Except it can also be found in Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18, as well as in works by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, G. Machaud, Gesdo, and many other composers. No Wagner didn't invent this chord at all.
@@metathoughts732 You're right he didn't invent the chord. But that's not what Bernstein said and I don't believe, that's what he (and other commenters) meant. After all Beethoven doesn't explore the tension of the chord for nearly 4 hours until resolving it. This and the way it's connected to the dramaturgy of the opera are to my knowledge both concepts, no one had used in a similar way before Tristan. I mean you don't have to like Wagners music. That's of course a matter of taste and for sure you don't have to like him as a person.
@@MG-fh4ed with all due respect, no. He was hypocritical and ruined Bavaria so he could write operas, his Ring and post-Ring operas are definitely very long and aren't really recommendable for non-initiated people, but no one said seriously that he was a middle-of-the-pack composer. Everything around his music is kinda dirty though
@@metathoughts732 it's not the chord itself that is important, it's the musical context surrounding that chord, especially when it takes so long to resolve, as an introduction resulting in a highly chromatic and intricate counterpoint for the whole overture
I learnt just yesterday that the magnificent man who plays on the piano, Stefan Mickisch, has died almost exactly to the day a year ago. Unmatched his ability to explain the Wagner-Universum… I am sure he will be missed by great many people who appreciated his genius, as I did. R.I.P.
Yes. He died. 🙁 I wanted to see him live so badly. And I never will. But there are audio cds on the market. He was such a great teacher and story teller of Wagner's music.
Stefan Mickisch killed himself after being cancelled, ie; shamefully, brutally, stigmatised, ostracised and destroyed by the German press. Why? Because he rightly characterised the German response to the pandemic as “Corona fascism”. He called out the manifestation of corporate totalitarianism and paid the ultimate price. RIP.
@@Hickalum ich weiß…. An absolute tragedy… an unforgivable attitude the press and many of his colleagues displayed towards this highly sensible man.. shameful.. and no one ever apologised (never mind being prosecuted) it’s very very sad
I think the most relevant thing is the fact that the tension introduced by the Tristan chord in the very beginning of the opera isn't actually resolved until the very end of it. I cry everytime that resolution comes. It's just so powerful after all the tension that built up during 4 hours of music!
...except that the end of the liebestod, which resolves the tension, comes quite a bit before the end of the opera, which goes on for about another rather dreary fifteen minutes or so with King Mark, which is the ultimate anti-climax.
I would love to see other people who lack a musical background talk about their favorite music in the same way Stephen Fry does, especially for more academic music such as jazz or classical. I would find seeing someone passionately discuss music without cramming loads of theory down your throat highly enjoyable. The idea that you can comprehend, much less enjoy academic music without training seems rare these days. Kudos to fry for making this video and kudos to you for uploading it.
That's all true, but some learning about how the music produces its effects really does deepen the experience. You hear and feel things you did not hear before.
Absolutely, it's good to remember that we can only have paid professionals in Jazz or Classical (or any other genre) if there are a lot of regular folks listening and enjoying ( i.e. mostly those who didn't get a four+ year University education studying the music )
I listened to this music in the car this morning and after trying to be brave all day finally gave in and wept, hugely, happily and in celebration of the human heart, the emotion so completely overwhelming. I have bi-polar disorder and on the occasion when the response to emotion is so spectacularly powerful it's worth all the downside.
@tennebanoit Yes, since leaving my comment I have been told of Stephen Frys bi-polar. Whilst the highs (when you are in them) always feel worth the downs I found that at my age of 63 I was getting a bit tired so opted for a very low dose of medication which just pulls in the extremities of the experience a little; the highs not so high the lows not so low. It gives me a balance that I find comfortable and manageable, I would recommend it it to anyone who has bi-polar and who might sometimes feel 'overwhelmed' by it all. When I look back over my life the bi-polar pattern is very clear and some of the risks and impulsive behaviours make me shudder and yet out of crazy have come huge life changing benefits and happinesses that I could never regret.
It's when you read the biographies of nearly every great composer born in the 2nd half of the 19th century that you realize just how powerful a hold Tristan had on classical music at that time. So many of them who'd been to see Tristan were mesmerized by it, how Wagner had changed the game completely with what he had achieved in this work and what was possible now because of it. The hold was so strong that it eventually led to a reaction *against* it and against Wagnerian dominance of so much being written at that time and for years afterwards, with fine composers striving to find their own voices free of Wagner's spell, many went in more nationalistic directions and down paths that led to numerous folk music revivals and plenty of composers trying to forge a style native to where they came from as opposed to just sounding like post-Tristan Wagner but the different directions classical music went in at this time still, somewhat inevitably, charted a path to the very edge of tonality starting with Debussy in the early 1890s before the cracks in tonality finally gave way completely in the next decade in Russia and Vienna. Who knows if they'd have still arrived at that point at that time if Tristan hadn't existed but I think the chances are someone else would've challenged the conventions of tonality in the 2nd half of the 19th century had Wagner not done it, although possibly not in the course of such an extraordinary work as Tristan is.
+Benny Hill It is indeed training and no alcohol and good sleep. And an economic use of your voice ,garded by an excellent teacher .( if you like trainer)
+Alexander Lee It's true what the other commenters have said, that you must take care of your voice, and that is done by having proper breath support. There are many, many different muscles that go into singing, some used to power sound are in your throat and around your vocal chords, these are very delicate, and you don't want to rely on them to power your sound. The use of abdominal and diaphraghmatic muscles are what opera singers use to sustain their song, as well as a combination of great alignment/posture. This is why opera singers pop out babies so well, because their inner abdominals are so strong. Also many opera singers claim their knees wear out before their voice does! This is because locking the knees will stifle your sound, being in a slight squat helps align the body and power your abdominals. Sorry if im blabbing, I just wanted to correct the idea that your vocal chords will get fried eventually, they will not if you've been trained properly.
they don´t constantly sing, they have time off - like Isolde in the 3rd act, waiting for her appearance for 45 minutes. AND it takes a lot of practise ;-)
The blend-editing, again, marvelous. Imagine this documentary without the orchestral backing. (There are spots where I prefer the piano reduction though; it's absolutely beautifully played. It's just that the orchestra sounds adds levels of immersion)
Whenever I see or hear Tristan, I'm reminded of my music teacher, Gordon Bellamy's comment on the piece. Four bloody hours to resolve one bloody chord. An inspirational teacher, but hated Wagner.
maskedpillager Pokemon is interestingly relevant here. The surname of the tenor who created Tristan was Schnorr, and he bore more than a passing resemblance to Snorlax.
