Wow! Now that we've set the frame of what mere mortals sound like, we're going to be listening to the Ling Ling's out there. The great gods and goddesses of violin playing. That's right. Today, it's going to be very different type of episode. Getting in touch with our very classical violin nerdy side, and just discuss what we think, are... Oh, well... Future Eddy here. Just realised we only filmed 8 instead of 10, but, we decided since this was a very lengthy discussion already, we'll leave today's episode at 8. If you like it, let us know, we might show you the remaining 2 epic performances in a future video. Alright, let's just start with an intense one. Oh, man! The subtitle in the description is "The devil's playing." Yeah... *chuckles* "Best violinist worldwide." *chuckles* Like the... ...onto the next string. - Yeah!
- It was so seamless. - Yeah.
- I can't even demonstrate it to you 'cause I can't do it We can demonstrate how a mere immortal - would do it!
- Yeah...! *laughs* - I can't...!
- Yeah...! The string crossing... And then...like a machine gun... *shriek* *laughs* It's almost at the edge of supersonic. Like any faster, you wouldn't be able to hear... - Yeah.
- ...the notes. - I feel like this recording back then couldn't keep up.
- Yeah! Given that, just the arpeggio, the speed... - and the...that's how seamless it was.
- Yeah. You don't hear the shifts, you don't hear the string crossings. And his hand just went like this. (both) Bang! Uh, funny story actually. - Oh, yeah.
- We recently met up with um... Still never know how to pronounce his name properly. "Ka-VA-kos"? "KA-va-kos"? - We should ask him.
- Yeah. - Anyway!
- Sorry if you're watching this. But he was telling us his mindset when he was performing this iconic performance. - Yeah.
- And he basically said, "I felt like I was playing slow." He said it was all under control, and his father, at the time, told him, "Don't play any faster, because then people won't be able to hear the notes." - Look how much control he had then.
- Yeah. If he used to play that so clean, - he must be able to go faster.
- He has to. - He would be able to.
- Yeah. *laughs* Okay, like to be fair, he's not doing the - "three-down-one-up" original ricochet...
- Yeah, bowing... - ...bowing, which is harder.
- Yeah. - The one that, if you want to look at that,
- Yeah. check out Sumina's video which we reviewed before. Very good rendition of that, but... He definitely more than makes up for it with - just the insane speed and accuracy.
- Oh man...intonation, accuracy, the dynamic changes, and that's... Wow. - I...yeah, good choice.
- Good choice, good choice. This one just always left an impression on me when I first heard it. It's uh, the Allegro... from the 3rd Sonata in C major by Bach, and played by Hillary Hahn. Ooh... - Ahh...
- Wow, that's... *chuckles* - It's so smooth!
- it just keeps going. The phrase started from the first note - and it hasn't stopped since.
- Yeah. - 'Cause...yeah...!
- There's all these sub-phrases inside. The way she plays it somehow like... - It's like—
- It's a bit like if you compared it, it's like... My road's got little bumps, where her's just like... ...like some—
- Yeah, and the phrasing, we both reacted to was like the... Yeah! I can't do it! It's just "duh-duh-duhhh", it's like it's... ...diminuendo, but not really diminuendo, it's just uh... ...take back. Every note is so articulate, - so in tune,
- Clear... but also—yeah, clear, and light. Whereas if you hear a lot of times, when violinists play, if it's... - Yeah.
- Yeah, it's... ...going into the rhythm, but because the sound is... - ...way down, it feels like...
- Heavy... But... - Just listen to the recordings.
- Yeah...! - Link in the description!
- We...we can't, we can't demonstrate...! Aiya...! - Yeah, I know what you mean.
- Oh! Can you hear like... It's not... It's... You hear the melody. It's that two violins playing on one. That's the part of the art, - Yeah.
