[sarcastic waltz figure]

November 10, 2017 2:23 PM

Pianist Nahre Sol improvises Mary Had A Little Lamb in the style of Bach, Rameau, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Messiaen, Schoenberg, Glass, Reich, and herself. (SLYT)
posted by theodolite (27 comments total)

Man, that's pretty good. Thanks!
posted by notsnot at 2:51 PM on November 10, 2017

Ha, that was hilarious. I laughed out loud at Shostakovich composing a "Sarcastic Waltz Figure".
posted by Nelson at 2:52 PM on November 10, 2017 [5 favorites]

Oh, wow. I now know to go seek out some Chopin and Debussy to relax with, and maybe Prokofiev when I want something more upbeat.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 2:57 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

BRASH INTERJECTION
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 2:58 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

The annotations just totally make it. Delightful.
posted by cortex at 3:00 PM on November 10, 2017 [9 favorites]

and i like how specific the terminology is
posted by Foci for Analysis at 3:09 PM on November 10, 2017

Loved all the variations on a theme, the snarky commentary, the educational notes, but the clear star of the video was the little white dog reclining under the piano.
posted by xyzzy at 3:17 PM on November 10, 2017 [10 favorites]

I don't know anything about classical piano and still loved this... it's... fun.
posted by Cosine at 3:25 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Brilliant.
posted by phenylphenol at 3:48 PM on November 10, 2017

I read that the whole tone scale (Debussy) is often used in cartoon music. Why would that be?
posted by thelonius at 3:59 PM on November 10, 2017

That was super enjoyable, thank you!
posted by merriment at 4:22 PM on November 10, 2017

CUTE DOG.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:11 PM on November 10, 2017

I read that the whole tone scale (Debussy) is often used in cartoon music. Why would that be?

Are you perhaps thinking of Raymond Scott?
posted by lagomorphius at 5:17 PM on November 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

Clearly some of you are just here for Bobby.
posted by sysinfo at 5:43 PM on November 10, 2017

This was fantastic, glad I watched it!
posted by lemonade at 6:28 PM on November 10, 2017

Are you perhaps thinking of Raymond Scott ?

Thanks for that! Maybe my source (which I don't recall the name of) was.
posted by thelonius at 7:39 PM on November 10, 2017

She fails to mention that the Philip Glass interpretation of Mary Had a Little Lamb is about 24 minutes long.
Also, I never knew that I wanted to hear an album of lullabies in the style of Messiaen.
posted by kmkrebs at 8:16 PM on November 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

"odd number of notes in the left hand"
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:01 PM on November 10, 2017

the clear star of the video was the little white dog reclining under the piano

I had to double-check to make sure that wasn't a lamb.
posted by flabdablet at 4:53 AM on November 11, 2017 [2 favorites]

Cf, with words, Tom Lehrer on Clementine
posted by BWA at 6:32 AM on November 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

This is more Anna Russell's stomping ground than Lehrer's.

How to Write Your Own Gilbert and Sullivan Opera
Wagner: Ring der Nibelungen, an analysis

Dudley Moore has done excellent work in this space as well.
posted by flabdablet at 8:40 AM on November 11, 2017 [4 favorites]

Back in the 70s, I saw George Shearing in concert do this, only he used a mix of classical, pop, and jazz composers. His starting theme was from Salem cigarette ads

(And if you've never listened to Anna Russell's take on Wagner linked above, do yourself a favor and click the URL. It's brilliant.)
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 9:49 AM on November 11, 2017

delicious!
posted by leslies at 12:04 PM on November 11, 2017

Satie would have been a nice addition to this.
posted by coolxcool=rad at 6:08 PM on November 11, 2017

Dudley certainly owes him.
posted by flabdablet at 1:53 AM on November 12, 2017

You know, this is amazing - what talent! - and would also serve as an excellent primer on these composers. I was familiar with about half of them on display, and they were absolutely on the money.
posted by turbid dahlia at 4:18 PM on November 12, 2017

Awesome.
posted by ageispolis at 6:58 PM on November 29, 2017