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Gabriel Hollander
Belgium
Приєднався 27 жов 2011
Follow along for stories about conducting and orchestral music.
As a professional conductor for 15+ years, I've had my fair share of experiences, on and off the podium, both from a musical and organisational standpoint. This channel is about sharing my experiences, thoughts and ideas I’m gathering along the way.
If this is something for you, then hop along for the ride 🚃.
As a professional conductor for 15+ years, I've had my fair share of experiences, on and off the podium, both from a musical and organisational standpoint. This channel is about sharing my experiences, thoughts and ideas I’m gathering along the way.
If this is something for you, then hop along for the ride 🚃.
Interview with Helene Bracke, mezzo-soprano, actress, director and playwright
In this interview, I chat with Helene Bracke about her heartfelt new project with the Belgian National Orchestra 🎻✨. She’s created a beautiful and imaginative performance for kids that gently explores themes of death and grief-but in a way that’s also full of warmth and fun 💛. Helene shares how she was inspired by honest conversations with children and her love of storytelling. We talk about music, emotions, and how art can help us connect and heal 🕊️🌸. It’s a project that’s as touching as it is unique and it’s an honour to conduct the Belgian National Orchestra in these shows 🙏!
Links of people and organisations involved in this project (in order of appearance in the interview):
- Belgian National Orchestra [www.nationalorchestra.be](www.nationalorchestra.be/fr)
- Mien Bogaert www.mienbogaert.eu/
- vzw Missing You www.missingyou.be/
- Espace Papillon www.espace-papillon.org/
- Circus Roncalli www.roncalli.de/
- Circus Planeet www.circusplaneet.be/
- Anatoli Akerman www.anatoliakerman.com/
- Charles Dekeyser www.charlesdekeyser.com/
- Benjamien Lycke www.benjamien.be/
- Etesiane Orchestra www.etesiane.com
Links of people and organisations involved in this project (in order of appearance in the interview):
- Belgian National Orchestra [www.nationalorchestra.be](www.nationalorchestra.be/fr)
- Mien Bogaert www.mienbogaert.eu/
- vzw Missing You www.missingyou.be/
- Espace Papillon www.espace-papillon.org/
- Circus Roncalli www.roncalli.de/
- Circus Planeet www.circusplaneet.be/
- Anatoli Akerman www.anatoliakerman.com/
- Charles Dekeyser www.charlesdekeyser.com/
- Benjamien Lycke www.benjamien.be/
- Etesiane Orchestra www.etesiane.com
Переглядів: 120
Відео
The hidden meaning behind the first note of a melody
Переглядів 2,3 тис.21 день тому
Have you ever stopped to think about the power of the very first note of a melody? 🎵 It might seem simple, but that single note can set the tone, evoke emotions, and even guide the entire story of a piece. In this video, I dive deep into the hidden meanings of the opening note, using Tchaikovsky’s iconic *Swan Lake* as our guide. From the grounding stability of the root, to the adventurous curi...
Tchaikovsky’s Signature Sound: A Conductor’s Insight
Переглядів 6 тис.Місяць тому
In this video, we’re diving deep into the world of Tchaikovsky’s music to uncover the secrets behind his unforgettable sound. Join me as we explore the unique tools and techniques that define Tchaikovsky’s musical style. From the sweeping strings to his dark, brooding atmospheres, I’ll guide you through four of his signature traits, comparing passages from his *Manfred Symphony* and the *Pathét...
I’ve recorded my first CD 💿. Here are 3 things I’ve learned.
Переглядів 1,5 тис.Місяць тому
A few weeks ago, I recorded for my first time ever a CD with the Etesiane orchestra. The project of the CD? The so-called “Missa Brevis” project, re-exploring the music form of the “short mass” from our past with a contemporary counterpart, from the Belgian composer Fabian Fiorini. Here are three topics I’ve learned during the process of imagining and testing the project, until the recording se...
