The amount of technique that goes into a piece like this is unbelievable! Seriously, those who play this is reserved to the professor or virtuoso skills. My professor performed Sunburst many times however no student I have ever met of his has ever attempted to perform this in front of audiences. Clearly a stunning piece!
Andrew York is an incredibly talented composer and guitarist. I love these earlier recordings of his compositions. His playing is impeccable yet richly warm and his understanding and mastery of melody, harmony, layering, attack, dampening, tone quality, rhythm, dynamics, etc. are world-class. If you take together his many extraordinary compositions and his skill as a guitarist, he really is at the top of his generation of guitarists. When you hear other guitarists denigrate his work, what they are actually revealing is their bone-deep jealousy of a genius' work. I pity them, truly. As a guitarist, I also feel compassion for them. Andrew York is unique. However, he's also a truly nice guy. I wish more guitarists would set aside their jealousy and appreciate him now, while they have a chance.
An absolutely beautiful guitarist. Andrew York is the first professional classical guitarist I had ever heard and he absolutely blew my mind. His music is so inspirational
I find it amazing people are so quick to be harsh critics. It was rampant in school. You'd be at a recital, the players on stage are doing quite well, yet, the audience (all students and faculty) sitting with their arms crossed with that "I can do better" look. I've been playing my whole life and I'm not a master, but, I appreciate good talent and great talent. I also appreciate genuine effort. RUclips is littered with untalented people. But, Andrew is a great talent. Good find.
it's incredible how "radio friendly" music can be on guitar, thanks to andrew york, and i mean it in a good way. sunburst's composition is incredible. i wonder how he thought in such a happy melody, also exploring the guitar. amazing!
Uh ... Thanks, I think. :) You know, this piece is really uplifting. Found myself a bit under a cloud this afternoon and hearing it rolled back its curtains, so to speak. I'm indebted to you for your response which made me access it again.
That was excellent, someone made a distinction here about the difference between the composer and the virtuoso and I do think its a valid point, my own personal feeling is that John Williams recorded a version of it that is hard surpassed on the Music of the Americas album. Virtuosity and feel combined.
Writing a masterpiece like this, to me, is a miracle in itself. Li Jie is a brilliant guitarist, but when i watch her play, I dont see any passion. Li plays with precision and strict obedience, Andrew York plays with his heart. Just look at his expression. Andrew York is a guitarist. You may think that Li Jie plays it better, but she just plays it, exactly like she has been taught. There is no such thing as perfection. Li Jie plays notes, Andrew York plays music.
Christopher Parkening recorded this version. I thinks it's simply called Jubilation. It's on a CD called "Angel's Glory". (it's a Christmas CD with Kathleen Battle). His performance is also excellent as is Andrew's. It's great music to play and to listen to...
He is absolutely technically superior and I think there is no better proof than his constant awareness of the decay of the notes of the guitar. This instrument requires you to be able to use the silence around the instrument (say... in the beginning of the piece) as part of the instrument itself. There is nothing harder, and he makes it look effortless.
I LOVE this piece, ever since I went out to buy it I've been trying to find so much time to practise it, the more I play it the more I want to practise it
what a beautiful performance. the legato runs are flawless, so clean. i wish it stopped at 5.14 though so i could take it all in without those other clips taking away from it..
Yes, that's true. However, his originality, his ability, and the oversight of Andrew York, all make me think of Augustine Barrios. And he's still relativly young. What more is to come? We'll see. Either way, you gotta love it?
It IS the best performance. I don't care how many hours these female asian guitarists lock themselves in a room each day practising 12 hours a day. It just shows how lifeless they are never enjoying playing Sunburst near as much as Andrew York does. This is why I prefer the creative over the hard-working.
I used to almost be able to play this lol... I just love the movement to the resolution at 3:54 I first heard the John Williams recording from Music of the Americas, and then I heard Andy play it on steel string with a slightly different version. Both are great but I think this song really stands out on steel. Great vid thank you. Gonna have to get this.
I sent you a link where you can do so for free to your private inbox. Glad I was able to make myself understood. I know I said something unpopular. Steelstring has a negative conotation to many classical artists though I really don't understand why. I'm a classical player myself and I find I like SOME of the stuff just fine. That incarnation of the instrument has interesting possibilities as long as you understand its strengths and work with them. Chapdelaine has done well there.
