Thank you so much! I hope you'll tell your friends about this episode and consider subscribing to The Gould Conversations, where the arts and conversation are king!
@@BrianLevine-p5e Yes, will tell. Btw, I also bought Walter Carlos LP - it was my first listen to Brandenburg 3 - then I got one with all 6 concerts - with strings, woodwind and brass. The CD I have listened most to is probably The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould. Keep up the good work!
@@ojtrumpet Thank you, OJ. You're very kind, and it's great to be in touch with another "Gouldberg" lover, as well as someone whose journey, like mine, started with Switched-on Bach! BTW, do you play the trumpet?
@@BrianLevine-p5e Yes, and the other brass. Btw, I was in a pit this evening rehearsing The Nutcracker. I now mostly play french horn (more to do than on trumpet in symph. orch)
I should add to my previous comment, how refreshing it is to hear two participants in a discussion listening to each other without constantly interupting each other. This is why Rick's interviews are so good, and it seems Brian is of a similar bent.
Wow, what a pleasure to hear two deeply knowledgeable music lovers, practitioners, aficionados, teachers, spend an hour and a half in interesting, intelligent discussion. Well done both of you.
Rick interviewed in the way he interviews his guests - archival knowledge of their career and work, deep affection, respect and empathy. Well done Brian!
My introduction to Rick was his you tube post, what makes Bach great’ and I was hooked. So much knowledge and appreciation of all musical genres and more importantly the links between them rather than the differences. Grateful for all his experience that he has shared, so many gems.
So true, Greta! It is a world at our fingertips . . . I hope you enjoyed the program and will check out some of our other great conversations with some of the world's most amazing artists. Happy listening! Brian
great talk, Rick is going down in history as a significant figure in music for his work. he's the best because he doesn't ask about gossip, or fashion, he asks about music theory, and inspiration, and he listens.
I completely agree. Rick fills an important void - music education and music appreciation and history. They aren't taught in school, but Rick has a magic touch - he makes it fun and his own enthusiasm and curiosity inspire his audience to explore, discover and learn, bringing hidden treasures to light.
@@nathanclark4674 Thanks you, Nathan. We try. It's important to try an get on the same wavelength as our guests, and with Rick, it just came naturally.
Thank you both for this wonderful discussion. It would be really nice if Rick did some more programs about classical music. Rick's knowledge and love covers so many areas of music so his input here would be of great value. Classical music feels more dated than ever in the media and many people have no idea what it is anymore. I don't expect it to be as popular as popular music, but those who would probably have an affinity for it are sadly missing out on this opportunity now. Remember Leonard Bernstein's educationally oriented programs once for inspiration.
Hi Conny, I'll pass this along to Rick. He loves classical music and I think he finds the distinction between it and every other kind of good music to be artificial and unnecessary. If it excites you, moves, you, takes you to another world, it's great. And as he's said, anybody who's fallen in love with the film scores of John Williams or Thomas Newman is enjoying classical music - a rose by any other name! A young university under-grad friend of mine recently wrote an article for the University of Toronto newspaper urging her peers to "just give it a try" - and this led to some very in-depth email exchanges between us about why classical music has become so remote from the listening experience and awareness of generations. There are many factors: first, there's so much of it! An artist like Adele has produced 4 studio albums. Bach wrote 1080 major compositions (that have survived - how many haven't come down to us is anybody's guess). Where to begin? Also the history of Rock 'n' Roll is about 70 years long. The history of "classical" music is 1000 years, and spans many countries, cultures and even continents. There is also a much smaller financial incentive for the music industry to heavily promote "marginal" genres than major hits. The music business is a business, after all, and it devotes more of its resources where the returns are bigger and come faster than anywhere else. But don't lose heart. There are literally hundreds of millions of classical music fans around the world, and they're not going anywhere! In China alone, there are something like 60 million kids studying piano and it's all classical, all the time! So here's a challenge - pick out an exciting, gut-punching piece of classical music - Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, Carmina Burana, The Rite of Spring, the finale from Dvorak's "New World" Symphony, Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Or something just too beautiful to believe, like a Chopin prelude, the slow movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, or the aria from Bach's Goldbergs (played by Gould, of course), and get a young friend to sit and listen to it. Play it more than once if they find it takes some time to get used to. (Have some sweet treats handy to keep them from getting up and leaving), and then ask them what they felt . . . maybe they'll want to hear more. Everybody needs a friendly guide to start them on a new journey . . .
Rick is a great music educator for what he does on RUclips. He’s a great bridge from the rock side to the classical. Bernstein was a great bridge from the classical side to rock. Each knows his respective audience and says to it, “Hey, you should listen to this…”
Yes, it was really a treat and an honour that he agreed to appear on The Gould Standard - it is quite rare for him to do this kind of interview, but he made it a pleasure to have this conversation from the first syllable to the final coda . . .
@@BrianLevine-p5e I just watched the Wynton Marsalis interview. Very good and thanks for letting him talk and not asking stupid questions like many others have.
@@PeterWetherill Thanks Peter. I like to have a good conversation, which means I don't always sit with my mouth shut, but let's face it, the only reason for The Gould Standard is to let our guests tell their own stories.
Thanks so much to TGS and Brian for bringing Rick in for this discussion. The work that Rick is doing with his channel is so important in contributing to and creating an historical record of modern music while also paying homage to the classical roots of the musical past. So happy to see Rick being recognized for his work.
Thanks, Peaceful! Rick is one of a kind. In a way that's a pity. Our cultural understanding would be so greatly enhanced if there were more great communicators and educators like him, and not just for music, but for all the arts, for diplomacy and for cross-cultural understanding. We live in hope . . .
58:30 my first listen to the White Album with Koss headphones....Dear Prudence blew my mind....and good tunes do this 60 years later. Great video thank you!
I totally agree, Stephen. Great music is evergreen, eternal. We still sing folksongs, Christmas Carols and hymns, and even nursery rhymes for our children that are centuries old. They never tire us, and the great artists of our own time like the Beatles are the same. They merge into our consciousness and enrich our lives forever. Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your White Album memories! Brian
Thanks so much, Blue! Rick really made it easy for me, but it was also an honour to be granted an interview, since he rarely lets anybody turn the tables and interview him. I think you'll enjoy some of our other episodes - our guests are awesome and have incredible stories that they generously share with us. I'd love it if you'd tell your friends about us, subscribe and try out some of the other interviews.
What a great interview. The comment about live music was fascinating and made me wonder what Glenn Gould - who quit playing live precisely because the studio was a far better canvas on which to create - would say in response.
Rick's great. He sometimes gets criticised in the vein of 'old man shaking his fist at..' etc, but he's about 90% bang on about many things. Thank you for interviewing him 👍 I related in some part to the 'unreleased music' aspect you covered during the conversation. In effect, when i used to write & record music for licensing & placements, I'd usually do at least two versions of a piece in order to increase my chances. There were a few occasions where there'd be a dozen variations on the same theme (i.e., muted parts, diff bassline, drums, top line etc) , and as the years went on, i accrued lots of these ; the last time i checked my archives ,there's over 600 unused pieces. Unless i splodge them all out on a streaming platform, they won't see the metaphorical light of any ear canal, other than mine & those who got to hear bits of those pieces back when they were recorded. That's just how it was; getting the gigs/ jobs meant going the extra mile(s) each & every time.
Amazing memories and thanks for your kind words, SRDhain - it would be neat just to be able to compare all those different versions to see how much they vary from one to the next, and which have the greatest and least musical impact.
Thank you! It was a real treat to spend so much time with Rick, and he was an awesome guest. If you liked this program, you will definitely like our other episodes - great conversations with great artists! Please tell your friends and consider subscribing.
Rick was a real treat to "interview" - but really, it was more of a conversation, like you might have over a coffee to discuss life, art, and the values that really give our time on this earth real meaning.
Bravo on this very well done interview. I just fell upon this video like many things that happens in life . I think Rick's work is pretty much the same.. The difference is to actually go there and discover much like what Rick did all his life. CUDOS to strength and honesty of this host. I'm sold on the intelligence or insightful maybe be a better adjective. . I'm now subscribed.