Howe Shore! The Lord of The Rings OST is the most superior composing for cinema. Zimmer is excellent (Interstellar and Patricida are my favourite ost and theme ) but i can't imagine composing for LOTR.
Yes, but that last comment is extremely incompetent: "Extremely good music" to describe a revolutionary piece of art? Extremely good music is just an understatement.
Why do enemas cause me to talk louder and non-stop for hours after the fecals have departed my anal canal? Does this happen to everyone? Even with a beer enema this happens. At that last enemas convention in Greeley, Colorado, I had a coffee enema that got me jabbering for hours. Wishing it was my hole instead of my mouth.
@@Wotan123456789 Its easy to tell, the guy adores Wagner's music with every fibre of his being. I think it was intended as an understatement. He isn't wrong either, it truly is extremely good music..
@@jakemetcalfe3091 I think as a punchline "extremely good music" and a "ahahaha" sounds poor, IMO. As an interpreter, musicologist and even as an introductory reel to people around the world, something in the fashion "a chord that revolutionized music" or similar would have been more appropriate. I also love Wagner, when I was a student I would have a part-time job just to be able to go to Bayreuth every year, no holidays, no weekend trips, all my saving to be able to assist the Festspiele. I have been doing that regularly for many years. It is the highlight of my year.
He’s dead. Stefan Mickisch killed himself after being cancelled, ie; shamefully, brutally, stigmatised, ostracised and destroyed by the German press. Why? Because he rightly characterised the German response to the pandemic as “Corona fascism”. He called out the manifestation of corporate totalitarianism and paid the ultimate price. RIP.
I can't iagine what the audience experienced ,listening to this for the very first time.The music and the voices sear your soul and lift it at the same time.All the joy, heartbreak, longing and beauty of earth's humanity is here .
It's so much fun to watch Stephen Fry rendered a helpless fan girl about stuff like Wagner. He admittedly has ZERO aptitude for making music, but I've read and listened to him describe how much Wagner's music means to him. He must have been shitting himself to even be in the same room as Wagner's piano! I know I would.
Raherin Oh, I only meant he's unable to play or sing himself, much to his chagrin. He did have to sing once in a very early sketch with Hugh Laurie (before ABOFL) and he wasn't nearly as bad as he seems to think. The way he talks about himself, you'd think he was William Young.
Music is not just for people who can compose and/or play it. Love seeing Stephen Fry, one of the greatest intellectuals, articulate his love for it and clearly admire an amazing piano player at work on Wagners piano. It is actually quite apt and memorable that Fry played the wrong final note. Such is the dischord of this composition in musical history. Thanks for sharing
The point is that the significance lies not just with the chord itself, but the way that it follows the opening ascending/descending motifs, leaving the music hanging there unresolved.
I remember my Music Theory professor talking about the ‘Tristan Chord’ in 1978. But I don’t remember such a ‘vivid ‘ and wonderful description as this! I would have loved to have seen Birgit Nilsson or Gwyneth Jones in this masterpiece!
Nah you're right - he's being pedantic and talking about the classical period of Mozart and Haydn but classical music is different and encompasses renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, contemporary, etc. You're perfectly free to call Wagner classical music, just not music of the classical period.
@@thomasstanford8456 And to continue in my pedantic -- but correct nonetheless (don't y' HATE when that happens?!??) -- path, early-period Beethoven needs to be included in "the classical period." As well as many other composers...
@@timothyj.bowlby5524 Because saying the 'classical period of Mozart and Haydn' necessarily implies that I think they were the only two composers of the era...
I've heard/got many recordings of the Leibestod - but I just love the way the film makers have overlaid Irene Theórin's voice with Stefan Mikisch's piano playing - in my opinion (humble though it is) this is the most powerful version of this piece. It is raw, beautiful and pure. It moves me. 4.15 on is just SUBLIME.
The same Stephen who says not only can he not sing, but Paul McCartney confirmed he couldn't sing in a private conversation at a funeral. Great that doesn't stop him from being so enthusiastic about music!
I was watching ERB, then googled something I heard in the lyrics, learned some amazing stuff I didn't know about musical history. Thanks ERB, and thanks musical masters of the ages.
What a great chord. In the key of a minor, it's a French +6th chord with the G# functioning as a sustained leading tone appoggiatura to the A it resolves ever so breifly to; enharmonically it's a half-diminished 7th chord if the G# is respelled as an A-flat, the B a c-flat and the D# as E-flat. G# is also the 7th of the A# half-diminished 7th chord that's heard after the chomatic flute solo that opens Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Also, Tristan's plot is very similar to that of Porgy and Bess, which explains why there's so many half-diminished 7th chords in "Summertime and the Living is Easy." Yep... one great sonortity, alright.
I saw Gwyneth Jones and René Kollo sing Tristan at the Vienna Opera under Abbado ... they may have been close to the end of their careers, but they were superb, and that production, premiered with Brigit Nilsson is legendary ... one of the highlights of my life.
Holy s**t. Abbado conducting Tristan… Must admit not a massive fan of the leads but Abbado was an all-round heavyweight champion of the world. That’s the kind of memory that certainly would transport you, whatever’s happening
The whole opera is the musical definition of edging. The buildup to the crescendo in Liebstod is extremely tense and doesn’t resolve for literal hours.
Love how the orchestration is placed on top of the piano at the start of this. It’s not without merit that this chord is famous. For the peak of Romantic thought it seems to convey within its context a vast sweep of all of the angst we see or were about to see in Bronte or Hardy and others. What a contrast to the furious hope we saw in Beethoven’s 3rd or 9th at the earlier stages of the 19th.
IT brings me to tears as well. Not as much as Der Ring Des Nibulungen though. How he builds this epic story over 18 hours and at the end of Gotterdammerung it calms to a quite finish but more like a new beginning in a way.