I wanted to list some names of some steel string artists I recently discovered whose musical style put me in mind of this piece and vise versa: Ken Bonfield Giacomo Fiore John Ford Jay Calder Bill Hammond Perhaps, after listening to some of them, my comment will make more sense to those of you who are less familiar with what's going on in fingerstyle guitar these days. I, for one, had to revise my opinions about steel string guitar considerably when I heard them.
Li Jie is a performer. Andrew York is a musician. Can anyone link me to a video of a song that Lie Jie has written herself? Face it. The genius lies in that spark of creation that makes a song traverse the mind into the real world by way of the instrument. Anyone can learn to play anything with practice and diligence. Technique is a result of repetition. Very few can do what you are seeing Andrew York do in this video; make something brilliant. Jie doesn't hold a candle for that reason alone.
Superb. Heard a local perform this a coupe of months ago. Loved it and he nailed it too. But I must say the Segovia sandwich with Breem/York bread was a little weird
Nice piece. I think it might even sound nice on a steel string guitar which is not often the case with classical guitar works. This one, however is very bright and the way it is arranged makes me imagine Ed Gerhardt or somebody pulling it off. There've been quite a few steel string guitar artists whose music is on a par with classical in beauty and complexity of dynamics though not of tone color. Not much variation in color on this one so it'd work for steel.
I reckon this is the best version on youtube....I liked it better than Lie Jie's performance, but nothing against her! I think its funny how they added that extra bit at the end, do they do it to cover up Andrews really bad harmonic at the end? :P Listen carefully to 5:14 just before it cuts hehe :P
If I remember correctly, it's in a really weird tuning, like the top string tuned to D. One of my friends played it for guitar class back in high school. Umm...best bet would be to find sheet music and figure out the fingering by doing that. That's probably how you've gotta go for this one.
can anyone tell me where is his video entitled sunday morning overcast..it is on my favorite list..then it is suddenly becomes unavailable..mr. york is the best...please can anyone tell me please,, :-(
i was just asking a question after a while it just gets annoying reading all negative and insulting and ego crazy comments all over not just you rm just so many people wanna try and put people down and be negative its too bad music is great and im lucky to be a part of it just too many posers and un artistic people ruining it 4 us lol
Yeah, it was just a glitch. But Stilleman, he might have needed some help with editing around 4:39 though :P But seriously, that was an amazing performance, and you can really hear this piece come alive when he plays it. Such a great musician...
We cant expect composers to have the similar level of playing skills as virtuosos. However, composer can feel their own music more than anyone thus, their playing would be very unique.
Of course you can here the difference between a more soulful and lively version and a 'just technical' version of a song, just like you can differentiate a happy song from a sad song and a good singer from a bad one.
There's no best performance, a great violinist once said: "there is no certain way to play a piece, if someone says that an interpretation is the way a pice should be played, it would be saying that music is very poor" Well, i Love Andrew YOrk, i think that Barrios and him are the best composers for classical guitar
I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't used at all in this performance. I meant that you could pull this piece off on a steel string and still have it sound quite nice. Now, I wouldn't say that about Sor's Gran Solo which Bream begins to play at the end of this video (mistake, clearly), because tone color plays a very important role in bringing it off. Btw, some of the higher end steelstrings made thesedays can produce some tone color variation though not as much as a classical, of course.
@maciejgrebowicz It's his piece. He can do what he likes with it. The emotion that flows through every note in this piece comes across so well, and that's what a lot of people are missing when they play it... technical accuracy is only one piece of the puzzle...
I would also like to say that I am really tired of people claiming that player A has ripped somebody else off everytime there is the slightest hint of bossa nova in it. If this man wrote a waltz no one would accuse him of ripping Strauss off, and yet for some reason the instant people hear anyform of latin/afro-cuban/bossa nova/calypso etc. suddenly he's ripping off whomever the first person you've heard playing said style. These are ethnically influenced styles dating back long before Metheny.
One may listen to Li Jie's version and find it brilliant, while those who dig a bit deeper and really listens to what the song has to say, what feeling the guitarist tries to add to a certain part, might not be quite satisfied with her performance, since she's just playing it straightforward, like a computer would play it. And i prefer human hearts over central processing units.
Judging from the replies in this thread, it's painfully obvious that a lot of people don't realize they are watching ANDREW YORK- YOU KNOW, THE GUY WHO WROTE THE FUCKING SONG TO BEGIN WITH LOLOLOL.