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 | Conductor Gabriel Hollander
Переглядів 1,3 тис.11 місяців тому
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 | Conductor Gabriel Hollander
Things I I've learned from conducting a full opera production
Переглядів 1803 роки тому
Things I I've learned from conducting a full opera production
I've practiced the trombone for a year: here is what I've learned
Переглядів 2,5 тис.3 роки тому
I've practiced the trombone for a year: here is what I've learned
About the book with German Christmas songs I wanted to share with you
Переглядів 1683 роки тому
About the book with German Christmas songs I wanted to share with you
I practiced the cello for a year: here is what I've learned
Переглядів 1,5 тис.4 роки тому
I practiced the cello for a year: here is what I've learned
How this musical gem sounds: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 3 of Tea Time)
Переглядів 5544 роки тому
How this musical gem sounds: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 3 of Tea Time)
Why this musical gem is so beautiful: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 2 of Tea Time)
Переглядів 4654 роки тому
Why this musical gem is so beautiful: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 2 of Tea Time)
How I found a musical gem: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 1 of Tea Time)
Переглядів 6094 роки тому
How I found a musical gem: Bach's motet "Der Gerechte kommt um" (part 1 of Tea Time)
5 tips for creating a digital orchestra performance
Переглядів 2974 роки тому
5 tips for creating a digital orchestra performance
Tchaikovsky's signature sound is awful percussion writing
Thanks for your comment! Care to expand your point of view :)?
@@gabrielhollander Oh i would LOVE TO. Everytime he pairs cymbals with bass drum and triangle... it sounds like one of those annoying toy monkeys with cymbals. The last few bars of his symphony #2 contain 24 CONSECUTIVE cymbal crashes with bass drum. It's so excessive and tacky even though it might have been somewhat revolutionary back then. The worst thing is these are pretty much the only percussion instruments he uses besides timpani and so he does not have much room to experiment with interesting rhythms or having different instruments play different rhythms. All his percussion parts pretty much sound like that
@ thanks for sharing your point of view on this insight - it’s indeed an interesting topic!
@@gabrielhollander I'm not saying he's a bad composer btw, he's great but i hate his percussion writing and will never defend it
@@slateflash Great :)!
bars
Thanks!
Could you talk about the pop song that you would most like to see adapted for an orchestra, but that hasn't been yet? And why?
Great question! First thing that comes to mind is coming from the pop/folk scene - more news about this in a couple of months 😇!
1 - 3 - 2. Great harp in the first one!
Well spotted indeed :)!
1 - 3 - 2
Great choice :)
Gabriel, I loved your video! You speak very well, displaying a lot of calm, confidence, and patience. The video is superbly edited, and, most importantly, what an incredible insight! Really, I had never thought about that before. We usually think of melody in relative terms. Just the other day, I watched a video where someone commented that a single note means nothing, and after watching your video, I definitely rethought this concept! Moreover, each timbre is unique, and every single note, played by a specific timbre, creates a different combination of notes, or at least that’s what I understood. For instance, the C note on a guitar is not made up of the same notes as the C note on a piano. Recently, I was reading about how Rousseau, for example, also contributed to developing music theory and had his own notation systems. It made me think about how interesting it is to develop our own ways of thinking about music, analyzing music, our own theories. Gabriel, there's a genius named "Madi Nurkanov" whom I'm sure will be talked about a lot. If you're interested, he has a composition named "Gabriella" which I find fantastic. Anyway, I've spoken with him a few times, and I've noticed he has his own music theories. As someone who also composes (though not much in classical music), I'm always trying to understand melodic patterns, name specific sequences, and build up my theoretical archive in this sense, besides understanding my own music and that of others. I aim to understand why things sound the way they do, how I can combine certain instruments in ways I've never heard anywhere else but still make sense, etc., and I jot everything down in various Google Keep notes. I wonder if this is common among musicians, as I don't know any personally, but I find it rare to come across people on UA-cam with original theories, unique insights, and analyses that deviate from academic content, so I was thrilled to find your channel!
Thanks for your extensive comment, Matheus. I'm happy to read the analysis I suggest here makes sense :)! Welcome on this channel!
Came from the short, great video!
@@miniclip0703 thanks for your comment :)!
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Great choice, thanks for sharing :)!
Your audio is too much saturated, just an observation. I love your content. Just that little detail.
@@fiddler1094 thanks for your feedback - you’re right, and I’ll take care of the audio in the future! 🙏
I like your idea of representing the root, the third and the fifth with colours and instrument groups with objects, that is, engaging imagination with various senses. That’s a transferable skill I can use also in my profession (not liked to music). But after your insights I almost dream of conducting. ;) :)
Thanks for your comment, Linda! I'd be interested in knowing more about how you transfer this idea to your profession as well 🤓!