It's a pity they didn't mention the one last entrancing moment when the solo oboe hangs on the the high fifth of the chord ( f# in B major), making everyone hold their breath until the final B major chord. That's genius. Did Wagner also do that at the end of Parsifal ? Charles. Santa Barbara, Calif.
Charles Talmadge yeah its a fantastic idea to have the oboe play this tone, but isnt it the third in the chord? in b major the d sharp? because that's actually the important thing, that its NOT the fifth but the third in the chord...
Silly me.. you are right in letter and spirit. Thank you for sharing that. I've been listening to Keilberth's early 50s Ring recordings recently and find them exceptional in a unified view with inspired singing.
The chord was used by Liszt in his Faust Symphony, from which Wagner appropriated it, 7 years before Tristan! (See pp. 330-31 of Alan Walker's three-volume biography of Liszt, Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years.)
it´s called "Tristanfantasie" and arranged by Stefan Mickisch, if you google Mickisch you will find his homepage.(there he sells the notes and the disc) It´s a long piece, more than 100 minutes, and based on pieces of Act 1 (Liebestrank, Love Potion), Act 2 (Liebesnacht, Nicht of Love) and Act 3 (Liebestod, Love Death)
What intrigues me is why they didn't simply re-shoot that last chord so Stephen could correct his mistake and we'd all have been none the wiser. Of course, I guess he appreciated the humor of the moment more than he longed to be seen topping off the chord correctly. If he's really a non-player, he's all the more deserving of props for having played the first chord correctly.
They've both got busted/bent noses, while I guess we won't get the chance to enjoy the irony of Fry playing Wagner further to his Wilde, given that Fry is of course Jewish! Then again, he's too tall and nowadays probably far too well proportioned to pull the roll off further to Burton and Trevor Howard.
Jon Vickers, the great Canadian tenor sang the role of Tristan for thirty years. He did so by only singing eight performances a year which he gave for the highest bidder. He was the greatest Tristan in the world in his day, as well as a very wealthy man. He did the same for his signature role of Otello. Eight performances a year, that was it.
When Thomas Newman wrote the piece "Plasma Orgasmata" for the TV series "Angels in America" I think he was inspired by Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. I always hear the Wagner, especially in the last 40 seconds. The very final chord is definitely Wagner. See for yourself on RUclips -- 20 - Plasma Orgasmata
Check out Hummel b minor concerto 1st movement - An interesting pre-tristan tristan chord measure 7 -> 8. Voice leading is basically identical (without chromatic top line, and an extra passing note in the tenor).
Actually- The Tristan and Isolde opera itself is held at the Festspielhaus (during alternate years) In Bayreuth (and elsewhere at times such as the Zurich Opera house, The Met in NY, etc.)- However- This actual footage (as seen above) was in the Biography/Documentary by Stephen Fry titled: Wagner and Me.
I don't think it would have been particularly startling, since the chord has been around since the middle ages, and Gesualdo, who uses the Tristan chord in the 16th century, wrote much more dissonant music.
It's actually a very common chord in all genres of music these days. It is Fm7b5 or F half-diminished (the natural chord of the seventh degree of the major scale), and is very often played as the "2" chord in a "2-5-1" progression in Eb minor. It could even function as a rootless Db9, a very common voicing for jazz piano and guitar players.
@@hello-rq8kf Sorry, but the Tristan chord F B D#(Eb) G#(Ab) is indeed an F half-diminished (assuming the enharmonic spellings in parentheses). It may also be a French 6th -- I don't know what that means, because I don't know classical theory. It is also a Db9, as well as a G-alt (G7b9b13), all very common chords in jazz. On the guitar, this chord is very easily formed on the middle four strings in a 1-2-1-2 fret pattern, and it is simply one of the most common and useful chords in the jazz guitarist's repertoire, because it functions in so many ways in so many keys -- it is very common for so-called turnarounds, because simply playing it, then sliding it up 3 frets and playing it again, gives a very jazzy-sounding version of the most common chord progression in jazz, the ii-V. Indeed, depending on what chord follows it, it can function as a ii-V in both major and minor tonalities -- one simply slides up 3 frets for the minor, and down 3 frets for the major. It's probably the single most versatile four-note chord in all of jazz.
@@docsketchy I know, I thought it was a half diminished chord for a time but when I started studying classical music/classical guitar I realized it functions better as an appogiatura of a French 6th, since it the voice leading of the melody resolves it up to an (unresolved) V7 or V7b9. Said V7 would resolve to a different key than the ii7b5 so it's not a 2-5-1. French and German 6ths are really just inversions of a V7, the French just has a raised note (the minor 3rd for a half dim chord) which makes it also based on the whole tone scale. So half diminished is technically right if you just view the chord in a vacuum but in the context of the theme/prelude it's more like a French 6th.
@@hello-rq8kf I'll have to take your word for it. All I know is that I play that chord 100 times a day, and when I play it, it's either a half-diminished chord with the root at the bottom, or else a rootless 9th or 7b9b13. Perhaps I'd understand what you were talking about more if I knew where the root of this chord is supposed to be when it is functioning as a French 6th. For example, for the chord F-B-D#-G#, is the root F (in which case this is an Fm7b5) or some other note? You see, in jazz, the F and B make up what is known as a "shell", and this shell can function as either a Db7 (Db-F-B) or a G7 (G-B-F). The D# and G# are then extensions, and their functions depend on which root is assumed.
I really really have to make comment! "Extremely good music" he says? Way way MORE than that!!! Beyond belief or even imagination! This music is easily as "FINE" a piece of music ever composed!!! If one really loves the greatest of all the "great music", this music by Wagner should "choke you up" to the point of at least tears, as it does me!!! IT HURTS to hear it! HOW can audible sound do this to the human emotion??? But it does! I have NOT heard all or most of the great performances of this work, but I'm sure the ONE I'd love the most would be that of JESSYE NORMAN singing & HERBERT Von KARAJAN conducting!!! Herbert's last performance too!! Why smoke "POT" when you can get an "ultimate HIGH" from hearing this? "WOWSA"!!! "Ach du lieber, mein schatz"!!!
And, just to destroy the atmosphere of Wagner's masterpiece, a glimpse of Regietheater silliness that some director decided to inflict upon the work...