![[pf/gt] Introduction to Sunburst - Sunburst / Andrew York](/img/1.gif)
The amount of technique that goes into a piece like this is unbelievable! Seriously, those who play this is reserved to the professor or virtuoso skills. My professor performed Sunburst many times however no student I have ever met of his has ever attempted to perform this in front of audiences. Clearly a stunning piece!
His look and style has a renaissance feel - lovely mixture of old and new.
Andrew York is an incredibly talented composer and guitarist. I love these earlier recordings of his compositions. His playing is impeccable yet richly warm and his understanding and mastery of melody, harmony, layering, attack, dampening, tone quality, rhythm, dynamics, etc. are world-class. If you take together his many extraordinary compositions and his skill as a guitarist, he really is at the top of his generation of guitarists. When you hear other guitarists denigrate his work, what they are actually revealing is their bone-deep jealousy of a genius' work. I pity them, truly. As a guitarist, I also feel compassion for them. Andrew York is unique. However, he's also a truly nice guy. I wish more guitarists would set aside their jealousy and appreciate him now, while they have a chance.
Well said! Would you please recommend some other masters to check out?? I would appreciate it very much:)
i agree, words like best have no place in the creativity of music and art.
still enjoying this video after 18 years.
An absolutely beautiful guitarist. Andrew York is the first professional classical guitarist I had ever heard and he absolutely blew my mind. His music is so inspirational
I find it amazing people are so quick to be harsh critics. It was rampant in school. You'd be at a recital, the players on stage are doing quite well, yet, the audience (all students and faculty) sitting with their arms crossed with that "I can do better" look.
I've been playing my whole life and I'm not a master, but, I appreciate good talent and great talent. I also appreciate genuine effort. RUclips is littered with untalented people. But, Andrew is a great talent. Good find.
Everytime that I listen to that piece is like the first time. In one word, it's really breathtaking.
Absolutely BRILLIANT!!!
it's incredible how "radio friendly" music can be on guitar, thanks to andrew york, and i mean it in a good way. sunburst's composition is incredible. i wonder how he thought in such a happy melody, also exploring the guitar. amazing!
Oh to be as gifted one day. Man you are just magic, love everything you produce.
I was at his live concert and I must say that he is incredible ! :D
His music is magic !!
amen amen thank you for saying what needed to be said
Truly awesome. I met his friend, Scott, in 1998, and he was also brilliant, as well as a nice guy.
I remember this song when he played it live years ago. Still brings joy to my heart.
Utterly mind boggling.... genius.
Brillant.
The most beatiful interpretations i have ever heard about this song.
You'd hope so- he wrote it!
I've been a big fan of Andy York's tone for a long time now - this sure doesn't disappoint. Slur technique to die for, also!
Uh ... Thanks, I think. :) You know, this piece is really uplifting. Found myself a bit under a cloud this afternoon and hearing it rolled back its curtains, so to speak. I'm indebted to you for your response which made me access it again.
What an awesome piece, beautifully performed. The guy has great hair, too.
hey dude ofcourse..because andrew york a member of the famous lagq (los angeles guitar quartet).. was the one composed that wonderful piece....
He is also a GREAT guy...unlike most classical guitar jerks. Of which I am surely one.
That was excellent, someone made a distinction here about the difference between the composer and the virtuoso and I do think its a valid point, my own personal feeling is that John Williams recorded a version of it that is hard surpassed on the Music of the Americas album. Virtuosity and feel combined.
Amazing guitar playing. I'm blown away. Great job!
Writing a masterpiece like this, to me, is a miracle in itself.
Li Jie is a brilliant guitarist, but when i watch her play, I dont see any passion.
Li plays with precision and strict obedience,
Andrew York plays with his heart.
Just look at his expression. Andrew York is a guitarist. You may think that Li Jie plays it better, but she just plays it, exactly like she has been taught.
There is no such thing as perfection.
Li Jie plays notes,
Andrew York plays music.
A favorite I used to play on radio on Mystic Music and the classical festival
Christopher Parkening recorded this version.
I thinks it's simply called Jubilation. It's on a CD called "Angel's Glory". (it's a Christmas CD with Kathleen Battle). His performance is also excellent as is Andrew's. It's great music to play and to listen to...
