httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E
You might have heard the piece 4’33” (Four minutes and 33 seconds) by John Cage for piano, but here it is presented by a full orchestra.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y
John Cage talks about Silence. “We don’t know a difference between time and space, we don’t know where one starts and the other stops.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbltJNYaH0k
Where do Musicals come from? Also on my blog you can find related clips from “Broadway: The Golden Age”. I own this movie and it’s fantastic for giving an understanding of the roots and development of the American Broadway Musical. This short clip here is from the same producers. (In fact I did a glowing review of the film and one of the producers posted a comment here on my blog – not THAT’S cool.)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOA6q88PssE
Official Cirque Du Soleil TOTEM trailer. Opening May 2010.
TOTEM traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. The characters evolve on a stage evoking a giant turtle, the symbol of origin for many ancient civilizations.
TOTEM retrace le périple fascinant de lespèce humaine, de son état primitif damphibien jusquà son désir ultime de voler. Ses personnages évoluent sur une piste en forme de tortue géante, symbole dorigine de plusieurs civilisations anciennes.
http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem
Cirque du Soleil has unveiled details about Totem, its acrobatic show inspired by the founding myths and legends of aboriginal cultures and slated to premiere in Montreal in April 2010.
Jerry Nadal (senior vice-president for resident shows of Cirque du Soleil): ‘We’re here for the long hall’ as reported April 7, 2010 in the Macau Daily Times. Full article posted here with link to original MDT article at end of post.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPNxTCp9mEQ
Comedian Lee Evans performs the Lee Evans Trio.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-tOsM6F4Y
Maybe I’ve been hanging out with too many ladybodys in Macau, but this is pretty damn cool. Lin Yu sings Dolly Parton classic on Taiwanese talent show Super Star Avenue, giving his all for the $1 Million prize. (Parton wrote and first recorded the song, which Whitney Houston later recorded.)
Adam Guettel is the composer and lyricist for “The Light In The Piazza” – a musical, but really worthy of the title “opera”. I’ll tell you first why Piazza and Guettel interest me, and then following will be more biographical info and article links.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ikqeG4ab3Q
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz7HCGpRZDM
Leonard Bernstein. Young people’s concerts. What is Orchestration?. March 8, 1958
Bernstein discusses orchestration beginning with Rimsky-Korsakov live performance examples. He also plays examples of bad orchestration.
Continue reading “Leonard Bernstein – What is Orchestration?”
Happy Easter 2010!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMSEPUuNP8k
(Part Two is the performance, so I post it first)
Itzhak Perlman and Peter Schickele mix it up in a hilarious duet at a Boston Pops Concert with John Williams conducting. Part 1 is mostly the setup, with Peter Schickele expounding on the life of P.D.Q. Bach, “the 21st of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 20 children.”
PDQ Bach is the ultimate in combining High Art and Low Art for awesome high brow comedy. It was great in this video to see PDQ Bach, violinist Itzhak Perlmand and composer/conductor John Williams all working together on the gags. I also like how the music makes you wait for each subsequent gag as they are interspersed with a fiarly straight ahead Riccoco style orchestration.