Bach is back
November 6, 2012 1:59 PM Subscribe
Election Day Divertimento: Mischa Maisky plays Bach Cello Suite No.1 in G (SLYT)
God, I love that low G note in the arpeggiated bits in the prelude, don't know what it is about it, just the tone of that note stands out so nicely I guess!
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by TwoWordReview at 2:14 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Beautiful. And well framed. But at some point half way through I noticed that the editing was sloppy, and the notes didn't match the fingers. And that is a deal breaker. Shame.
posted by stonepharisee at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by stonepharisee at 2:20 PM on November 6, 2012
Fortunately I was just listening through my headphones, so I could just plain love it.
(Also, I probably wouldn't have noticed.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012
(Also, I probably wouldn't have noticed.)
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:33 PM on November 6, 2012
half way through I noticed that the editing was sloppy, and the notes didn't match the fingers.
Pretty sure that's just a generic YouTube audio sync issue and not the fault of sloppy editing. I noticed it too. It's amazing they haven't sorted that shit out yet.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:41 PM on November 6, 2012
Pretty sure that's just a generic YouTube audio sync issue and not the fault of sloppy editing. I noticed it too. It's amazing they haven't sorted that shit out yet.
posted by nathancaswell at 2:41 PM on November 6, 2012
What I love about music is how, once you become very familiar with a piece, you can identify and appreciate the unique changes and flourishes each musician puts into it. My favorite recording of this piece is by Gendron, in 1964. Thanks for this; it was a nice bit of serenity in an otherwise hectic and stressful day.
posted by xedrik at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by xedrik at 3:02 PM on November 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
So beautiful--reminds me of that bit in M*A*S*H where Hawkeye is teaching Radar shortcuts to sophistication and he comes up with the phrase, "Ah, Bach." funny, but kinda true. Listening to Bach is one of the few times I regret not playing music anymore.
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:19 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by agatha_magatha at 3:19 PM on November 6, 2012
I'm almost ashamed to admit that I was introduced to this piece of music--the Prelude, at least--by an episode of West Wing. And because of that episode, the prelude always makes me a little teary. But the rest of it is calming and uplifting and beautiful, and thank you for sharing this performance of it.
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by rhiannonstone at 3:43 PM on November 6, 2012
A refreshing change. Thanks!
posted by freakazoid at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by freakazoid at 4:35 PM on November 6, 2012
"Listening to Bach is one of the few times I regret not playing music anymore." Me too; and I played a version of this adapted for the viola (obviously nowhere near as well), so it's something I particularly love.
posted by epersonae at 4:40 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by epersonae at 4:40 PM on November 6, 2012
The prelude is the greatest piece of music ever written. Well, if it weren't for the chaconne, of course.
I've long had this theory about Bach. Among classical music lovers Mozart or Beethoven generally take top spot with Bach somewhere else in the top 5. But among actual performers Bach reigns supreme. I base this on my days as a performer where the more I would work on a Bach piece the deeper my understanding of it would become and I would discover layers upon layers of beauty. Plenty of other composers have great depth and beauty but with Bach it's such a journey and you discover that one note here and that one over there that most people ignore or don't even hear but when you play through it dozens or even hundreds of times all those notes that get lost in the wash become crystal clear and that sense of amazement overcomes you. It takes performing the piece over and over to tease out all those genius elements.
I've never had the opportunity to discuss this theory with other classically trained musicians so don't start quoting that statistic but I'm pretty sure it has to be correct.
And then finally, this performance was a bit too romantic for my tastes but still pretty damned good.
posted by bfootdav at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
I've long had this theory about Bach. Among classical music lovers Mozart or Beethoven generally take top spot with Bach somewhere else in the top 5. But among actual performers Bach reigns supreme. I base this on my days as a performer where the more I would work on a Bach piece the deeper my understanding of it would become and I would discover layers upon layers of beauty. Plenty of other composers have great depth and beauty but with Bach it's such a journey and you discover that one note here and that one over there that most people ignore or don't even hear but when you play through it dozens or even hundreds of times all those notes that get lost in the wash become crystal clear and that sense of amazement overcomes you. It takes performing the piece over and over to tease out all those genius elements.