He is absolutely technically superior and I think there is no better proof than his constant awareness of the decay of the notes of the guitar. This instrument requires you to be able to use the silence around the instrument (say... in the beginning of the piece) as part of the instrument itself. There is nothing harder, and he makes it look effortless.
This was the very first piece by Andrew I heard. Love it!
I LOVE this piece, ever since I went out to buy it I've been trying to find so much time to practise it, the more I play it the more I want to practise it
this is a great theme,,i think im using it for aplying at julliard,,its just so great and worked.
what a beautiful performance. the legato runs are flawless, so clean. i wish it stopped at 5.14 though so i could take it all in without those other clips taking away from it..
Thank you Mr. York for this delightful piece!
your wordz is the beautiful.
Just Heaven!
love both of the pieces, and played amazingly well by the man himslef
Yes, that's true. However, his originality, his ability, and the oversight of Andrew York, all make me think of Augustine Barrios. And he's still relativly young. What more is to come? We'll see.
Either way, you gotta love it?
Ha! Nice cut!
I consider this the 'baseline' version of this song. Bravo!
I love this man.
Amazing player and composer!
Outstanding!!!
THE BEST FOREVER!!!!
It IS the best performance. I don't care how many hours these female asian guitarists lock themselves in a room each day practising 12 hours a day. It just shows how lifeless they are never enjoying playing Sunburst near as much as Andrew York does. This is why I prefer the creative over the hard-working.
I used to almost be able to play this lol...
I just love the movement to the resolution at 3:54
I first heard the John Williams recording from Music of the Americas, and then I heard Andy play it on steel string with a slightly different version. Both are great but I think this song really stands out on steel. Great vid thank you. Gonna have to get this.
this is beautiful
i love that song!! its awesome and very viajante jajajajaja
Who couldn't appreciate this; then for the fact that one not need to have helped to expand the repetoire just to express their appreciation.
I agree with plectrist and plus he created the song he can use any technique that suits him
He has a beautiful style of playing
Bravo!
I sent you a link where you can do so for free to your private inbox. Glad I was able to make myself understood. I know I said something unpopular. Steelstring has a negative conotation to many classical artists though I really don't understand why. I'm a classical player myself and I find I like SOME of the stuff just fine. That incarnation of the instrument has interesting possibilities as long as you understand its strengths and work with them. Chapdelaine has done well there.
I wanted to list some names of some steel string artists I recently discovered whose musical style put me in mind of this piece and vise versa:
Ken Bonfield
Giacomo Fiore
John Ford
Jay Calder
Bill Hammond
Perhaps, after listening to some of them, my comment will make more sense to those of you who are less familiar with what's going on in fingerstyle guitar these days. I, for one, had to revise my opinions about steel string guitar considerably when I heard them.
Is guy is really good.
Li Jie is a performer. Andrew York is a musician. Can anyone link me to a video of a song that Lie Jie has written herself?
Face it. The genius lies in that spark of creation that makes a song traverse the mind into the real world by way of the instrument. Anyone can learn to play anything with practice and diligence. Technique is a result of repetition. Very few can do what you are seeing Andrew York do in this video; make something brilliant. Jie doesn't hold a candle for that reason alone.
i totally agree. sunburst by lijie was kinda lifeless but technically she played it really well. but music is not music without some spirit and life.
Fantastic
im currently perfecting this one for my solo and ensemble audition
Superb. Heard a local perform this a coupe of months ago. Loved it and he nailed it too.
But I must say the Segovia sandwich with Breem/York bread was a little weird
この曲大好きで、できたら弾きたいと思ったんですが難しくてトライしたけど無理でした！弾けたらいいなあと思います！
I wanted to play this piece ,but it`s too difficult to play for me!
He`s great!
great song
I love it :$
I'm not crazy about his playing, but I sure do love his compositions.
Genius !
Nice piece. I think it might even sound nice on a steel string guitar which is not often the case with classical guitar works. This one, however is very bright and the way it is arranged makes me imagine Ed Gerhardt or somebody pulling it off. There've been quite a few steel string guitar artists whose music is on a par with classical in beauty and complexity of dynamics though not of tone color. Not much variation in color on this one so it'd work for steel.
I reckon this is the best version on youtube....I liked it better than Lie Jie's performance, but nothing against her!