Having watched the “Swan Lake” several times, I found your commentary eye-opening (or, should I say, ear-expanding): from grounding and exploring to hoping that mark the yellow duckling’s path to becoming a fully fledged white (or black) swan. How interesting! Thank you Gabriel.
Thank you Linda for your comment - happy this analysis makes sense 😄!
it took youtube 2 hours for the video to start getting views. Great video tho
Thanks for your comment!
i would add 5) he uses runs a lot. classic example: nutcracker pas de deux. there are those little runs up to the melody in the high register
Very good point indeed - thanks for sharing!
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Good choice 🤓
I appreciate the analysis, but you must let the listener actually hear the musical examples to understand your points, perhaps repeat the same passage of the music after you've explained your point, so we can listen again and comprehend the lesson. You tell us to "listen" and allow us less than 3 seconds when you start talking over the music. Your viewers do not have your intimate knowledge of this subject matter... give us a several seconds to actively listen.
Good point, thanks for sharing this feed-back, David 🙏!
add 4th symphony
@@PeterFamiko-lw8ue of course, this could be the subject of a future video 🤓
Finally, the Manfred getting the respect for it's powerful and intense orchestration! Me being a violist/bassist, Tchaikovsky string writing never disappoints. Another thing I love about Tchaikovsky are his climatic buildups. Just when you think you’ve hit the ceiling, he blows it off the roof. Notably 5th Symphony 2nd movement, 4th Symphony 2nd movement, Romeo and Juliet, Francesca da Rimini, and Souvernir De Florence 1st and 2nd movements.
All great examples indeed - thanks for your comment!
I think his Romeo & Juliet overture is perhaps the most compact unit that captures the essential characteristics: big melodies (of course) with syncopated WW and brass 'dabs' decorating or punctuating the section carrying the melody; high WW playing repeated tuplets providing 'below-the-radar' forward momentum; lots of diminished and half-diminished chords to build tension etc etc.
You're completely right - very good points, thanks for sharing!
I agree. It is the only Tchaikovsky piece I have ever conducted. It was part of my orchestral conducting class, and I led the university orchestra. I found it quite difficult at the time, but was well prepared enough that I think I did fine. I got good compliments from an orchestra member, who I later found out was a conducting major when I attended his senior conducting recital. So it turned out to be a much better compliment than I had known at the time. So naturally with knowing the piece much more thoroughly than any of his other works, it is a favorite of mine to listen to.
@@steve-4045 thanks for sharing this anecdote - lovely compliment indeed!
What do you make of those crazy fast scales that Tchaikovsky uses that get passed on back and forth between the strings and the woodwinds, like in the fourth movement of Symphony No. 4 and the third movement of the Pathetique? They’ve always confused me.
@@rufescens interesting question! Depending on which specific scenario, I feel Tchaikovsky uses those scales as a specific effect (even though abstract). For example, doesn’t the third movement of the Pathetique sound like a crowd laughing/cheering or clapping before the jubilant tutti theme comes back? Let me know if this makes sense :).
@@gabrielhollanderYes, it does! Though it’s sometimes struck me as not very effective to shift back and forth between different instruments mid-scale (which happens in the fourth Symphony.) What do you think? How do you handle that when you conduct?
@@rufescens That's a good point - in the movement 4 of the 4th Symphony, these mid-scale changes happen often. I'd handle this during rehearsals as possible, in a few ways: • practice once slowly if the orchestra has not yet played this piece, so everyone understands how the interconnections are written • practice in tempo by feeling *directions* and not only *impulses* (if this makes sense - it's easier to play together when we feel the same energy pulled in the same direction) • on a psychological level, filling the "empty" beats with the sixteenth notes of the others musicians, and continue the pulse internally What could be an added potentiel complexity, is when the orchestra is really large or there's a lot of space between strings and winds. Depending on the rehearsal or concert space, it can be easier if the musicians are seated not too far away. It's a very interesting topic, and food for thought. Let me know if this make sense - I could even add the idea as a next video idea 😎!
@@gabrielhollander I see-thank you! Yes, that does make sense. It sounds like it’s a very interesting effect, but one that’s not easy to execute!
Would you like to talk about Rachmaninoff, who seems to be the obvious choice to follow your points on Tchaikovsky?