I personally believe that your comment destroys Wagner atmosphere. If you think that Wagner was a traditionalist that would have enjoyed Tristan set in a classic production more than 150yrs after its premiere; I would venture to say that you don't understand Wagner's intentions - both musically and asthetically. IMHO
@@Wotan123456789 I read in a biography of his they actually tried to stage Rienzi with muslim costumes (because Regietheater already existed in the 19th century), and he got very upset about it. He was much younger then, though. Bayreuth was still decades away.
@@davidbastardo4154 I am not saying here that Wagner would have liked everything and anything. I think that Bayreuth's last Parsifal and Tannhauser were masterpieces.
@@Wotan123456789 Really? XD I would have to disagree there. I don't see how a clown Tannhäuser, a Radfem Venus, a Wolfram and Elisabeth sex scene, and a "pilgrim's chorus" made of Bayreuth attendees can be a "masterpiece". An ass piece, sure. I mostly liked Kosky's Meistersinger. It took a giant shit on Wagner, Cosima, Liszt, Hermann Levi, and even Germany. But it was fun.
@@davidbastardo4154 I found, like most critics and audience, that Tannhauser extraordinary. If I remember correctly the Pilgrim Chorus was sung by refugees. I loved it!
@Ccynical That's the Liebestod. You can look for it here on youtube, quite easy to find a lot of versions of it, piano, orchestra etc... it's the very end of the opera.
it's more than that, it's so ambiguous, it's not a m7b5 chord look how it's written. Obviously it sounds like a m7b5 but it's not a m7b5 because it gets another way
iv been trying to find a complete piano solo of 'Liebestod' (whats being played in this clip), but i cant find a decent one anywhere...none as good as this video
It's the same exact chord that Felix Mendelssohn used at the start of his wedding march. It's a G# minor (or A-flat minor) with an F natural added a minor third below the G#. Try adding B- flat 7 followed by E- flat minor. From here you can go add a C natural (minor third below E - flat), followed by F 7 , then B- flat minor. Then add a G natural a minor third below the B- flat followed by C 7, then F minor. Keep doing this and you wind up full circle.
Nietzche sent me! "and to this day I am still seeking for a work which would be a match to Tristan in dangerous fascination and possess the same gruesome and dulcet quality of infinity.
I love how he played the wrong note and they left it in the interview. However I hope I don't hear that wrong not in my mind now every time I hear the Liebestod!
Getting a piano from Steinway in New York delivered to Wagner in Bayreuth, Germany in 1876. Just think about that for a moment. It has been passed down that Wagner himself was not that good at playing piano and that Cosima was actually much better. She may have picked up some talent from her father.
the internet will never cease to amaze me. Never knew Steven Fry ever did anything like this.
5:40 it's Wagner's ghost pushing his finger to the wrong note and saying "YOU WON'T RESOLVE IT! HAHAHA"
Lulz.
+Sol La Sib Do Re Mi Fa# Damn britons
literal lulz over here.
"You haz brouken ze rulen, mein freund Steve. Now go back to countzing money" Wagner
Or maybe it was Wagner's ghost guiding him to play a chromatic appoggiatura before the resolution.
Leonard Bernstein said this cord was the most revolutionary moment in modern music. That Western music was never the same afterward.
And some conductors and singers ignore this, and believe Wagner was another common composer.
Except it can also be found in Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 18, as well as in works by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, G. Machaud, Gesdo, and many other composers. No Wagner didn't invent this chord at all.
@@metathoughts732 You're right he didn't invent the chord. But that's not what Bernstein said and I don't believe, that's what he (and other commenters) meant. After all Beethoven doesn't explore the tension of the chord for nearly 4 hours until resolving it. This and the way it's connected to the dramaturgy of the opera are to my knowledge both concepts, no one had used in a similar way before Tristan.
I mean you don't have to like Wagners music. That's of course a matter of taste and for sure you don't have to like him as a person.
@@MG-fh4ed with all due respect, no. He was hypocritical and ruined Bavaria so he could write operas, his Ring and post-Ring operas are definitely very long and aren't really recommendable for non-initiated people, but no one said seriously that he was a middle-of-the-pack composer. Everything around his music is kinda dirty though
@@metathoughts732 it's not the chord itself that is important, it's the musical context surrounding that chord, especially when it takes so long to resolve, as an introduction resulting in a highly chromatic and intricate counterpoint for the whole overture
I learnt just yesterday that the magnificent man who plays on the piano, Stefan Mickisch, has died almost exactly to the day a year ago. Unmatched his ability to explain the Wagner-Universum… I am sure he will be missed by great many people who appreciated his genius, as I did. R.I.P.
Yes. He died. 🙁 I wanted to see him live so badly. And I never will. But there are audio cds on the market. He was such a great teacher and story teller of Wagner's music.
Heartbreaking. RIP dear man.
Oh, I didn't know that he passed away.... He was so great.
Stefan Mickisch killed himself after being cancelled, ie; shamefully, brutally, stigmatised, ostracised and destroyed by the German press. Why? Because he rightly characterised the German response to the pandemic as “Corona fascism”.
He called out the manifestation of corporate totalitarianism and paid the ultimate price. RIP.
@@Hickalum ich weiß…. An absolute tragedy… an unforgivable attitude the press and many of his colleagues displayed towards this highly sensible man.. shameful.. and no one ever apologised (never mind being prosecuted) it’s very very sad
R.I.P. lieber Stefan Mickisch + 17.Februar 2021
Bless him and his unfiltered talent.
I think the most relevant thing is the fact that the tension introduced by the Tristan chord in the very beginning of the opera isn't actually resolved until the very end of it. I cry everytime that resolution comes. It's just so powerful after all the tension that built up during 4 hours of music!
...except that the end of the liebestod, which resolves the tension, comes quite a bit before the end of the opera, which goes on for about another rather dreary fifteen minutes or so with King Mark, which is the ultimate anti-climax.
That climax at the end, one of the top 5 moments in all of musical history.
Agreed, I always thought so.
And the other four are...
CincyDude5 Beethoven 9
What are the others?
Without a scintilla of doubt..