Maurice, thank you for this fantastic feedback. We'll keep digging deep and bringing you amazing artists on The Gould Standard. Thanks so much for subscribing!!! Please tell your friends about us, too.
Great interview! In fact, it's one of the best outside of the Q&A's I experienced at one of @Rick Beato's live symposium's here in Seattle. Here's an interesting thing (perk your ears, Rick!): as I queried of him, Timbral and Textural Factors in music are among the least explored, and truly, least understood in Music Theory. Oddly, those genres which have bypassed Harmony and Melody in favor of Rhythm and Timbre are breaking new ground, but haven't yet evolved a theoretical understanding as deep as their intuitive perception. Their audiences are just as satisfied, yet in new ways relative to older genres. Also, a brief, but relevant tangent: "Foley" and "Sound Design" in movie experiences are every bit the legitimate purview of Composers, should they choose to think (and hear) expansively. The Cohen Brothers' "Blood Simple" had a dramatic example of this in several moments throughout the film. Allow me to provide my favorite saying that I believe applies, aka: 'The Composer's Creed' - "There are no bad sounds or bad styles, just inappropriately placed ones". ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html - Regarding Copyright Strikes and Takedowns on RUclips: perhaps it's time to institute a "Critic's License" much like a "Frequent Flyer Variance" that helps mitigate the Security Gauntlet at airports, or a "Concealed Weapons Permit" for firearms, which would streamline the issue of "Fair Use; Legitimized" for RUclipsrs or other public platforms. It's sad, but perhaps necessary, given all the democratic or undemocratic authorities in our world. "Declaration of intent" for a video could at least interject a human element that would require "Authority In Kind" from these Megalithic institutions (such as youTube and Spotify) - giving fair warning that content SHOULD be inspected for the public good. "Fair Use" should hardly ever need to be invoked for Academia, yet RUclips is a new form of the same, just minus the "brick and mortar" physical structures that those historic institutions inhabit. ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html - OK, here's where I diverge more vehemently from the overall discourse. Yes, AI is BS. It's oversold, obstructive to the human creative process, and could endanger our collective skillset - BUT, there is another element that it could help with TREMENDOUSLY: the admin "required" to be a competent musician in the modern era. Sadly, that's absolutely NOT what the "Tech Bros" creating this tech have focussed on (to their eternal cultural shame), but that is where there could be some beneficial creative progress. The Music Industry itself has created this obnoxious model of expectation for creatives that is ABSOLUTELY unsustainable. Just ask any RUclipsr who can no longer follow other interests, even the "guiding light" of music. ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html - OK (Rick especially) here's another problem: modern Music Pedagogy is REALLY lazy! What's another subject (or musical factor) that SHOULD be taught for "Ear Training"? Rhythm, of course. Ridiculously, that was EXACTLY the curriculum radius that I was exposed to at Cornish... back in the mid '80's!!! Why aren't more colleges or other institutions as concerned with Rhythm Training as it concerns "Ear Training" or other Musical Factors? Harmonic relationships aren't the only ones that matter. This is freaking obvious if one bothers to listen to modern music at all.
You've got it, Billy! That's why orchestration is such a great art. If you look at an old classical warhorse like Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, well, it's like an orchestration textbook - everything just works, all in the service of emotion. Another great study is to look at the many different orchestrations of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (and instrumental transcriptions like the one my old record company did with organist Jean Guillou). I love the mastery of Ravel, but the Slavic intensity and savagery of Stokowski's arrangement is also compelling. We learn to feel through the quality of sound, from the time we hear our mothers cooing love and comfort as they send us to bed, to the harsh tones of disapproval when we misbehaved. Timbre is a language unto itself, and music can't live without it.
Greetings from the University of Guadalajara, Music. This was an excellent interview (Toronto-Atlanta). I have been curious to hear Rick Beato speak about his interests and future plans. On his channel, it is often difficult to cut through the chat or the flak. His jazz-style harmonic analyses at times confound me, but I've learnt from them. I (unfortunetely, perhaps) am a composer. Anyway, his interview with RickWakeman and others are outstanding. Fair dealing and educational uses for audio are valid points to bring up. His visit to Seattle a while back brought back memories (as I know some of those "grunge" guys personally). Perhaps Beato could do a video on Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven as he hopes to do; that would be great to bring some of the rocker and jazzers on his channel into the fold. I doubt Schönberg, Babbitt, Boulez and Ligeti will make it, but, who knows? Your channel, sir--TheGould Standard--is also grand. Saludos y éxito continuo.
Hi again - I've actually replied (with copious thanks) a couple of times, but it looks like my responses didn't get saved by RUclips for some reason. I just want to express appreciation again - it's wonderful to have listeners in Mexico, a country with such a rich culture and heritage. Back in my own record label days, I spearheaded a project for my label called "Music of Latin American Masters," mostly conducted by the late Eduardo Mata, himself a student of the great Chávez. What an honour it was to bring this amazing music to new audiences around the world! Please keep listening to The Gould Standard, subscribe and tell your friends! Hopefully this comment will get saved!!!
@BrianLevine-p5e Got it this time! Thanks for your kind words and recognition of our musical heritage/culture, which is an important one. Was looking at some Group of Seven paintings today, and thoughts turned northwards ;).
Great, informative, and fun interview! Thank you! By the way, speaking of the clavichord, there's a wonderful Oscar Peterson/Joe Pass duo record of music from Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'. Oscar plays this music on the clavichord and Joe Pass plays an acoustic archtop guitar. It's a uniquely wonderful recording. Their "I Loves You Porgy' is beautiful!
Evan, thanks so much for this. I was unaware of that recording, but I'm heading off to find it now! The sound of a clavichord can take some getting used to - the first time I heard it, I thought it sounded like little teaspoons striking tuned bowls of jello. But the more you listen, the more you realize the soft, intimate expressivieness of the instrument and can appreciate how much it meant to Bach. With all those kids in the house (he had 20, though not all survived childhood), you can imagine him working away at night on the only instrument that wouldn't wake the household (apparently he was also an accomplished lutenist, if memory serves - please correct me if I'm wrong). You know, in a world in which the belt, the scream, the yell and high decibels always pass for emotional intensity, I've always felt that there's more feeling in a whispered kiss than a howl of rage . . .
@@BrianLevine-p5e So well said, Brian! "...soft, intimate expressiveness"! I think that the Peterson/Pass recording I mentioned was from the mid 1970's on Norman Granz' Pablo label. I wore my vinyl LP out, back in the day, but I bought a CD version of it years ago.
Thank you so much for listening, Kostas. I hope you'll check out some of our other great episodes, subscribe and tell your friends about The Gould Standard. We love meeting new friends!😀
I'm sure you'll find it a deeply moving and spiritually energizing experience. Tradition is more than something buried in the past there - it lives and you can feel it in the music, the architecture, the people!
@@ColdGrayMorning Well, one can connect with the great traditions in both Austria (Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert in Vienna) and Germany (Beethoven: Bonn: Liszt - Weimar;:Bach: Leipzig)
Amazing, have taken groups of organists around saxony to live and breath Bach and his instruments. Once there you will feel the music as well as listen, and play
Absolutely correct - he was a true son of Montreal. Lived through tough times, and emerged as a global star, recognized for his incomparable technique and artistry. We were proud to make him a Glenn Gould Prize Laureate.
Yeah, I know how you feel - but Brandenburg is nothing compared to "Schemlli's Songbook" - which includes some pieces by Bach. As a kid, I thought it was the "Smelly Songbook" - ah, the innocence of youth! 😇
A very astute point. You can see this by comparing live performances to the studio recordings of the same song. I always seem to gravitate back to Tom Waits, who basically re-invented some of his masterpiece songs when it came time to take them on the road. Those performances are as different as night and day from the studio albums (I generally love both). So both the song and the realization in the recorded medium are really two different entities and we should recognize "the art of the studio," wen we fall in love with a fabulous track. I got into the record business because I was inspired by Glenn Gould's ideas about recording as a new and distinctive artistic medium, different from every early form of musical communication, a form which revels in the ratio of 1 to 1 (artist to a single listener) rather than the concert's 1 to 10,000 aspect ratio. Recording as a medium has its own rules, its own logic and aesthetic principles, which make it so powerful. And sadly, once of those principles is the ALBUM, which in the era of track-by-track streaming, is being sadly forgotten. We now live on a diet of single chapters of a novel, more infrequently going on the complete journey from start to finish, artfully programmed in an arc of discovery. Maybe the yearning for a renewal of that experience is a big factor in the vinyl renaissance? What do you think?
