Quote of the Day

The unnamed pianist in this Twitter status update certainly put their foot in their mouth, as ShellyAnnSings tweets:

Accompanist said "I'm sorry, I was counting like a singer"The chorus booed, & thedirector informed us that there'd be stones available after

Sviatoslav Richter Skit from Monty Python

Monty Python's skit of pianist and escape artist Sviatoslav Richter playing the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto:

Insane Second Viennese School Commercial

Those of you enamored of Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, and even those who are not may enjoy this parody from YouTube:



(Via the well tempered blog)

Hysterical Rant About Pachelbel's Canon

At least pianists can play all the voices in Pachelbel's Canon in D. Just think of the tedium that cellists have to go through...Rob Paravonian rants about being stalked by this classical warhorse in this hilarious rant from a performance at Penn State.



See also:

YouTube Moonlight Sonata Comments...Dramatized
Skateboard Flutist
Piano-flinging Trebuchet at Burning Man 2007

The Lang Lang Adidas Shoe

As first mentioned by Opera Chic and Jessica Duchen, Adidas has just come out with a trademark Lang Lang shoe. From the press release:

The successful adidas Originals iconic model Gazelle was first released in 1968 as an athletic training shoe. The highly elegant black and golden Lang Lang special edition includes the Lang Lang name in Chinese at the heels as well as a silhouette of the pianist in typical concert pose. Moreover the inside of the sneaker links to Lang Lang’s music in having golden piano pedals printed on the sock liners.

Typical concert pose? (see left) I wasn't aware that piano playing was about striking poses, but will take it under consideration. I like the golden pedal idea--I'll need to talk to my technician about having them installed.

Some questions I have regarding the newfound practice of pianist-branded footwear:

• Are they optimized for flutter pedalling?
• Will they become popular among pianists?
• Will they be seen on stage by aspiring pianists?
• Do they come in size 15? I have large feet!
  

And above all, will other pianists follow Lang Lang's lead? It's not hard to imagine a world with other types of these shoes (ie. an Andreas Schiff Cole-Haan oxford, or the Nike Air Brendel.)

Wearing this ill footwear, Lang Lang should perhaps consider writing a piano transcription of the king of footwear songs, Run DMZ's My Adidas...

Skateboard Flutist

Outside the Mississauga campus of the Royal Conservatory of Music, this flute-wielding skateboarder was recently sighted.....wait a minute......looks........familiar.....

Yes, it's none other than Jamie of Urban Flute Project in the middle of a guerilla flute performance, complete with awesome Doppler effect as he passes the camera.

Chelsea Piano....in Pink

Chelsea London Pianos are available in black, white, mahogany, and pink. Another color soon to be offered: blue.

(Via London Pianos' photostream on Flickr)

More cool pianos:

M. Liminal, NYT Line's Custom Fazioli
The Schimmel Pegasus
Video of Piano-flinging Trebuchet
Jazz Garden w/ Piano Fountain

Where Not To Put a Piano

Oops.

(Via Piano's Place in Public and Adamo W. Jr. II's photostream on Flickr)



Update: Michael Vincent's take on this image

Beethoven Action Figure

(Via sugarpacketchad's photostream on Flickr)

More composer action figures:

-Beethoven with a certain Viennese friend
-I never would have known
-At what appears to be a Liederabend of some sort
-I don't think these two get along!

Anna Russell on How to Become a Singer

Make sure you watch to the end of this outrageous clip with Anna Russell's advice to those who would seek a career as an [ahem] opera singer.

Musical How-to Lists

This how-to list thing is getting out of hand. Here are a few from eHow:

How to start a classical music collection
How to listen to classical music critically
How to listen to opera
How to attend a baroque music concert
How to attend a choral concert
How to attend a solo piano concert
How to attend an early music concert

These two are my favorites:

How to select music for a tupperware party
How to appreciate death metal

(Via oboeinsight)

Girl Devoured By Piano

This is without a doubt the weirdest video I've ever seen involving a piano.




(Thanks, well tempered blog!)

Huge List of Classical Music Exam Bloopers

Andrew Levin has compiled America's Favorite Classical Music Bloopers from papers, exams, and assignments handed in by his Music Appreciation students over the years at Clemson. Below I've included some lowlights highlights:

[Chopin] died at age 39 from tuberculosis, which was a popular disease in the nineteenth century.

Two musical innovations arose during [the Middle Ages]. Name one. [Answer:] Wheel barrow

How did audiences first react to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. [Answer:] They held a riot

The musicians instilled a suffering to the work that made you feel as if you were suffering yourself.

I also liked the surprise piece...I think the title was Burglar's Holiday.

It was a first for both of us to experience live jazz music. It was a family atmosphere with an exception of one naked drunk, but that's expected anywhere, right?

Quote of the Day

"I always make sure that the lid over the keyboard is open before I start to play." -Artur Schnabel, Australian pianist, [when] asked the secret of piano playing.

from Piano Humor and Trivia

Opera Bloopers

A few months ago I linked to a few opera blooper videos on YouTube. People have recently been asking about them so here is one of the videos once again:



Note: I don't really think these bloopers are footage from real performances--you'll notice the same actors keep on coming back. Alas, they're probably staged for television but are every bit as funny.

Another great audio-only blooper: the legendary Messiah Organist on Crack.

(Via soundtrk)

Dudley Moore as Britten/Pears on Youtube

This Youtube features pianist and comedian Dudley Moore doing a spoof of Peter Pears singing the work Benjamin Britten in "Little Miss Britten".

Collaborative Piano vs. Piano Accompanying

Today's live matchup is being held from Google Smackdown, the site where two duelling search entries go head-to-head on Google to see which one appears more across the web.

Today's match features the challenger, Collaborative Piano, a young upstart with a short but excellent track record as a dynamic team player as it goes up against the champion, Piano Accompanying, with its long record of competence, albeit with a certain sense of subservience and discretion.

The entries are loaded into the search engine. And they're off...

And the undisputed champion is:

Piano Accompanying with 2050 hits over Collaborative Piano with 1080.

Collaborative Piano is furious and demands a rematch---Piano Accompanying very modestly agrees. There will be a rematch sometime in 2006. So until then, create that web-based content with your favorite candidate and we'll see you next time on Google Smackdown.

Ensemble Humor

Here are some Rules for Ensemble Playing from the Witty Quotes Haven:

1. A wrong note played timidly is a wrong note. A wrong note played with authority is an interpretation.
2. Carefully tune your instrument before playing. That way you can play out of tune
all night with a clear conscience.
3. Stop at every repeat sign, and discuss in detail whether to take the repeat. The audience will love this a lot!
4. Markings for slurs, dynamics and ornaments should not be observed. They are only there to embellish the score.
5. A true interpretation is realized when there remains not one note of the original.
6. If a passage is difficult, slow down. If it's easy, speed it up. Everything will work itself out in the end.
7. The right note at the wrong time is a wrong note (and vice versa).
8. Everyone should play the same piece.
9. If you are completely lost, stop everyone and say, "I think we should tune."
10. Strive to get the maximum NPS (notes per second). That way you gain the admiration of the incompetent.
11. Take your time turning pages.
12. Keep your fingering chart handy. You can always catch up with the others.
13. If you play a wrong note, give a nasty look to one of your partners.
14. Happy are those who have not perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.
15. If the ensemble has to stop because of you, explain in detail why you got lost. Everyone will be very interested.
16. When everyone else has finished playing, you should not play any notes you have left. If you have notes left over, please play them on the way home.
17. If everyone gets lost except you, follow those who get lost.