I would love to see other people who lack a musical background talk about their favorite music in the same way Stephen Fry does, especially for more academic music such as jazz or classical. I would find seeing someone passionately discuss music without cramming loads of theory down your throat highly enjoyable. The idea that you can comprehend, much less enjoy academic music without training seems rare these days. Kudos to fry for making this video and kudos to you for uploading it.
That's all true, but some learning about how the music produces its effects really does deepen the experience. You hear and feel things you did not hear before.
Absolutely, it's good to remember that we can only have paid professionals in Jazz or Classical (or any other genre) if there are a lot of regular folks listening and enjoying ( i.e. mostly those who didn't get a four+ year University education studying the music )
check out Alex ross. excellent writer :)
True. Composers don't compose for musicians and musical scholars alone. They compose for the masses. They always have.
I listened to this music in the car this morning and after trying to be brave all day finally gave in and wept, hugely, happily and in celebration of the human heart, the emotion so completely overwhelming. I have bi-polar disorder and on the occasion when the response to emotion is so spectacularly powerful it's worth all the downside.
Same here. 🙂
@tennebanoit Yes, since leaving my comment I have been told of Stephen Frys bi-polar. Whilst the highs (when you are in them) always feel worth the downs I found that at my age of 63 I was getting a bit tired so opted for a very low dose of medication which just pulls in the extremities of the experience a little; the highs not so high the lows not so low. It gives me a balance that I find comfortable and manageable, I would recommend it it to anyone who has bi-polar and who might sometimes feel 'overwhelmed' by it all. When I look back over my life the bi-polar pattern is very clear and some of the risks and impulsive behaviours make me shudder and yet out of crazy have come huge life changing benefits and happinesses that I could never regret.
Is that why that happens? 😢❤😅
It's so charming to see someone so excited about playing one chord on a piano.
It's when you read the biographies of nearly every great composer born in the 2nd half of the 19th century that you realize just how powerful a hold Tristan had on classical music at that time. So many of them who'd been to see Tristan were mesmerized by it, how Wagner had changed the game completely with what he had achieved in this work and what was possible now because of it. The hold was so strong that it eventually led to a reaction *against* it and against Wagnerian dominance of so much being written at that time and for years afterwards, with fine composers striving to find their own voices free of Wagner's spell, many went in more nationalistic directions and down paths that led to numerous folk music revivals and plenty of composers trying to forge a style native to where they came from as opposed to just sounding like post-Tristan Wagner but the different directions classical music went in at this time still, somewhat inevitably, charted a path to the very edge of tonality starting with Debussy in the early 1890s before the cracks in tonality finally gave way completely in the next decade in Russia and Vienna. Who knows if they'd have still arrived at that point at that time if Tristan hadn't existed but I think the chances are someone else would've challenged the conventions of tonality in the 2nd half of the 19th century had Wagner not done it, although possibly not in the course of such an extraordinary work as Tristan is.
i don't understand how opera singers can keep their voices intact for 4 hour long performances... boggles my mind
+Benny Hill It is indeed training and no alcohol and good sleep.
And an economic use of your voice ,garded by an excellent teacher .( if you like trainer)
+Alexander Lee It's true what the other commenters have said, that you must take care of your voice, and that is done by having proper breath support. There are many, many different muscles that go into singing, some used to power sound are in your throat and around your vocal chords, these are very delicate, and you don't want to rely on them to power your sound. The use of abdominal and diaphraghmatic muscles are what opera singers use to sustain their song, as well as a combination of great alignment/posture. This is why opera singers pop out babies so well, because their inner abdominals are so strong. Also many opera singers claim their knees wear out before their voice does! This is because locking the knees will stifle your sound, being in a slight squat helps align the body and power your abdominals. Sorry if im blabbing, I just wanted to correct the idea that your vocal chords will get fried eventually, they will not if you've been trained properly.
Benny Hill thanks for the info?
they don´t constantly sing, they have time off - like Isolde in the 3rd act, waiting for her appearance for 45 minutes. AND it takes a lot of practise ;-)
Practice, practice and looooads more practice...
Fry's enthusiasm is great to see; the music is phenomenal; the staging is ridiculous.
There are worse stagings, though.
I kind of liked that kiltus interruptus.
The blend-editing, again, marvelous. Imagine this documentary without the orchestral backing. (There are spots where I prefer the piano reduction though; it's absolutely beautifully played. It's just that the orchestra sounds adds levels of immersion)
Whenever I see or hear Tristan, I'm reminded of my music teacher, Gordon Bellamy's comment on the piece. Four bloody hours to resolve one bloody chord.
An inspirational teacher, but hated Wagner.
Haha what a typically British thing to say!
One chord to bind them all!
One chord to rule them all! Gotta catch 'em all!
maskedpillager Pokemon is interestingly relevant here. The surname of the tenor who created Tristan was Schnorr, and he bore more than a passing resemblance to Snorlax.
Howe Shore! The Lord of The Rings OST is the most superior composing for cinema. Zimmer is excellent (Interstellar and Patricida are my favourite ost and theme ) but i can't imagine composing for LOTR.
and in the darkness bind them
Achille Claude found other chords 😅
Stefan Mickisch is so incredible. A great musician and scholar of music.
Yes, but that last comment is extremely incompetent: "Extremely good music" to describe a revolutionary piece of art? Extremely good music is just an understatement.
Why do enemas cause me to talk louder and non-stop for hours after the fecals have departed my anal canal? Does this happen to everyone? Even with a beer enema this happens. At that last enemas convention in Greeley, Colorado, I had a coffee enema that got me jabbering for hours. Wishing it was my hole instead of my mouth.
@@Wotan123456789 Its easy to tell, the guy adores Wagner's music with every fibre of his being. I think it was intended as an understatement. He isn't wrong either, it truly is extremely good music..
@@jakemetcalfe3091 I think as a punchline "extremely good music" and a "ahahaha" sounds poor, IMO.
As an interpreter, musicologist and even as an introductory reel to people around the world, something in the fashion "a chord that revolutionized music" or similar would have been more appropriate.
I also love Wagner, when I was a student I would have a part-time job just to be able to go to Bayreuth every year, no holidays, no weekend trips, all my saving to be able to assist the Festspiele. I have been doing that regularly for many years. It is the highlight of my year.