Have you ever heard the South Korean lyric soprano Sohyang? She is the real deal, one of the few it seems currently, and if you have not listened to her you will be gobsmacked as the British say. Sohyang is probably the best non-opera soprano on the planet right now. Look up her 2015 performances of "I Have Nothing," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Arirang Alone" and "Everyone" here on RUclips You can throw your ears away after that Brian. You will have heard everything, LOL! And there are many others that are simply world class dating back to 2010, when she had learned to hit notes perfectly after five sessions with Seth Riggs, her only formal instruction ever. David Foster, Michael Bolton, Josh Groban and others are just nuts about her and want to work with her whenever they are in South Korea. I have tried to bring her to the attention of Rick Beato but with thousands of replies to every one of his videos I don't think he has ever read my comment pointing her out to him. Once you hear her Brian, you can maybe email him and let him know about this secret Super Star!
Thank you, Todd, for introducing me to Sohyang. I was unfamiliar with her before your comment. She has a remarkable gift, and a pure voice, with an extended upper register. Her command of English is nigh unto impeccable, which helps a lot when she takes on a great song like Bridge Over Troubled Waters. I also checked out her performance of Adlophe Adam's O Holy Night, and found many of the same qualities. Great control, a sweet tone, a powerful belt and an extended upper register. The only thing I could wish for is for her to lose some of the syrupy arrangements, which seem cliché to me - but that may be the fault of the TV producers. Also, there are flashes of some really sweet and poignant head tones, but she uses that part of her vocal vocabulary too infrequently. Belting is great, but it works best in contrast with lyricism, I find - or at least that's my personal taste. I also am guessing that there is more of a lower register and an expressive chest voice among her natural gifts, but perhaps she could explore and develop them more fully as her musical journey evolves. She clearly has good ideas about style, and I hope she experiments more, takes some real interpretive chances and pushes herself musically beyond the natural comfort zone that she inhabits so exquisitely. Perhaps I haven't yet heard enough of her work and she may already be exploring new terrain, just as one of our other great Gould Standard guests, Cécile McLorin Salvant has voyaged far beyond her starting point as a more traditional jazz vocalist into thrilling, uncharted territory with her last albums, Mélusine (a stunner) and Ghost Song. This isn't really a fair comparison, but if you listen to Sohyang's O Holy Night, and then Mariah Carey's Gospel-infused interpretation of the same song, I think you'll see the potential of a young artist with a truly formidable gift to take a great piece of music and really make it her own. Again, this is no criticism of someone who really has a special talent - just a hope for amazing things to come as she continues to find her own unique path - a path as individual, personal and special as the exceptional vocal gifts she possesses.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Sohyang has actually been singing in earnest since she was about 18. She is now 46, believe it or not! She sang all the songs I listed in 2015 when she was 37 and refuses to sign with any big labels due to being a sincere Christian who is concerned that Hollywood would destroy her spiritually. She just turned down Sony Music US in 2020 and many others before that. If you managed to watch "I Have Nothing" she can sing it note for note the same this year, and has done it numerous times! And her 6th octave head voice is astounding! She can hit the 7th octave but never sings using it because no one could hear the squeak anyway, LOL! She must have at least 30 jaw dropping performances on RUclips and probably many more. I have seen many of them but not all. Anyway, _bon appetite_ Brian! There aren't many Sohyangs in this world. She has a brand new album out just this month called "Diva," and that she is! Nathan East plays bass on it. It is being distributed world wide by Warner Music Group, David Foster's former employers interestingly enough. 😉
Both of you guys have missed out on how Taylor Swift only mimes at her "concerts" and that she is all pre-recorded and auto-tuned. Fil Henley at Wings of Pegasus analyzed hours of her current Eras tour and has proved it conclusively.
Yes, but why focus on the negative. Clearly Taylor has "something" that reaches her fans at a deep level. If the joy is real, who are we to begrudge those who love her. I only wish we could reach a fraction of the people she reaches. Clearly that's a kind of genius too.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Is that focusing on the negative, or are you allowing the rich and famous to get away with fraud and deceit Brian? Many of us hate the lies and $1000 a ticket prices! Same with the Eagles!
@@BrianLevine-p5e The miming and auto-tuning at these phony "concerts" was my chief objection from your program Brian. Even you can remember when stars had to actually be able to sing to give a concert or get a recording contract! I enjoyed the rest of it.
@@ToddSauve I understand completely. If you think about it, less than a century ago, there were no microphones, amplifiers or loudspeakers in theatres, so singers had to reach the back of the house with their voices, usually over the accompaniment of a pit orchestra. This is still true with opera and it's an amazing phenomenon to think how two small flaps of tissue in the throat, the vocal chords, can create enough volume and projection to reach over a 100+ piece orchestra with full brass and percussion and reach a 3,000 member audience, as at the Metropolitan opera. But even back in the days of vaudeville and "Golden Era" Broadway, every singer needed to be able to do this, whether trained or not. If you ever hear recordings by Al Jolson or Eddy Cantor or Fanny Brice, it's a bit of a miracle that they could accomplish what they did. But as Rick says, training is often a thing of the past. And the advent of Stadium shows, elaborate staging, lights, fireworks, heavy amplification, choreography, has created an environment in which everything can go wrong if the vocals aren't pre-recorded and lip-synched. As for auto-tune, I heard one of the world's most famous pop singers on a Grammy pre-show TV special try to sing "unplugged" and without pitch correction a few years ago - I name no names. But it was horrendous. No ear training, hideous intonation. So we live in a world of artificiality and in terms of trying to recapture any sense of "authenticity" when it comes to these mega-concerts, we're a victim of our own grandiosity. It does, however, give you greater appreciation for those pop and rock singers who are serious about their music and can really "deliver the goods!"
@@cheneyrobert I always keep a supply of fine art paper notebooks and a massive collection of fountain pens, with a rainbow assortment of ink colours - creativity unleashed!
It's a precise replica of Glenn Gould's "lifelong boon companion" the eccentric, low chair that he played on all his life. The original is in the Library and Archives of Canada and is considered a national treasure, but the one you see in our podcast is a precise replica, created by the brilliant French designer, René Bouchara in a limited edition to commemorate Glenn Gould's 75th birth anniversary. I can assure you, it is MOST UNCOMFORTABLE!
@@BrianLevine-p5e when i had piano lessons many years ago, my teacher was not happ with the way i was placed at the piano, so he kept making this special piano chair lower and lower. when the mechanism was on minimal height, he said: "almost right, a little lower would be perfect." i had to agree, it felt almost right to me too - and i said: "Now wher'e in Glenn Gould territory." He laughed and said: "Well, you see, that was not excentric, it happened for a good reason."
@@BallisticEvents-e6i It just goes to show how personal music-making is and how what works perfectly for some people seems eccentric to others. But clearly a low chair was what you needed, and Glenn felt the same way. Having the keyboard almost at nose-height not only gave him a better sense of control, but also the ability to "lose himself" in the music making . . . once, when he was still giving concerts, he felt that the piano was still too low, so he had the stagehands raise the instrument by putting wood blocks under the legs!
No electricity either, or hot and cold running water. Aside from having 20 children (!), all poor Bach had was a quill pen, paper, his trusty clavichord and his powdered wig. But as Kapellmeister of the Thomaskirche, he wrote a cantata - an hour of incredible music - every single week for years, then arranged it, copied the parts, distributed it to his orchestra and choir, rehearsed them and then performed them. And found time for the Magnificat, Mass in B Minor, St. Matthew's Passion, Christmas Oratorio and other masterpieces - 1,080 works in all. Now that's amazing - and he wasn't even the fastest composer ever (that was Mozart) or the most prolific (that was Georg Philip Telemann). Maybe his secret was that he didn't write much for the lute. The baroque lute composer Sylvius Leopold Weiss (born 2 years after Bach and died the same year as Bach) was asked in his old age how long he had been playing the lute. He answered, "25 years." A friend overheard him and said, "Sylvius, why did you tell such a lie? I know you've had your lute since you were a boy. It's been 50 years!" To which Weiss replied, "25 years playing, 25 years tuning."