-That great musicians can execute and do. And I don't know how old she was during this recording. 1997. Holy... (both) 18. Yo. Okay, I'm done. Okay, we'll do a spicy one. Oh... *chuckles* His bow was like... Okay, okay, just... That's it. There's that up bow staccato thing like... If you gave me three months to work on this now I probably can't do it still. Like... I've never been good at staccato, don't judge! It's not even just the upbow staccato he can control it all every part of the bow. What's really impressive is the... Yeah..! You almost got it! Staccato's one of those techniques, it's like... It's so flashy, but it's so like... Impractical. - Almost...yeah, impractical. It's like...
- *chuckles* - 0.1% of repertoire uses it,
- Yeah. - but if you can do it's really impressive.
- Ah, yeah. The amount of effort, - for the return.
- Yeah, yeah. The amount of effort to learn it, - you only can do it a few times.
- Yeah, I never could be bothered. I know. - I'm just making excuses 'cause I can't do it.
- *laughs* Vengerov, Ysaÿe. Oh man. - Yeah.
- This is a live recording, and this was— He played this as an encore after the entire Sibelius... - Mm-hmm.
- ...concerto. Dude, how smooth is that. He makes it sound so easy. Yep. - I remember practicing that for ages.
- Yeah! Getting the intonation and then move you arm— - It's one of the hardest beginnings.
- Yeah. Dude. - Conor McGregor, step aside.
- *snickers* This is the real boxing. - No one gets hurt as well.
- Yeah...! - I love the—
- The control in dynamics, how aggressive and then soft— - Yeah.
- Like wHooOOOooaAAA!!! He's like, he's messing with your emotions, man. - Yeah...!
- *laughs* And then the... - Yeah.
- It just sounds like a race car. - Yeah.
- "Here we go, vroom!!!!" This bit. - It's like a whip.
- Yeah. - But then, the end.
- But then— - The end—
- The end is like, always the one that blew my mind. - Yeah, this is...iconic.
- He goes... He goes crazy. Seatbelts on! Witness a piece of history! *chuckles* He's like... - It's like a rock concert, but it's on one violin.
- Yeah. It's so, tricky, to coordinate. Yeah. - Not easy.
- Yeah. Oh by the way, one thing. If you want to know more about this Vengerov, and the ballade, You can find these masterclass series with Vengerov, and he's very good at masterclasses and teaching in a... ...descriptive way. - He's very imaginative.
- he's very, very imaginative. - He paints a really good picture.
- Yes. So the whole boxing analogy and the train, he really talks about that in... ...there's a particular masterclass he did. You really see the difference between playing the notes - versus making music.
- Yes. Very good. That is—I agree. That was a very good one. Alright, let's go back in time! Let's do uh... ...Mischa Elman. Ooh...! Interesting pick. Dude, this is like...sexy music. It's so nice! *chuckles* Yeah! This is nice. - It's like...
- You can hear the old recording "tssss"... - *chuckles*
- That's nice. Yeah. The same phrase, but he changes the vibrato, adds a little... - Different embellishment, bow speed...
- Uh...the... - ...the glisses, you know...
- Yeah. I don't know, I just see... - The way he depicts it is really nice.
- Yeah. Older style playing really has that kind of sweeter... - ...the faster vibrato, and the slides.
- Sound. Yeah. These days, everyone's a bit more like fiery, - and flashy.
- Yeah. Back then, it just felt... I don't know, or maybe it's just the black and white, - I don't know. Placebo.
- Yeah, I know. But it just feels more nostalgic, - listening to it.
- Yeah. - And also I think more personal taste.
- Mmm. They didn't have intent to hear other people so they created their own sound. Today, we have a lot on Internet, which is good, but also, of course... - ...it's less people—
- Everyone starts veering towards a - similar type of sound.
- Yeah, everyone starts heading a certain way. Not to say that's a bad thing, it's just you lose a lot of... - Individuality.
- ...individuality. Where things came from. Actually, this is one I only discovered recently. The violinist's called David Nadien. And, uh... ...I discovered him thanks to again... - Kavakos.
- ...Leonidas Kavakos. "Kav-kos". He was like, "There's this violinist. And the first time I heard him, he made me want to quit the violin." - I was like, "Who is this?!"