He’s dead. Stefan Mickisch killed himself after being cancelled, ie; shamefully, brutally, stigmatised, ostracised and destroyed by the German press. Why? Because he rightly characterised the German response to the pandemic as “Corona fascism”.
He called out the manifestation of corporate totalitarianism and paid the ultimate price. RIP.
I love the way the piano and the sung/orchestral performance are edited together.
Fare Well Stefan! We will never forget you! Your music and your fight for justice in a mad world has become so important.
I can't iagine what the audience experienced ,listening to this for the very first time.The music and the voices sear your soul and lift it at the same time.All the joy, heartbreak, longing and beauty of earth's humanity is here .
+flossie5432 I expect they felt the way I did... "was that it???"
Stephen InGermany
Heh heh,very droll.You KNOW I meant the entire composition.:-)
It's so much fun to watch Stephen Fry rendered a helpless fan girl about stuff like Wagner. He admittedly has ZERO aptitude for making music, but I've read and listened to him describe how much Wagner's music means to him. He must have been shitting himself to even be in the same room as Wagner's piano! I know I would.
I definitely would not say zero, though.
Raherin Oh, I only meant he's unable to play or sing himself, much to his chagrin. He did have to sing once in a very early sketch with Hugh Laurie (before ABOFL) and he wasn't nearly as bad as he seems to think. The way he talks about himself, you'd think he was William Young.
@@agatharuncible5876 I've always thought his jazz rap-timing on WLIIA? was pretty cool.
Music is not just for people who can compose and/or play it. Love seeing Stephen Fry, one of the greatest intellectuals, articulate his love for it and clearly admire an amazing piano player at work on Wagners piano. It is actually quite apt and memorable that Fry played the wrong final note. Such is the dischord of this composition in musical history. Thanks for sharing
This was my favourite part of the documentary. I really shared in Stephen Fry's delight. :)
The point is that the significance lies not just with the chord itself, but the way that it follows the opening ascending/descending motifs, leaving the music hanging there unresolved.
I remember my Music Theory professor talking about the ‘Tristan Chord’ in 1978. But I don’t remember such a ‘vivid ‘ and wonderful description as this! I would have loved to have seen Birgit Nilsson or Gwyneth Jones in this masterpiece!
When you're supposed to be having sex but it's classical music so you stand 5 feet apart fully clothed and staring at the audience
Stritly speaking, it's very, very, ve-e-e-ery late Romantic/early 20th century music.
Sorry, just using layman's terms :\
Nah you're right - he's being pedantic and talking about the classical period of Mozart and Haydn but classical music is different and encompasses renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, contemporary, etc. You're perfectly free to call Wagner classical music, just not music of the classical period.
@@thomasstanford8456 And to continue in my pedantic -- but correct nonetheless (don't y' HATE when that happens?!??) -- path, early-period Beethoven needs to be included in "the classical period." As well as many other composers...
@@timothyj.bowlby5524 Because saying the 'classical period of Mozart and Haydn' necessarily implies that I think they were the only two composers of the era...
I've heard/got many recordings of the Leibestod - but I just love the way the film makers have overlaid Irene Theórin's voice with Stefan Mikisch's piano playing - in my opinion (humble though it is) this is the most powerful version of this piece. It is raw, beautiful and pure. It moves me. 4.15 on is just SUBLIME.
And do you know what recording has been used in the video?
Stephen,.....the last note! Imperfection..... is just perfect.
best explanation of the Tristan Chord, Stephan we miss you
A vain man would have edited out the mistake. It's a very British 'vanity' to leave his error in.
It wasn't a mistake. He's so vain...
"Extremely good music" is an epic understatement.
Persuaded me to watch the full opera - thanks!
Heard this for the first time in a college opera class I took as an elective. My jaw was on the ground.
5:23 Sthepen Fry loves music, that is pure joy!
An EXCELLENT program!!
Stephen Fry ends with a dominant Phrygian chord, nice! ;)
coitus interruptus! what a description :O
Well, it's pretty obvious. Don't think anyone who's heard the love duet would miss it.
Love how much Stephen loves this.
The same Stephen who says not only can he not sing, but Paul McCartney confirmed he couldn't sing in a private conversation at a funeral. Great that doesn't stop him from being so enthusiastic about music!
This man who plays by heart is a genius ❤❤❤
I agree.. unfortunately he committed suicide a year ago 😭
@@johnmavin7501 so sad ☹️ RIP ❤️❤️❤️
I was watching ERB, then googled something I heard in the lyrics, learned some amazing stuff I didn't know about musical history.
Thanks ERB, and thanks musical masters of the ages.
What a great chord. In the key of a minor, it's a French +6th chord with the G# functioning as a sustained leading tone appoggiatura to the A it resolves ever so breifly to; enharmonically it's a half-diminished 7th chord if the G# is respelled as an A-flat, the B a c-flat and the D# as E-flat.
G# is also the 7th of the A# half-diminished 7th chord that's heard after the chomatic flute solo that opens Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. Also, Tristan's plot is very similar to that of Porgy and Bess, which explains why there's so many half-diminished 7th chords in "Summertime and the Living is Easy."
Yep... one great sonortity, alright.
😂😂thank you so much after reading many comments..you explain it semi 🎶perfect..😮🤔🤣😂✨🌼🌸🌞🌸🌼✨🎶🎶✨
@@cosmicsprings8690 You're welcome. Let me know if there's anything ELTS I can help with.
I saw Gwyneth Jones and René Kollo sing Tristan at the Vienna Opera under Abbado ... they may have been close to the end of their careers, but they were superb, and that production, premiered with Brigit Nilsson is legendary ... one of the highlights of my life.
Holy s**t. Abbado conducting Tristan… Must admit not a massive fan of the leads but Abbado was an all-round heavyweight champion of the world. That’s the kind of memory that certainly would transport you, whatever’s happening
whenever it says Stephen Fry in the title you know it's really good. The most charming person alive !
The whole opera is the musical definition of edging. The buildup to the crescendo in Liebstod is extremely tense and doesn’t resolve for literal hours.
Love how the orchestration is placed on top of the piano at the start of this. It’s not without merit that this chord is famous. For the peak of Romantic thought it seems to convey within its context a vast sweep of all of the angst we see or were about to see in Bronte or Hardy and others. What a contrast to the furious hope we saw in Beethoven’s 3rd or 9th at the earlier stages of the 19th.