@@glenrotchin5523 Well, it is also the business model of a commercialized art industry. Scarcity leads to inflated value. Adele has made 4 studio albums. Would she be as profitable to the record industry if she had released 40 in the same period of time. The industry supports, markets, amplifies a few titles at a time and that funnels more money into those recordings with less effort than aggressively marketing a wide catalogue. Billboard has a Top 40 chart because that's a volume that the industry can deal with comfortably. It's like the great Kimberley diamond discovery in South Africa in the 19th century. Supposedly this led to the discovery of so many diamonds that, if they all came on the market at once, scarcity would be gone and so would the high value of the gems. The story goes that a huge hoard of diamonds is warehoused securely in the Netherlands, and a controlled number of stones is released onto the market at any given time to preserve the illusion of rarity, and keep the prices high. Whether this story is true or not, the same principle applies to music. We can't (or the industry can't) deal with 40 hit albums by the same artist in a 10 year period. So we're kept on a slow drip. Clearly that naive fellow Bach didn't understand the basic law of supply and demand. What record industry today could deal with 1080 masterpieces?
@@stuartwray6175 actually it was Pavarotti and a woman in full Viking mode singing with the NY skyline behind them being destroyed like there was ann earthquake--the design was left up to me and the Glenn Gould i knew said it was perfect--for the NY Philharmonic softball team
@@AIainMConnachie Sorry, Alain, I misunderstood. And you're right, of course. Beethoven was a visionary, but transitional figure. Without him, we could not have made the (r)evolution leading from "there to here." And in some ways, his late works vaulted into a space that really transcends any particular style and is "sui generis" (a thing unto itself). The Hammerklavier Sonata and the late quartets are not exactly classical, not exactly romantic - just unique. But I fully agree that, both in his musical development, and also in the "heroic, tormented loner" persona that he embodied, he triggered an explosion of new ideas, new expressiveness, new sounds, new emotionalism, new freedom with form in those who came after him and looked to him as an inspiration. These are the rare figures in cultural history whose work is cherished not only for its own excellence, but because it served as a springboard, launching us into a new era of artistic possibilities.
Ahhh the lute - it dances, it sings, it sighs and it cries - one of the great "quiet" instruments that can also roar like a lion (at low decibel levels!): ruclips.net/video/9evlSBlePMk/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/NdYxe-macaA/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/iTOuwe1i8uk/видео.html
@@jamesbrodrickmusic9567 Clip-ons are for wimps. All my ties are 100% self-tied. That's why the bows are not always perfect. No point in letting a factory do the tying for me! 😄
You are so right, Oliver. Please forgive my gaffe. That's one great thing about the internet, there is always somebody out there to set you on the right path when you get caught napping!
If you casually flick through this interview, it’s amazing how much the interviewer talks and how little Rick has the opportunity to talk. What a poor interview.
Hi Moyet, Thank you for this criticism - it's always an opportunity to learn and improve for the future. If you listen to the whole conversation, you might find that it was more balanced than you initially thought, but it was not intended to be an interview, but a conversation - suggesting a balance between the two parties, rather than a more traditional Q & A format. At least, that's what we aim for. Still, point well taken. It's the guest that counts. - Brian
Rick Beato is a music teacher/educator/RUclips personality first ---- NOT a musical artist in the highest sense of original creative compositions and performance. He is NOT a "songwriter" --- I have never heard s single song he has written that stands out at all. He is not a major recording artist --- has virtually no recordings of original music at all (or playing as a sideman with other musicians in bands). He is not a composer in any genre of music that I know of. Rick is definitely a musical expert and certified music professor, but that's it. Despite his stats, Rick Beato lives up to the old saying "Those who can, do --- those who can't, teach".
That's stupid. So, there's never been a great teacher who was not a great scientist, there's never been a great coach who was not a former elite player ... And so on.
I used to watch and listen to Rick Beato. Is experienced, talented, entertaining even wise And I don't have a dislike or a problem with the man, Other than he is a gear snob; and with rock music his best of are really myopic you know what band or songs will be on those lists without watching. But as He has grown on youtube He has become like a Pastor of a Mega church. And his million disciples believe his words as gospel. Well as we know. A particular "Gospel" for "this bunch" may not fly with "that bunch" or "them" so I pretty much quit watching Ricky about a year ago. He's too big and unapproachable. I'll stick with the smaller channels. Just Say'n.
Randall, of course you're entitled to your perspective, and I know that you are writing because you love music and it's your passion. Let's just say, "different strokes for different folks." Nobody is right for everybody, and we're lucky enough to live in a time when there are so many opportunities out there for us to find the voices that speak to us in a special way that resonates and captures what we prize the most in music. Rick has his fans, and maybe there's somebody else out there who speaks more clearly to your passion. As for my own experience with Rick, I found him very approachable. As for being a gear snob, he did agree with me that some of the greatest and most enduring recordings of all time were made in primitive studios without even multitrack or real reverb units - and in Mono too! Ultimately, I think he agrees that it's what goes on in front of the microphone that counts the most.
True enough - some people can't tell their Habsburgs from their Hohenzollerns without a program!. And some of us think a Thurn in Taxis is a cab you hail when you want to get across town in Regensburg . . . 😜
@@phasespace4700 Short of conducting a séance, I don't think any of us are in a position to tell him anything. He had the last word - it came out of the mouth of his Luger, as I recall.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Rather topical, given the recent Republican Anschluss here in the US. That said, I _wish_ Rick Beato would conduct a seance on his channel. That would be awesome!
And THANK YOU so much for listening. I hope you'll join us again, subscribe, tell your friends, and check out some of our past episodes. I think you will find that there's a lot to explore . . .
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
great, exciting interview that I followed in one go from beginning to end!
Thank you so much! I hope you'll tell your friends about this episode and consider subscribing to The Gould Conversations, where the arts and conversation are king!
@@BrianLevine-p5e Yes, will tell.
Btw, I also bought Walter Carlos LP - it was my first listen to Brandenburg 3 - then I got one with all 6 concerts - with strings, woodwind and brass.
The CD I have listened most to is probably The Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould.
Keep up the good work!
@@ojtrumpet Thank you, OJ. You're very kind, and it's great to be in touch with another "Gouldberg" lover, as well as someone whose journey, like mine, started with Switched-on Bach! BTW, do you play the trumpet?
@@BrianLevine-p5e Yes, and the other brass. Btw, I was in a pit this evening rehearsing The Nutcracker. I now mostly play french horn (more to do than on trumpet in symph. orch)
@@ojtrumpet And much harder, too, if I'm not mistaken!
I should add to my previous comment, how refreshing it is to hear two participants in a discussion listening to each other without constantly interupting each other. This is why Rick's interviews are so good, and it seems Brian is of a similar bent.
Wow, what a pleasure to hear two deeply knowledgeable music lovers, practitioners, aficionados, teachers, spend an hour and a half in interesting, intelligent discussion. Well done both of you.
Rick interviewed in the way he interviews his guests - archival knowledge of their career and work, deep affection, respect and empathy. Well done Brian!
My introduction to Rick was his you tube post, what makes Bach great’ and I was hooked. So much knowledge and appreciation of all musical genres and more importantly the links between them rather than the differences. Grateful for all his experience that he has shared, so many gems.
People like RB makes RUclips so precious.
So true, Greta! It is a world at our fingertips . . . I hope you enjoyed the program and will check out some of our other great conversations with some of the world's most amazing artists. Happy listening! Brian
great talk, Rick is going down in history as a significant figure in music for his work. he's the best because he doesn't ask about gossip, or fashion, he asks about music theory, and inspiration, and he listens.
I completely agree. Rick fills an important void - music education and music appreciation and history. They aren't taught in school, but Rick has a magic touch - he makes it fun and his own enthusiasm and curiosity inspire his audience to explore, discover and learn, bringing hidden treasures to light.
You nailed it.