@@grisgriz85 good point! It’s absolutely on the list of to-do videos - soon more info :)
Love this! I'm really into tchaikovsky and this is making me want to read a second book about him. Just some feedback on the audio. Sounds like the voiceover is panned quite unusually, it's not centered (dual mono) rather it's louder in the right ear. I suspect it's because maybe you recorded the voiceover in stereo on that zoom recorder? So when you turn it around that also reflects in the panning. The sound is also very saturated (distorted)
@@tomaswestholm4993 thanks for your comment - care to share what book you’re wanting to read about Tchaikovsky? Thanks for the feedback on the audio, I’ll definitely keep this in mind for the next videos 🙏!
@@gabrielhollander I have read David Brown´s the man and his music. Very good.
@@tomaswestholm4993indeed, thanks for the reference 🙏!
The Pathetique has always been an amazing inspiration for my own compositions! The music is just first class!
Lovely! I’d be curious to disocver your composition based on the Pathetique. Can this be seen online?
I’ve always wondered what qualities make Tchaikovsky’s music so distinct and addictive to listen to. These are some great points and I definitely agree! I think his writing for the brass is always some of the best in the repertoire. He wrote some of the more interesting bass trombone parts that have melodies individual to the rest of the orchestra and even the rest of the trombone section. He very distinctly utilized the bass trombone individually
Very good points, indeed! Thanks for sharing your ideas about the bass trombone parts!
I like the concept of missa brevis. A small but intricate representation of a mass is a very cool idea! This makes the format very easy for concert programming and taking in the mass form in a quicker duration
Absolutely - happy you enjoy the concept too!
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Prachtig Gabriel!
@@PaulaVanDerWeeën dank Paula :)
❤❤
I wish you has posted the entire symphony. Great job. Great tempo! Love the 2nd Trombone lady! From FL, USA
Thanks for your comment, best wishes! More snippets of the symphony are available on the Instagram page of the orchestra: instagram.com/etesiane.orchestra?igsh=ZGNjOWZkYTE3MQ%3D%3D&.
Absolutely wonderful 🤗👍👏👏👏👏
Many thanks 🙏 !
You're so welcome!
Génial merci. Quelle belle curiosité pour la vie dans toutes ces couleurs. Ma première partition de Bach fût trouvée au marché aux puces de Bruxelles, la seconde dans une caravane en Israël.
Merveilleux - merci pour ce partage. Quelles étaient donc ces partitions découvertes ?
Hi Gabriel. Nice job. See you soon.
Thanks Vincent!
Very nice Gabriel !! When do you start with bassoon ??🤪🤩
Thank you Melina! Bassoon is indeed on my list 🤩!
Wait until you get to Tenor clef haha
Totally!
Absolutely great!😁👍👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks Peter, happy you like it :)
You're so welcome my friend! Absolutely! I really like it!
Super interesting Gabriel !
Thank you Stephane 🙏!
Nice video! I want to start play trombone so I fint your video. I play little trumpet. Can you help me what instrument to buy? Tenor, bass, alto? What? My budget is really low so I’m thinking a second hand trombone. What you think about right thomman startone low price model? Thanks again.
Hello Εμμανουήλ. I started with a tenor trombone without F-valve, so a single horn, and would suggest the same. If you can find a good embouchure where you feel at ease, it can also help for practicing. Enjoy!
Nice one!! Enjoying your channel. Go and take a look at Promosm! It is the fastest way to grow your UA-cam channel, and also works for any other social media profiles you may want to promote!!!
Bravo à toi , gAbriel, C'est tout simplement passionnHant !
Merci Cécile !
Thankyou good video briefing on Christmas carols in German.
Thanks for your comment - happy you like the video!
This is so compelling - the old, otherworldly harmonies! After listening to just a third of your video I have ordered the book. I am trying to become proficient on the piano and this is the perfect kind of thing I can practice to figure out what fingers and brain are supposed to do. (Also I can re-watch this for clues about fingering, interpretation, technique and style)!
Hello Carla, so nice to hear you're going to practice these harmonies. Enjoy the discovery, and feel free to reach out with news or if you have any questions!
Great video! I just started learning the trombone just 3 days ago!
That’s amazing news - welcome to the gang and enjoy the ride 🥳!
Absolutely great!👏👍👍👍
Thanks, happy you like it !
You're welcome! Absolutely I enjoyed it!