The ending of Tristan might be the greatest moment in all of music
... are you talking about the liebestod or the whole opera? ... there is quite a bit of rather dreary music with King Mark after the liebestod.
IT brings me to tears as well. Not as much as Der Ring Des Nibulungen though. How he builds this epic story over 18 hours and at the end of Gotterdammerung it calms to a quite finish but more like a new beginning in a way.
Love that Stephen Fry and old colleague Hugh Lurie
are enthusiasts of music.
R.i. P. Stefan Mikisch + 17.02.2021
It's a pity they didn't mention the one last entrancing moment when the solo oboe hangs on the the high fifth of the chord ( f# in B major), making everyone hold their breath until the final B major chord. That's genius. Did Wagner also do that at the end of Parsifal ?
Charles. Santa Barbara, Calif.
Charles Talmadge yeah its a fantastic idea to have the oboe play this tone, but isnt it the third in the chord? in b major the d sharp? because that's actually the important thing, that its NOT the fifth but the third in the chord...
Silly me.. you are right in letter and spirit. Thank you for sharing that. I've been listening to Keilberth's early 50s Ring recordings recently and find them exceptional in a unified view with inspired singing.
Was für zwei wunderbare Menschen, vereint in der Liebe zu Richard Wagner.
Interesting........I just finished watching the film 'Melancholia' and became interested in this music or the Tristan chord.
Whenever I listen to "Isoldes Liebestod" I automatically start to cry.
The production was conducted by Peter Schneider and Opus Arte has released it on DVD/Blu-ray.
That was a lovely suspension at the end. Hahaha
Someday I want to be half as smart as Stephen Fry.
I heard Scott Ross play this on the harpsichord, and what's most extraordinary, he managed to render it effective even on a harpsichord!!!
The chord was used by Liszt in his Faust Symphony, from which Wagner appropriated it, 7 years before Tristan! (See pp. 330-31 of Alan Walker's three-volume biography of Liszt, Franz Liszt: The Weimar Years.)
Thank you...Wagner ain't nothing without Liszt!
it´s called "Tristanfantasie" and arranged by Stefan Mickisch, if you google Mickisch you will find his homepage.(there he sells the notes and the disc) It´s a long piece, more than 100 minutes, and based on pieces of Act 1 (Liebestrank, Love Potion), Act 2 (Liebesnacht, Nicht of Love) and Act 3 (Liebestod, Love Death)
What intrigues me is why they didn't simply re-shoot that last chord so Stephen could correct his mistake and we'd all have been none the wiser. Of course, I guess he appreciated the humor of the moment more than he longed to be seen topping off the chord correctly. If he's really a non-player, he's all the more deserving of props for having played the first chord correctly.
Year, das ist ja mal geil!!!!! Die beiden zusammen tolle performance
2:49 he really said Coitus Interruptus with a straight face
I’ve just realised that Fry looks like Wagner
...Except when he looks like Wilde!
They've both got busted/bent noses, while I guess we won't get the chance to enjoy the irony of Fry playing Wagner further to his Wilde, given that Fry is of course Jewish! Then again, he's too tall and nowadays probably far too well proportioned to pull the roll off further to Burton and Trevor Howard.
Eddie Hutchence LOL! Yes!
Ironically, he is Jewish!
Wagner had a deviated septum?
Absolutely lovely -- so happy to have seen and heard this
Jon Vickers, the great Canadian tenor sang the role of Tristan for thirty years. He did so by only singing eight performances a year which he gave for the highest bidder. He was the greatest Tristan in the world in his day, as well as a very wealthy man. He did the same for his signature role of Otello. Eight performances a year, that was it.
Just been to see this at ROH. Was stunning! Thanks for posting this - really interesting.
RIP Stefan Mickisch.
Great composition, a legendary work
The Tristan chord was used by many composer before including Chopin, Bach and others. It's how Wagner uses it that's different
When Thomas Newman wrote the piece "Plasma Orgasmata" for the TV series "Angels in America" I think he was inspired by Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. I always hear the Wagner, especially in the last 40 seconds. The very final chord is definitely Wagner. See for yourself on RUclips -- 20 - Plasma Orgasmata
I seriously recommend wathching the whole documentary. It's about an hour, and it's available on youtube.
Check out Hummel b minor concerto 1st movement - An interesting pre-tristan tristan chord measure 7 -> 8. Voice leading is basically identical (without chromatic top line, and an extra passing note in the tenor).
What does he play when fry enters the room ? It's marvelous !
Actually- The Tristan and Isolde opera itself is held at the Festspielhaus (during alternate years) In Bayreuth (and elsewhere at times such as the Zurich Opera house, The Met in NY, etc.)- However- This actual footage (as seen above) was in the Biography/Documentary by Stephen Fry titled: Wagner and Me.
The glory of the Prelude und Liebestod, from the inimitable pen of Richard Wagner... and oh that "Tristan Chord!"
When you’re trying to come but they won’t resolve the chord... dammit
I don't think it would have been particularly startling, since the chord has been around since the middle ages, and Gesualdo, who uses the Tristan chord in the 16th century, wrote much more dissonant music.
I didn't know that Stephen Fry liked classical music 😍😍😍😍
YO NICE PAPRIKA He wrote a book about it, and quite a nice one)
It's actually a very common chord in all genres of music these days. It is Fm7b5 or F half-diminished (the natural chord of the seventh degree of the major scale), and is very often played as the "2" chord in a "2-5-1" progression in Eb minor. It could even function as a rootless Db9, a very common voicing for jazz piano and guitar players.
docsketchy it’s not like there werent half diminished chords in classical music before; it’s the way it was used here that is different
It's not a half diminished, it's a French 6th
@@hello-rq8kf Sorry, but the Tristan chord F B D#(Eb) G#(Ab) is indeed an F half-diminished (assuming the enharmonic spellings in parentheses). It may also be a French 6th -- I don't know what that means, because I don't know classical theory. It is also a Db9, as well as a G-alt (G7b9b13), all very common chords in jazz. On the guitar, this chord is very easily formed on the middle four strings in a 1-2-1-2 fret pattern, and it is simply one of the most common and useful chords in the jazz guitarist's repertoire, because it functions in so many ways in so many keys -- it is very common for so-called turnarounds, because simply playing it, then sliding it up 3 frets and playing it again, gives a very jazzy-sounding version of the most common chord progression in jazz, the ii-V. Indeed, depending on what chord follows it, it can function as a ii-V in both major and minor tonalities -- one simply slides up 3 frets for the minor, and down 3 frets for the major. It's probably the single most versatile four-note chord in all of jazz.