@@nathanclark4674 Thanks you, Nathan. We try. It's important to try an get on the same wavelength as our guests, and with Rick, it just came naturally.
Thank you both for this wonderful discussion. It would be really nice if Rick did some more programs about classical music. Rick's knowledge and love covers so many areas of music so his input here would be of great value. Classical music feels more dated than ever in the media and many people have no idea what it is anymore. I don't expect it to be as popular as popular music, but those who would probably have an affinity for it are sadly missing out on this opportunity now. Remember Leonard Bernstein's educationally oriented programs once for inspiration.
Hi Conny, I'll pass this along to Rick. He loves classical music and I think he finds the distinction between it and every other kind of good music to be artificial and unnecessary. If it excites you, moves, you, takes you to another world, it's great. And as he's said, anybody who's fallen in love with the film scores of John Williams or Thomas Newman is enjoying classical music - a rose by any other name! A young university under-grad friend of mine recently wrote an article for the University of Toronto newspaper urging her peers to "just give it a try" - and this led to some very in-depth email exchanges between us about why classical music has become so remote from the listening experience and awareness of generations. There are many factors: first, there's so much of it! An artist like Adele has produced 4 studio albums. Bach wrote 1080 major compositions (that have survived - how many haven't come down to us is anybody's guess). Where to begin? Also the history of Rock 'n' Roll is about 70 years long. The history of "classical" music is 1000 years, and spans many countries, cultures and even continents. There is also a much smaller financial incentive for the music industry to heavily promote "marginal" genres than major hits. The music business is a business, after all, and it devotes more of its resources where the returns are bigger and come faster than anywhere else. But don't lose heart. There are literally hundreds of millions of classical music fans around the world, and they're not going anywhere! In China alone, there are something like 60 million kids studying piano and it's all classical, all the time!
So here's a challenge - pick out an exciting, gut-punching piece of classical music - Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, Carmina Burana, The Rite of Spring, the finale from Dvorak's "New World" Symphony, Shostakovich's 5th Symphony. Or something just too beautiful to believe, like a Chopin prelude, the slow movement from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, or the aria from Bach's Goldbergs (played by Gould, of course), and get a young friend to sit and listen to it. Play it more than once if they find it takes some time to get used to. (Have some sweet treats handy to keep them from getting up and leaving), and then ask them what they felt . . . maybe they'll want to hear more. Everybody needs a friendly guide to start them on a new journey . . .
@@BrianLevine-p5e Rick needs to do an 18 part series of videos on Jean Barraque. At least, that's my view.
Rick is a great music educator for what he does on RUclips. He’s a great bridge from the rock side to the classical. Bernstein was a great bridge from the classical side to rock. Each knows his respective audience and says to it, “Hey, you should listen to this…”
Rick helps me have a better understanding of music , as a non musician his program is enlightening . Thankyou 😊
Good to see Rick on the other side of the conversation!
Yes, it was really a treat and an honour that he agreed to appear on The Gould Standard - it is quite rare for him to do this kind of interview, but he made it a pleasure to have this conversation from the first syllable to the final coda . . .
Respect. That describes Rick. I will watch more interviews on this channel.
Peter, this means so much to us. The Gould Standard is a labour of love, and having viewers like you fuels our passion and inspiration!
@@BrianLevine-p5e I just watched the Wynton Marsalis interview. Very good and thanks for letting him talk and not asking stupid questions like many others have.
@@PeterWetherill Thanks Peter. I like to have a good conversation, which means I don't always sit with my mouth shut, but let's face it, the only reason for The Gould Standard is to let our guests tell their own stories.
Thanks so much to TGS and Brian for bringing Rick in for this discussion. The work that Rick is doing with his channel is so important in contributing to and creating an historical record of modern music while also paying homage to the classical roots of the musical past. So happy to see Rick being recognized for his work.
Thanks, Peaceful! Rick is one of a kind. In a way that's a pity. Our cultural understanding would be so greatly enhanced if there were more great communicators and educators like him, and not just for music, but for all the arts, for diplomacy and for cross-cultural understanding. We live in hope . . .
Beautiful conversation. Enlightening. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Daniel. It was fun to do and I learned a lot from it . . .
58:30 my first listen to the White Album with Koss headphones....Dear Prudence blew my mind....and good tunes do this 60 years later. Great video thank you!
I totally agree, Stephen. Great music is evergreen, eternal. We still sing folksongs, Christmas Carols and hymns, and even nursery rhymes for our children that are centuries old. They never tire us, and the great artists of our own time like the Beatles are the same. They merge into our consciousness and enrich our lives forever. Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your White Album memories! Brian
A real conversation with just the right questions.
Thanks so much, Blue! Rick really made it easy for me, but it was also an honour to be granted an interview, since he rarely lets anybody turn the tables and interview him. I think you'll enjoy some of our other episodes - our guests are awesome and have incredible stories that they generously share with us. I'd love it if you'd tell your friends about us, subscribe and try out some of the other interviews.
The serendipity of Rick’s life is inspiring 😎🥂
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart, but better still is to be both, and that Rick surely is . . .
What a great interview. The comment about live music was fascinating and made me wonder what Glenn Gould - who quit playing live precisely because the studio was a far better canvas on which to create - would say in response.
Rick's great. He sometimes gets criticised in the vein of 'old man shaking his fist at..' etc, but he's about 90% bang on about many things. Thank you for interviewing him 👍
I related in some part to the 'unreleased music' aspect you covered during the conversation. In effect, when i used to write & record music for licensing & placements, I'd usually do at least two versions of a piece in order to increase my chances. There were a few occasions where there'd be a dozen variations on the same theme (i.e., muted parts, diff bassline, drums, top line etc) , and as the years went on, i accrued lots of these ; the last time i checked my archives ,there's over 600 unused pieces.
Unless i splodge them all out on a streaming platform, they won't see the metaphorical light of any ear canal, other than mine & those who got to hear bits of those pieces back when they were recorded. That's just how it was; getting the gigs/ jobs meant going the extra mile(s) each & every time.
Amazing memories and thanks for your kind words, SRDhain - it would be neat just to be able to compare all those different versions to see how much they vary from one to the next, and which have the greatest and least musical impact.
Love Rick and all he does. Thank you for a great interview!
Thank you! It was a real treat to spend so much time with Rick, and he was an awesome guest. If you liked this program, you will definitely like our other episodes - great conversations with great artists! Please tell your friends and consider subscribing.
Great great interview
Thank you so much!
👍 what a great guy
He's one of a kind! The complete package of music-powered joy and inspiration.
Fantastic interview, thank you both.
You're so kind - thank you very much
'Really enjoying hearing Rick in conversation, with the interviewer/guest roles reversed.
Rick was a real treat to "interview" - but really, it was more of a conversation, like you might have over a coffee to discuss life, art, and the values that really give our time on this earth real meaning.
Really enjoyable conversation for music lovers or anyone.
Bravo on this very well done interview. I just fell upon this video like many things that happens in life . I think Rick's work is pretty much the same.. The difference is to actually go there and discover much like what Rick did all his life. CUDOS to strength and honesty of this host. I'm sold on the intelligence or insightful maybe be a better adjective. . I'm now subscribed.
Maurice, thank you for this fantastic feedback. We'll keep digging deep and bringing you amazing artists on The Gould Standard. Thanks so much for subscribing!!! Please tell your friends about us, too.
Thanks for this interview! I found this via the algorithm. I also subscribed.
Thank you so much, NAB - it's truly an honour to have you on board. Please also tell your friends, and check out some of our past "greatest hits"
I follow Rich. This was excellen - a great interviewer!
thanks again, so much OJ! your kind words and support are the feedback that fuel our passion for The Gould Standard. Great new episodes ahead!
Thank you.
You're welcome - please tell your friends about this episode of The Gould Standard and consider subscribing for other amazing conversations!
Great interview! In fact, it's one of the best outside of the Q&A's I experienced at one of @Rick Beato's live symposium's here in Seattle.
Here's an interesting thing (perk your ears, Rick!): as I queried of him, Timbral and Textural Factors in music are among the least explored, and truly, least understood in Music Theory. Oddly, those genres which have bypassed Harmony and Melody in favor of Rhythm and Timbre are breaking new ground, but haven't yet evolved a theoretical understanding as deep as their intuitive perception. Their audiences are just as satisfied, yet in new ways relative to older genres.
