock!


In terms of classical music, I've always been intrigued by Bach, who has a very different take on forming melodies and chords. It's a very different style to that of beethoven and mozart. I of course speak from a practical point of view as I've not learned the theory behind it, but I've played it and listened to it. (I'm currently teaching myself )
However I have been amazed and gobsmacked by composers as liszt and rachmaninoff who have risen the difficulty of piano compositions all on their own

Another youtuber I once followed and would like to share would be kylelandry:


Be sure to watch more vids on his channel for piano music!

 

It's funny that Wolfy rated his post dumb.lel

 

It's about the old times

 

No. Absolutely no.

 

Been a fan of Charles Dancla

Not very known since he had 2 other very capable brothers that helped and played with him in his concerts. His most notable talents were the violin concerto's and the string quartets that he sometimes played with one of his brothers

 

I've personally never been into boogie-woogie type stuff, but my first piano teacher who was absolutely marvellous loved it as much as classical. Maybe one day I'll get into it more. Just recently getting into Jazz...

Bach is pretty fantastic, huh? Getting into him more and more lately, as a while back I didn't like him as I thought his music was too analytic and lacked emotion. Still thinks it lacks emotion when compared to someone like Beethoven, but given the musical eras, makes complete sense. The analytic parts though... Very interesting. Can't even begin to think of how long it would take to do an entire theory assessment on some of his Fugues... Recently loving the Cantatas.

Very interesting rendition of Turkish March, sounds like if Edvard Grieg had made a variation on the theme. Watching his hands in his variation of Fantasie Impromptu, though.... Jesus, never heard it played so fast. Then the change up at the 1 minute mark.. what the hell. Cool stuff.

 

@forcie

Man, Kyle Landry is the best. I love how he has a good mix of anime soundtracks, Disney stuff, classic, and improvisations. Used to listen to him all the time

Just out of curiosity, how long did it take for you to get La Campanella to a playable state? I usually can only commit to a hour on the piano and I always get pretty discouraged because the hand runs, it's so fast. The amount of practice that usually goes into playing songs with all those runs going over the place must be massive

right now the goal of my piano playing is to be able to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata mvt. 3, it's not the hardest song but it's nice enough to make me feel proud of myself, haha. It'd be awesome if I could, one day, be able to play something incredibly like "Fantasie" Impromptu