@@docsketchy I know, I thought it was a half diminished chord for a time but when I started studying classical music/classical guitar I realized it functions better as an appogiatura of a French 6th, since it the voice leading of the melody resolves it up to an (unresolved) V7 or V7b9. Said V7 would resolve to a different key than the ii7b5 so it's not a 2-5-1. French and German 6ths are really just inversions of a V7, the French just has a raised note (the minor 3rd for a half dim chord) which makes it also based on the whole tone scale. So half diminished is technically right if you just view the chord in a vacuum but in the context of the theme/prelude it's more like a French 6th.
@@hello-rq8kf I'll have to take your word for it. All I know is that I play that chord 100 times a day, and when I play it, it's either a half-diminished chord with the root at the bottom, or else a rootless 9th or 7b9b13. Perhaps I'd understand what you were talking about more if I knew where the root of this chord is supposed to be when it is functioning as a French 6th. For example, for the chord F-B-D#-G#, is the root F (in which case this is an Fm7b5) or some other note? You see, in jazz, the F and B make up what is known as a "shell", and this shell can function as either a Db7 (Db-F-B) or a G7 (G-B-F). The D# and G# are then extensions, and their functions depend on which root is assumed.
The pianist Stefan Mickisch once lived in my neighbourhood!
I really really have to make comment! "Extremely good music" he says? Way way MORE than that!!! Beyond belief or even imagination! This music is easily as "FINE" a piece of music ever composed!!! If one really loves the greatest of all the "great music", this music by Wagner should "choke you up" to the point of at least tears, as it does me!!! IT HURTS to hear it! HOW can audible sound do this to the human emotion??? But it does! I have NOT heard all or most of the great performances of this work, but I'm sure the ONE I'd love the most would be that of JESSYE NORMAN singing & HERBERT Von KARAJAN conducting!!! Herbert's last performance too!! Why smoke "POT" when you can get an "ultimate HIGH" from hearing this? "WOWSA"!!! "Ach du lieber, mein schatz"!!!
1:30 Steven Fry having a fan boy moment. is awesome.
And, just to destroy the atmosphere of Wagner's masterpiece, a glimpse of Regietheater silliness that some director decided to inflict upon the work...
I personally believe that your comment destroys Wagner atmosphere. If you think that Wagner was a traditionalist that would have enjoyed Tristan set in a classic production more than 150yrs after its premiere; I would venture to say that you don't understand Wagner's intentions - both musically and asthetically. IMHO
@@Wotan123456789 I read in a biography of his they actually tried to stage Rienzi with muslim costumes (because Regietheater already existed in the 19th century), and he got very upset about it. He was much younger then, though. Bayreuth was still decades away.
@@davidbastardo4154 I am not saying here that Wagner would have liked everything and anything.
I think that Bayreuth's last Parsifal and Tannhauser were masterpieces.
@@Wotan123456789 Really? XD I would have to disagree there. I don't see how a clown Tannhäuser, a Radfem Venus, a Wolfram and Elisabeth sex scene, and a "pilgrim's chorus" made of Bayreuth attendees can be a "masterpiece". An ass piece, sure.
I mostly liked Kosky's Meistersinger. It took a giant shit on Wagner, Cosima, Liszt, Hermann Levi, and even Germany. But it was fun.
@@davidbastardo4154 I found, like most critics and audience, that Tannhauser extraordinary.
If I remember correctly the Pilgrim Chorus was sung by refugees.
I loved it!
The very next moment, he felt an overwhelming urge toward self-loathing.
YES!!! this is wonderful
@Ccynical That's the Liebestod. You can look for it here on youtube, quite easy to find a lot of versions of it, piano, orchestra etc... it's the very end of the opera.
Man that B6b5 (tristan chord) sure is naice (jazz major ftw)
volcom1722 k
volcom1722 in jazz it could be seen as a Fmin7b5 or a rootless C#9, or millions of other chords it realuu depends on the harmonic context
wagner invented jazz basically before him was just I-IV(ii)-V7 chords
it's more than that, it's so ambiguous, it's not a m7b5 chord look how it's written. Obviously it sounds like a m7b5 but it's not a m7b5 because it gets another way
The Steven Chord! (add a b9 to the second chord haha)
4:05 right as the chord resolves. Stephen Fry: I CAME!!!!
I am so glad that I saw this.
The beautiful resolution of Wagner’s chord was actually enhanced by that b6 to 5
iv been trying to find a complete piano solo of 'Liebestod' (whats being played in this clip), but i cant find a decent one anywhere...none as good as this video
It's the same exact chord that Felix Mendelssohn used at the start of his wedding march. It's a G# minor (or A-flat minor) with an F natural added a minor third below the G#.
Try adding B- flat 7 followed by E- flat minor. From here
you can go add a C natural (minor third below E - flat), followed by F 7 , then B- flat minor. Then add a G natural a minor third below the B- flat followed by C 7, then F minor. Keep doing this and you wind up full circle.
Nietzche sent me! "and to this day I am still seeking for a work which would be a match to Tristan in dangerous fascination and possess the same gruesome and dulcet quality of infinity.
I love how he just missed the note!! And he regrets so much!!! i would cry if that happenned to me xD
1:02 he didn’t miss a beat :O
I love how he played the wrong note and they left it in the interview. However I hope I don't hear that wrong not in my mind now every time I hear the Liebestod!
Stefan rulez! He's a legend.
Steven Fry is omniscient. I'm convinced
Getting a piano from Steinway in New York delivered to Wagner in Bayreuth, Germany in 1876. Just think about that for a moment.
It has been passed down that Wagner himself was not that good at playing piano and that Cosima was actually much better. She may have picked up some talent from her father.
I can't help but think of the curb your enthusiasm episode where Larry's accused of being a self loathing Jew because he was whistling a Wagner piece