Also, a brief, but relevant tangent: "Foley" and "Sound Design" in movie experiences are every bit the legitimate purview of Composers, should they choose to think (and hear) expansively. The Cohen Brothers' "Blood Simple" had a dramatic example of this in several moments throughout the film.
Allow me to provide my favorite saying that I believe applies, aka: 'The Composer's Creed' -
"There are no bad sounds or bad styles, just inappropriately placed ones".
ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html -
Regarding Copyright Strikes and Takedowns on RUclips: perhaps it's time to institute a "Critic's License" much like a "Frequent Flyer Variance" that helps mitigate the Security Gauntlet at airports, or a "Concealed Weapons Permit" for firearms, which would streamline the issue of "Fair Use; Legitimized" for RUclipsrs or other public platforms.
It's sad, but perhaps necessary, given all the democratic or undemocratic authorities in our world. "Declaration of intent" for a video could at least interject a human element that would require "Authority In Kind" from these Megalithic institutions (such as youTube and Spotify) - giving fair warning that content SHOULD be inspected for the public good. "Fair Use" should hardly ever need to be invoked for Academia, yet RUclips is a new form of the same, just minus the "brick and mortar" physical structures that those historic institutions inhabit.
ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html - OK, here's where I diverge more vehemently from the overall discourse. Yes, AI is BS. It's oversold, obstructive to the human creative process, and could endanger our collective skillset - BUT, there is another element that it could help with TREMENDOUSLY: the admin "required" to be a competent musician in the modern era.
Sadly, that's absolutely NOT what the "Tech Bros" creating this tech have focussed on (to their eternal cultural shame), but that is where there could be some beneficial creative progress. The Music Industry itself has created this obnoxious model of expectation for creatives that is ABSOLUTELY unsustainable. Just ask any RUclipsr who can no longer follow other interests, even the "guiding light" of music.
ruclips.net/video/AtqK6hCw0yQ/видео.html - OK (Rick especially) here's another problem: modern Music Pedagogy is REALLY lazy! What's another subject (or musical factor) that SHOULD be taught for "Ear Training"? Rhythm, of course. Ridiculously, that was EXACTLY the curriculum radius that I was exposed to at Cornish... back in the mid '80's!!! Why aren't more colleges or other institutions as concerned with Rhythm Training as it concerns "Ear Training" or other Musical Factors? Harmonic relationships aren't the only ones that matter. This is freaking obvious if one bothers to listen to modern music at all.
You've got it, Billy! That's why orchestration is such a great art. If you look at an old classical warhorse like Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, well, it's like an orchestration textbook - everything just works, all in the service of emotion. Another great study is to look at the many different orchestrations of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition (and instrumental transcriptions like the one my old record company did with organist Jean Guillou). I love the mastery of Ravel, but the Slavic intensity and savagery of Stokowski's arrangement is also compelling. We learn to feel through the quality of sound, from the time we hear our mothers cooing love and comfort as they send us to bed, to the harsh tones of disapproval when we misbehaved. Timbre is a language unto itself, and music can't live without it.
Greetings from the University of Guadalajara, Music. This was an excellent interview (Toronto-Atlanta). I have been curious to hear Rick Beato speak about his interests and future plans. On his channel, it is often difficult to cut through the chat or the flak. His jazz-style harmonic analyses at times confound me, but I've learnt from them. I (unfortunetely, perhaps) am a composer. Anyway, his interview with RickWakeman and others are outstanding. Fair dealing and educational uses for audio are valid points to bring up. His visit to Seattle a while back brought back memories (as I know some of those "grunge" guys personally). Perhaps Beato could do a video on Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven as he hopes to do; that would be great to bring some of the rocker and jazzers on his channel into the fold. I doubt Schönberg, Babbitt, Boulez and Ligeti will make it, but, who knows? Your channel, sir--TheGould Standard--is also grand. Saludos y éxito continuo.
Hi again - I've actually replied (with copious thanks) a couple of times, but it looks like my responses didn't get saved by RUclips for some reason. I just want to express appreciation again - it's wonderful to have listeners in Mexico, a country with such a rich culture and heritage. Back in my own record label days, I spearheaded a project for my label called "Music of Latin American Masters," mostly conducted by the late Eduardo Mata, himself a student of the great Chávez. What an honour it was to bring this amazing music to new audiences around the world! Please keep listening to The Gould Standard, subscribe and tell your friends! Hopefully this comment will get saved!!!
@BrianLevine-p5e Got it this time! Thanks for your kind words and recognition of our musical heritage/culture, which is an important one. Was looking at some Group of Seven paintings today, and thoughts turned northwards ;).
@@XE1GXG you might be better off with Frida and Diego - it's very cold up here!!! 😉
@BrianLevine-p5e Prefer Remedios Varo and Orozco. I've been in Montréal at -14C....;)
Great, informative, and fun interview! Thank you! By the way, speaking of the clavichord, there's a wonderful Oscar Peterson/Joe Pass duo record of music from Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'. Oscar plays this music on the clavichord and Joe Pass plays an acoustic archtop guitar. It's a uniquely wonderful recording. Their "I Loves You Porgy' is beautiful!
Evan, thanks so much for this. I was unaware of that recording, but I'm heading off to find it now! The sound of a clavichord can take some getting used to - the first time I heard it, I thought it sounded like little teaspoons striking tuned bowls of jello. But the more you listen, the more you realize the soft, intimate expressivieness of the instrument and can appreciate how much it meant to Bach. With all those kids in the house (he had 20, though not all survived childhood), you can imagine him working away at night on the only instrument that wouldn't wake the household (apparently he was also an accomplished lutenist, if memory serves - please correct me if I'm wrong). You know, in a world in which the belt, the scream, the yell and high decibels always pass for emotional intensity, I've always felt that there's more feeling in a whispered kiss than a howl of rage . . .
@@BrianLevine-p5e So well said, Brian! "...soft, intimate expressiveness"! I think that the Peterson/Pass recording I mentioned was from the mid 1970's on Norman Granz' Pablo label. I wore my vinyl LP out, back in the day, but I bought a CD version of it years ago.
@@evanwilliams534 Thanks Evan. I'm definitely on the hunt for it!
@@evanwilliams534 I'm on the hunt for it!
Thank you
Thank you so much for listening, Kostas. I hope you'll check out some of our other great episodes, subscribe and tell your friends about The Gould Standard. We love meeting new friends!😀
I too am hoping to travel to Germany to continue my Classical studies
I'm sure you'll find it a deeply moving and spiritually energizing experience. Tradition is more than something buried in the past there - it lives and you can feel it in the music, the architecture, the people!
You mean Austria
@@ColdGrayMorning Well, one can connect with the great traditions in both Austria (Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert in Vienna) and Germany (Beethoven: Bonn: Liszt - Weimar;:Bach: Leipzig)
Amazing, have taken groups of organists around saxony to live and breath Bach and his instruments. Once there you will feel the music as well as listen, and play
Great!
thank you, Michael - greatly appreciated. Brian
Actually Oscar was born and raised up the 401 in Montreal. Lived in Toronto later on.
Absolutely correct - he was a true son of Montreal. Lived through tough times, and emerged as a global star, recognized for his incomparable technique and artistry. We were proud to make him a Glenn Gould Prize Laureate.
Nice interview, ya'll. I am so used to the word 'Goldberg' that it seemed odd at first to listen to the word 'Brandenburg' instead!
Yeah, I know how you feel - but Brandenburg is nothing compared to "Schemlli's Songbook" - which includes some pieces by Bach. As a kid, I thought it was the "Smelly Songbook" - ah, the innocence of youth! 😇
BTW "''What makes this song great" is misnamed. It's really "What makes this recording great."
A very astute point. You can see this by comparing live performances to the studio recordings of the same song. I always seem to gravitate back to Tom Waits, who basically re-invented some of his masterpiece songs when it came time to take them on the road. Those performances are as different as night and day from the studio albums (I generally love both). So both the song and the realization in the recorded medium are really two different entities and we should recognize "the art of the studio," wen we fall in love with a fabulous track.