- "We need to listen to this guy now!" Yeah, unfortunately, there's not much of him. I just know that he was a concertmaster of New York Phil. Uh, I think the album is really amazing. The Humoresque one, you can see here. I encourage you to listen to that. I think— Or, Kavakos said his career was kind of over sh— under the shadows. - Yeah...yeah.
- He was covered by a lot of artists at that time, so he didn't really have that op...a name. - It sounds so sweet.
- Yeah, it's simple. Yeah, you can hear him, he's also not trying to make things up. He's not trying too hard. He's not trying too hard, he's just... ...this is as pure as it can get with the music. Like yes, sure, there is rubato because it's Tchaikovsky, but it's not like, "Look at me I'm pulling back here" type of... - Yeah, this is like...
- ...type of rubato. - ...a little bit here, a little bit there.
- Yeah. Yeah, when he goes soft... When he goes soft, the quality of the sound is still there. It doesn't disappear. Most times when we go soft, it... Yeah when we go soft, it just sounds like... - *retching sounds*
- Yeah... *chuckles* - There's still substance in his tone.
- Yeah. Ohh. I love the... I suck. Yeah, this is... ...just destroying our self-esteem now. *sigh* Janine, Tchaikovsky! Yayyyyyyy... By the way, do you guys like this type of episode? If you do, leave a like. And comment on what your favourite music is, actually, - Yeah.
- I'm sure there are a lot of pieces out there. Maybe we can do another video on... ...they, like...the... My violin just decided to quit on me. Alright, no need to watch my stream, just watch this. It starts! Bam! - And you just...
- And it just captures you, it's like... "Here we go!" And the intensity. It wasn't even like a... It's like... "I'm here!!!" The...the small notes as well. Even the small notes...yeah. One of the things when you listen to great artists, is that actually, the small connections between... - Yes .
- ...notes, that really are like... ...show, how good they are. - *sigh*
- Damn. I need to practice more. - Anne-Sophie Mutter's Kreutzer.
- Ohhhh!!! Boom! 'Cause I was learning this um... It's Beethoven Sonata no. 9, - for piano, and violin, and...
- Yeah. This... ...is a ridiculous recording. Alright, this opening... To go from like, "Boom!", within one bow, to soft... ...but then, like double stops, - and control...
- And intonation! - And intonation.
- And sound. It is one of the hardest things to get from - out of nowhere.
- Yeah. My bow would be like... Dude, it's a live performance! I'd be like... And on the up bow you'll like, - *chuckles*
- "Aghhhh!!!!" "The bow's getting heavier down here! Lighten up!" But, the part you need to listen to, is... It's really... It's so good. That's like, her chords' like a cannon there. - Bam!!! So strong, it's like, boom!
- Bang! Yeah...! It's just, so like... It's like, "Ooh, don't get me, oh— - Bam!!!!"
- So it was like, frantic, but so accurate, just controlled. I've been practicing that, - that is the hardest transition.
- Yeah. To go from...this massive... To like a... Yeah. - Can I just say, also this piece,
- Yeah, it's so... a lot of it is in an awkward register in the violin. - So...yes,
- To project! I remember playing it as well, you know the... Whatever it is, like— You're in this... - Kind of...D-A string...
- D-A-G string. The violin really struggles to project there. While if it was on the E string, you can... - ...it's easier to make a sound.
- Yeah. Or G string. But when you're here... ...playing fortissimo, [it's] also very easy to touch the other strings. It's like Beethoven just didn't care. He was like... "I'm going deaf anyway." - Yeah, yeah.
- "Play." "Triple forte!" - "This is how I want my music, do it!"
- Yeah! And because it's Beethoven too, you'll notice like in the beginning, during the piano, - no vibrato!
- Yeah. You can't hide your intonation with that... - Yeah. *chuckles*
- Yeah! Alright guys, thank you so much for watching, we encourage you guys to watch these recordings, these are the ones that shaped our music careers. If you're not a musician, these are great music to listen to anyway. Go practice. Please like and subscribe. This is all I can do. Historical performance.