I've never had the opportunity to discuss this theory with other classically trained musicians so don't start quoting that statistic but I'm pretty sure it has to be correct.
And then finally, this performance was a bit too romantic for my tastes but still pretty damned good.
posted by bfootdav at 5:30 PM on November 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
I've long had this theory about Bach. Among classical music lovers Mozart or Beethoven generally take top spot with Bach somewhere else in the top 5. But among actual performers Bach reigns supreme.
I was a pretty, shall we say, inconsistent cello student (I got a lot of "if you would only apply yourself") but the one time my cello teacher got truly angry at me was a week when I didn't really practice at all. I was working on one of the Bach Cello Suites, can't remember which one, but I was muddling through it basically having made no progress from the previous lesson and he stopped me in the middle and said something to the effect of "if you want to dick around all week and come in here and butcher Squire or Saint-Saens that's fine, but I'm not going to let you do that to Bach. Put it away."
posted by nathancaswell at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]
I was a pretty, shall we say, inconsistent cello student (I got a lot of "if you would only apply yourself") but the one time my cello teacher got truly angry at me was a week when I didn't really practice at all. I was working on one of the Bach Cello Suites, can't remember which one, but I was muddling through it basically having made no progress from the previous lesson and he stopped me in the middle and said something to the effect of "if you want to dick around all week and come in here and butcher Squire or Saint-Saens that's fine, but I'm not going to let you do that to Bach. Put it away."
posted by nathancaswell at 6:03 PM on November 6, 2012 [9 favorites]
Thank you, I really needed this!
posted by honey badger at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by honey badger at 6:21 PM on November 6, 2012
I played the cello through high school, and Cello Suite No. 1 was one of the pieces I was working on when I graduated and went to University. Playing music really enhances the appreciation of the music. I can never listen to this, or other pieces I have played the same again.
Edit to add:
Listening to this, I realize that I was maybe too hard on myself when I was playing. Playing a solo cello piece like that makes the quality of each and every note stand out. I was always bothered by the slight metallic overtones that were particularly noticeable playing solo, and playing in softer passages. It is somewhat gratifying to see that it happens to highly skilled cellists as well. This was obviously not a problem playing in an ensemble and I greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of it as well, making my individual lessons that much more challenging.
posted by jamincan at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012
Edit to add:
Listening to this, I realize that I was maybe too hard on myself when I was playing. Playing a solo cello piece like that makes the quality of each and every note stand out. I was always bothered by the slight metallic overtones that were particularly noticeable playing solo, and playing in softer passages. It is somewhat gratifying to see that it happens to highly skilled cellists as well. This was obviously not a problem playing in an ensemble and I greatly enjoyed the camaraderie of it as well, making my individual lessons that much more challenging.
posted by jamincan at 6:41 PM on November 6, 2012
Mod note: Hey, we're asking people to please not do the "edited to add" thing, thanks. You can see the guidelines on the edit page itself, and there's also a link there for more info.
posted by taz (staff) at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012
posted by taz (staff) at 9:50 PM on November 6, 2012
I have probably linked to this before somewhere, but I love the viola da gamba interpretation by Paolo Pandolfo.
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:25 AM on November 7, 2012
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:25 AM on November 7, 2012
To lower the tone of this post a bit, I once visited a farm where the chickens were all crying out to hear more of his pieces.
posted by Twang at 3:43 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Twang at 3:43 PM on November 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
An archeologist excavates Bach's tomb. Upon entering he is shocked to find the genius sitting at a small desk, frantically erasing page after page of sheet music by candlelight. Shocked, the archeologist drops his tools and stammers a question... "W-w-w-w-what are you d-d-oing???"
Bach looks up. "I'm decomposing," he intones.
posted by nathancaswell at 5:24 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
Bach looks up. "I'm decomposing," he intones.
posted by nathancaswell at 5:24 PM on November 7, 2012 [2 favorites]
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And here's Maisky a few decades later, playing the same piece, but with a different interpretation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk8QNzkzwYg
posted by RakDaddy at 2:13 PM on November 6, 2012