I got into the record business because I was inspired by Glenn Gould's ideas about recording as a new and distinctive artistic medium, different from every early form of musical communication, a form which revels in the ratio of 1 to 1 (artist to a single listener) rather than the concert's 1 to 10,000 aspect ratio. Recording as a medium has its own rules, its own logic and aesthetic principles, which make it so powerful. And sadly, once of those principles is the ALBUM, which in the era of track-by-track streaming, is being sadly forgotten. We now live on a diet of single chapters of a novel, more infrequently going on the complete journey from start to finish, artfully programmed in an arc of discovery. Maybe the yearning for a renewal of that experience is a big factor in the vinyl renaissance? What do you think?
Suscribed.
Bravo! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 thank you so much!
Have you ever heard the South Korean lyric soprano Sohyang? She is the real deal, one of the few it seems currently, and if you have not listened to her you will be gobsmacked as the British say. Sohyang is probably the best non-opera soprano on the planet right now. Look up her 2015 performances of "I Have Nothing," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Arirang Alone" and "Everyone" here on RUclips You can throw your ears away after that Brian. You will have heard everything, LOL! And there are many others that are simply world class dating back to 2010, when she had learned to hit notes perfectly after five sessions with Seth Riggs, her only formal instruction ever. David Foster, Michael Bolton, Josh Groban and others are just nuts about her and want to work with her whenever they are in South Korea. I have tried to bring her to the attention of Rick Beato but with thousands of replies to every one of his videos I don't think he has ever read my comment pointing her out to him. Once you hear her Brian, you can maybe email him and let him know about this secret Super Star!
Thank you, Todd, for introducing me to Sohyang. I was unfamiliar with her before your comment. She has a remarkable gift, and a pure voice, with an extended upper register. Her command of English is nigh unto impeccable, which helps a lot when she takes on a great song like Bridge Over Troubled Waters. I also checked out her performance of Adlophe Adam's O Holy Night, and found many of the same qualities. Great control, a sweet tone, a powerful belt and an extended upper register. The only thing I could wish for is for her to lose some of the syrupy arrangements, which seem cliché to me - but that may be the fault of the TV producers. Also, there are flashes of some really sweet and poignant head tones, but she uses that part of her vocal vocabulary too infrequently. Belting is great, but it works best in contrast with lyricism, I find - or at least that's my personal taste. I also am guessing that there is more of a lower register and an expressive chest voice among her natural gifts, but perhaps she could explore and develop them more fully as her musical journey evolves. She clearly has good ideas about style, and I hope she experiments more, takes some real interpretive chances and pushes herself musically beyond the natural comfort zone that she inhabits so exquisitely. Perhaps I haven't yet heard enough of her work and she may already be exploring new terrain, just as one of our other great Gould Standard guests, Cécile McLorin Salvant has voyaged far beyond her starting point as a more traditional jazz vocalist into thrilling, uncharted territory with her last albums, Mélusine (a stunner) and Ghost Song. This isn't really a fair comparison, but if you listen to Sohyang's O Holy Night, and then Mariah Carey's Gospel-infused interpretation of the same song, I think you'll see the potential of a young artist with a truly formidable gift to take a great piece of music and really make it her own. Again, this is no criticism of someone who really has a special talent - just a hope for amazing things to come as she continues to find her own unique path - a path as individual, personal and special as the exceptional vocal gifts she possesses.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Sohyang has actually been singing in earnest since she was about 18. She is now 46, believe it or not! She sang all the songs I listed in 2015 when she was 37 and refuses to sign with any big labels due to being a sincere Christian who is concerned that Hollywood would destroy her spiritually. She just turned down Sony Music US in 2020 and many others before that. If you managed to watch "I Have Nothing" she can sing it note for note the same this year, and has done it numerous times! And her 6th octave head voice is astounding! She can hit the 7th octave but never sings using it because no one could hear the squeak anyway, LOL! She must have at least 30 jaw dropping performances on RUclips and probably many more. I have seen many of them but not all. Anyway, _bon appetite_ Brian! There aren't many Sohyangs in this world. She has a brand new album out just this month called "Diva," and that she is! Nathan East plays bass on it. It is being distributed world wide by Warner Music Group, David Foster's former employers interestingly enough. 😉
@@ToddSauve Hi Todd, clearly I need to listen to more of her work - thanks for encouraging me to do so . . .
Both of you guys have missed out on how Taylor Swift only mimes at her "concerts" and that she is all pre-recorded and auto-tuned. Fil Henley at Wings of Pegasus analyzed hours of her current Eras tour and has proved it conclusively.
Yes, but why focus on the negative. Clearly Taylor has "something" that reaches her fans at a deep level. If the joy is real, who are we to begrudge those who love her. I only wish we could reach a fraction of the people she reaches. Clearly that's a kind of genius too.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Is that focusing on the negative, or are you allowing the rich and famous to get away with fraud and deceit Brian? Many of us hate the lies and $1000 a ticket prices! Same with the Eagles!
@@BrianLevine-p5e The miming and auto-tuning at these phony "concerts" was my chief objection from your program Brian. Even you can remember when stars had to actually be able to sing to give a concert or get a recording contract! I enjoyed the rest of it.
@@ToddSauve I understand completely. If you think about it, less than a century ago, there were no microphones, amplifiers or loudspeakers in theatres, so singers had to reach the back of the house with their voices, usually over the accompaniment of a pit orchestra. This is still true with opera and it's an amazing phenomenon to think how two small flaps of tissue in the throat, the vocal chords, can create enough volume and projection to reach over a 100+ piece orchestra with full brass and percussion and reach a 3,000 member audience, as at the Metropolitan opera. But even back in the days of vaudeville and "Golden Era" Broadway, every singer needed to be able to do this, whether trained or not. If you ever hear recordings by Al Jolson or Eddy Cantor or Fanny Brice, it's a bit of a miracle that they could accomplish what they did. But as Rick says, training is often a thing of the past. And the advent of Stadium shows, elaborate staging, lights, fireworks, heavy amplification, choreography, has created an environment in which everything can go wrong if the vocals aren't pre-recorded and lip-synched. As for auto-tune, I heard one of the world's most famous pop singers on a Grammy pre-show TV special try to sing "unplugged" and without pitch correction a few years ago - I name no names. But it was horrendous. No ear training, hideous intonation. So we live in a world of artificiality and in terms of trying to recapture any sense of "authenticity" when it comes to these mega-concerts, we're a victim of our own grandiosity. It does, however, give you greater appreciation for those pop and rock singers who are serious about their music and can really "deliver the goods!"
Good choice!
Thank you so much!
Music 🎶 on paper…..📝 the imagination set free 🥂
Paper is a magical medium. A blank page is like a new universe, waiting to be populated with ideas, inspirations, passion and . . . harmony!
@@BrianLevine-p5e terrifyingly beautiful blankness 🥂
@@cheneyrobert I always keep a supply of fine art paper notebooks and a massive collection of fountain pens, with a rainbow assortment of ink colours - creativity unleashed!
Oh please do Mozart Rick!
I'll pass it along, Yellow Truck!
Did Rick say Live Performance? You mean mimed/ lip-synced costume and dance numbers projected on a big screen?
i got hypnotized by the chair.
It's a precise replica of Glenn Gould's "lifelong boon companion" the eccentric, low chair that he played on all his life. The original is in the Library and Archives of Canada and is considered a national treasure, but the one you see in our podcast is a precise replica, created by the brilliant French designer, René Bouchara in a limited edition to commemorate Glenn Gould's 75th birth anniversary. I can assure you, it is MOST UNCOMFORTABLE!
@@BrianLevine-p5e when i had piano lessons many years ago, my teacher was not happ with the way i was placed at the piano, so he kept making this special piano chair lower and lower. when the mechanism was on minimal height, he said: "almost right, a little lower would be perfect." i had to agree, it felt almost right to me too - and i said: "Now wher'e in Glenn Gould territory." He laughed and said: "Well, you see, that was not excentric, it happened for a good reason."