I think its funny how they added that extra bit at the end, do they do it to cover up Andrews really bad harmonic at the end? :P Listen carefully to 5:14 just before it cuts hehe :P
If I remember correctly, it's in a really weird tuning, like the top string tuned to D. One of my friends played it for guitar class back in high school. Umm...best bet would be to find sheet music and figure out the fingering by doing that. That's probably how you've gotta go for this one.
can anyone tell me where is his video entitled sunday morning overcast..it is on my favorite list..then it is suddenly becomes unavailable..mr. york is the best...please can anyone tell me please,, :-(
i was just asking a question after a while it just gets annoying reading all negative and insulting and ego crazy comments all over not just you rm just so many people wanna try and put people down and be negative its too bad music is great and im lucky to be a part of it just too many posers and un artistic people ruining it 4 us lol
Yeah, it was just a glitch. But Stilleman, he might have needed some help with editing around 4:39 though :P
But seriously, that was an amazing performance, and you can really hear this piece come alive when he plays it.
Such a great musician...
great song. what was with the ending of the video lol?
@alienwareufo It was random huh? It was Julian Bream, you should look him up if you haven't. Hell of a Guitarist!
We cant expect composers to have the similar level of playing skills as virtuosos. However, composer can feel their own music more than anyone thus, their playing would be very unique.
Of course you can here the difference between a more soulful and lively version and a 'just technical' version of a song, just like you can differentiate a happy song from a sad song and a good singer from a bad one.
I've learnt this piece and the two E strings are tuned down to D.
So you're right.
Don't think so, just a master!
Practising this piece at the moment.... Stunning piece and performance of course, but sadly difficult to master. Ack.
You can purchase it from him i believe. I got a copy through a friend of his
I find myself disinterested in Jubilitation - the intro piece, but Sunburst is a great bit of composure. Also, how does he do that?
There's no best performance, a great violinist once said: "there is no certain way to play a piece, if someone says that an interpretation is the way a pice should be played, it would be saying that music is very poor"
Well, i Love Andrew YOrk, i think that Barrios and him are the best composers for classical guitar
What the heck. So cold.
I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't used at all in this performance. I meant that you could pull this piece off on a steel string and still have it sound quite nice. Now, I wouldn't say that about Sor's Gran Solo which Bream begins to play at the end of this video (mistake, clearly), because tone color plays a very important role in bringing it off. Btw, some of the higher end steelstrings made thesedays can produce some tone color variation though not as much as a classical, of course.
very nice! please...if somebody have the music "in sorrows wake" put the music here. thank you
masterpiece
TOPPPPP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Not necessarily.
Expression isn't just visual, you can hear it in the music.
Even when I'm not watching the video i still like York's version better.
Actually, it's a flawless performance played with great intensity.
Well said.
just a little info.. he is the composer of this piece right?he is andrew york of the lagq..
@maciejgrebowicz
It's his piece. He can do what he likes with it. The emotion that flows through every note in this piece comes across so well, and that's what a lot of people are missing when they play it... technical accuracy is only one piece of the puzzle...
@rm3cpp he IS a wizard... so he probably will live forever.
@rm3cpp At one time his wikipedia article said that he was born in the 1800's, so...
I would also like to say that I am really tired of people claiming that player A has ripped somebody else off everytime there is the slightest hint of bossa nova in it. If this man wrote a waltz no one would accuse him of ripping Strauss off, and yet for some reason the instant people hear anyform of latin/afro-cuban/bossa nova/calypso etc. suddenly he's ripping off whomever the first person you've heard playing said style. These are ethnically influenced styles dating back long before Metheny.
One may listen to Li Jie's version and find it brilliant, while those who dig a bit deeper and really listens to what the song has to say, what feeling the guitarist tries to add to a certain part, might not be quite satisfied with her performance, since she's just playing it straightforward, like a computer would play it. And i prefer human hearts over central processing units.
He was referring to the performance, which has nothing to do with who wrote the piece.
I love Segovia and Bream, too. Why are they here? Weird!
hit my thought :D
Why are Segovia and Julian Bream at the end of the video?
Bream as a bonus at the end. ^_^
I find myself disinterested in Jubilitation - the intro piece, but Sunburst is a great bit of composure
Judging from the replies in this thread, it's painfully obvious that a lot of people don't realize they are watching ANDREW YORK- YOU KNOW, THE GUY WHO WROTE THE FUCKING SONG TO BEGIN WITH LOLOLOL.