@@BallisticEvents-e6i It just goes to show how personal music-making is and how what works perfectly for some people seems eccentric to others. But clearly a low chair was what you needed, and Glenn felt the same way. Having the keyboard almost at nose-height not only gave him a better sense of control, but also the ability to "lose himself" in the music making . . . once, when he was still giving concerts, he felt that the piano was still too low, so he had the stagehands raise the instrument by putting wood blocks under the legs!
Rick
Yes! Rick Rocks.
On the productivity of Bach and Schubert: yeah, no social media back then 😂.
No electricity either, or hot and cold running water. Aside from having 20 children (!), all poor Bach had was a quill pen, paper, his trusty clavichord and his powdered wig. But as Kapellmeister of the Thomaskirche, he wrote a cantata - an hour of incredible music - every single week for years, then arranged it, copied the parts, distributed it to his orchestra and choir, rehearsed them and then performed them. And found time for the Magnificat, Mass in B Minor, St. Matthew's Passion, Christmas Oratorio and other masterpieces - 1,080 works in all. Now that's amazing - and he wasn't even the fastest composer ever (that was Mozart) or the most prolific (that was Georg Philip Telemann). Maybe his secret was that he didn't write much for the lute. The baroque lute composer Sylvius Leopold Weiss (born 2 years after Bach and died the same year as Bach) was asked in his old age how long he had been playing the lute. He answered, "25 years." A friend overheard him and said, "Sylvius, why did you tell such a lie? I know you've had your lute since you were a boy. It's been 50 years!" To which Weiss replied, "25 years playing, 25 years tuning."
@ thanks for completing my thought exactly Brian. These days it apparently takes a committee of ten people to write a 3 minute pop song.
@@glenrotchin5523 Well, it is also the business model of a commercialized art industry. Scarcity leads to inflated value. Adele has made 4 studio albums. Would she be as profitable to the record industry if she had released 40 in the same period of time. The industry supports, markets, amplifies a few titles at a time and that funnels more money into those recordings with less effort than aggressively marketing a wide catalogue. Billboard has a Top 40 chart because that's a volume that the industry can deal with comfortably. It's like the great Kimberley diamond discovery in South Africa in the 19th century. Supposedly this led to the discovery of so many diamonds that, if they all came on the market at once, scarcity would be gone and so would the high value of the gems. The story goes that a huge hoard of diamonds is warehoused securely in the Netherlands, and a controlled number of stones is released onto the market at any given time to preserve the illusion of rarity, and keep the prices high. Whether this story is true or not, the same principle applies to music. We can't (or the industry can't) deal with 40 hit albums by the same artist in a 10 year period. So we're kept on a slow drip. Clearly that naive fellow Bach didn't understand the basic law of supply and demand. What record industry today could deal with 1080 masterpieces?
Glenn did i make softball t-shirts for you sometime in the 80;s with the buildings in the background being disintegrating?
'being disintegrating'
with disintegrating buildings in the background.
Decrepit, dilapidated buildings
@@stuartwray6175 actually it was Pavarotti and a woman in full Viking mode singing with the NY skyline behind them being destroyed like there was ann earthquake--the design was left up to me and the Glenn Gould i knew said it was perfect--for the NY Philharmonic softball team
Romantic composers. Beethoven.
And Brahms, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Wagner, Brahms, Mahler!!! Like the baseball cards - collect them all!
@ Eh yeah, my point was Beethoven was not a Romantic composer. He threw open the doors though.
@@AIainMConnachie Sorry, Alain, I misunderstood. And you're right, of course. Beethoven was a visionary, but transitional figure. Without him, we could not have made the (r)evolution leading from "there to here." And in some ways, his late works vaulted into a space that really transcends any particular style and is "sui generis" (a thing unto itself). The Hammerklavier Sonata and the late quartets are not exactly classical, not exactly romantic - just unique. But I fully agree that, both in his musical development, and also in the "heroic, tormented loner" persona that he embodied, he triggered an explosion of new ideas, new expressiveness, new sounds, new emotionalism, new freedom with form in those who came after him and looked to him as an inspiration. These are the rare figures in cultural history whose work is cherished not only for its own excellence, but because it served as a springboard, launching us into a new era of artistic possibilities.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Brilliant!
" Luting !! " 😂
Ahhh the lute - it dances, it sings, it sighs and it cries - one of the great "quiet" instruments that can also roar like a lion (at low decibel levels!): ruclips.net/video/9evlSBlePMk/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/NdYxe-macaA/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/iTOuwe1i8uk/видео.html
Gould wears a clip-on bowtie. Unforgiveable.
How do you know for sure?
@@jamesbrodrickmusic9567 Clip-ons are for wimps. All my ties are 100% self-tied. That's why the bows are not always perfect. No point in letting a factory do the tying for me! 😄
@@BrianLevine-p5e hooray! 🤵♂️
Schubert died at 31 not 27
You are so right, Oliver. Please forgive my gaffe. That's one great thing about the internet, there is always somebody out there to set you on the right path when you get caught napping!
@ No worries. He still died too young.
@@olivergrant8642 So true, so sad. But look what gifts he gave the world in that lonely, sad life . . .
If you casually flick through this interview, it’s amazing how much the interviewer talks and how little Rick has the opportunity to talk. What a poor interview.
Hi Moyet, Thank you for this criticism - it's always an opportunity to learn and improve for the future. If you listen to the whole conversation, you might find that it was more balanced than you initially thought, but it was not intended to be an interview, but a conversation - suggesting a balance between the two parties, rather than a more traditional Q & A format. At least, that's what we aim for. Still, point well taken. It's the guest that counts. - Brian
Rick Beato is a music teacher/educator/RUclips personality first ---- NOT a musical artist in the highest sense of original creative compositions and performance. He is NOT a "songwriter" --- I have never heard s single song he has written that stands out at all. He is not a major recording artist --- has virtually no recordings of original music at all (or playing as a sideman with other musicians in bands). He is not a composer in any genre of music that I know of. Rick is definitely a musical expert and certified music professor, but that's it. Despite his stats, Rick Beato lives up to the old saying "Those who can, do --- those who can't, teach".
That's stupid. So, there's never been a great teacher who was not a great scientist, there's never been a great coach who was not a former elite player ... And so on.
Gould murdered Bach
. . . in a way that introduced Bach to tens of millions of music lovers who became ardent admirers of Bach's genius.
I used to watch and listen to Rick Beato. Is experienced, talented, entertaining even wise And I don't have a dislike or a problem with the man, Other than he is a gear snob; and with rock music his best of are really myopic you know what band or songs will be on those lists without watching.
But as He has grown on youtube He has become like a Pastor of a Mega church. And his million disciples believe his words as gospel. Well as we know. A particular "Gospel" for "this bunch" may not fly with "that bunch" or "them" so I pretty much quit watching Ricky about a year ago. He's too big and unapproachable.
I'll stick with the smaller channels. Just Say'n.
Randall, of course you're entitled to your perspective, and I know that you are writing because you love music and it's your passion. Let's just say, "different strokes for different folks." Nobody is right for everybody, and we're lucky enough to live in a time when there are so many opportunities out there for us to find the voices that speak to us in a special way that resonates and captures what we prize the most in music. Rick has his fans, and maybe there's somebody else out there who speaks more clearly to your passion. As for my own experience with Rick, I found him very approachable. As for being a gear snob, he did agree with me that some of the greatest and most enduring recordings of all time were made in primitive studios without even multitrack or real reverb units - and in Mono too! Ultimately, I think he agrees that it's what goes on in front of the microphone that counts the most.
Rick - Austria is not Germany
True enough - some people can't tell their Habsburgs from their Hohenzollerns without a program!. And some of us think a Thurn in Taxis is a cab you hail when you want to get across town in Regensburg . . . 😜
True. But try telling Hitler that!
@@phasespace4700 Short of conducting a séance, I don't think any of us are in a position to tell him anything. He had the last word - it came out of the mouth of his Luger, as I recall.
@@BrianLevine-p5e Rather topical, given the recent Republican Anschluss here in the US.
That said, I _wish_ Rick Beato would conduct a seance on his channel. That would be awesome!
Thank you
And THANK YOU so much for listening. I hope you'll join us again, subscribe, tell your friends, and check out some of our past episodes. I think you will find that there's a lot to explore . . .