Every time Sophie is mentioned: Brett: weee weee! Eddy: weeeee! Sophie: tolerate it because they pay you on tour...tolerate it because they pay you on tour
Je confirme que le français est une langue très difficile, surtout pour l'accent qui est plutôt étrange quand on a l'habitude des accents toniques comme en anglais 😂. I confirm that french is a very difficult language, especially the accent that all the anglophones struggle with 😂.
Yes, this. This is something so many people don't realize or notice. So many of the things discussed here are really subtle changes in sound or technique, but they make all the difference. Many people people, as they said, "just play" the piano, as in just press the keys. But, unbelievable as it may sound, the intention and the way you visualize or imagine the sounds you want to make do make a big difference in the result. It's such a subtle change in the way you press the key, you just cannot replicate it just by copying the technique. For example: Listen to any of the recordings mentioned and then compare to a recording from Lang Lang. Not saying that he is bad, but when you listen closely, you might notice that his playstyle sounds a lot harder or harsher, almost as if you can hear the hammer impacting the string. You won't find this with amy of the "masters". Hence also what Sophie said about breaking the strings: its more likely to break them if use the "wrong" technique to play loud.
What makes a great player is passion, not power. And their energy in committing to the sound rather then the performance itself. But that's a singers humble opinion ^^
I am old enough to remember when Horowitz returned to Russia to play a concert. Old Russian dudes sitting in the audience were crying 😭 because of what they missed in the time he was away from Russia in his “exile”.
I can believe that. I had the privilege of attending one of his concerts when he played in Cincinnati. He is the standard against which I judge all other pianists.
@@rhodaramirez5458 ua-cam.com/video/3fhKaAX5dOc/v-deo.html. Yes look at the audience have you ever seen a audience so rapt by a performance. The piece has some greater significance as it is an evocation of a memory the end of the Second World War when so many Russians died.
his hands legit looked like it's floating. I'm a music pleb who enjoys classical music and I'm thoroughly impressed. I'm gonna check that one out asap just to watch from the beginning to end.
@@PrincessSixThirteen oh yeah..although visual oldery and ruffling Mr. Horowitz piano playing makes much pleasure and fun and... is literally leading me to be in that charm again🥴oh my garden🌸
Khatia Buniatishivili's hair gets in her face Me: how do you play without seeing the keyboard? how'll you get it out of your face? Khatia Buniatishivili: *yeets head back*
You don't need to see to play the piano. Especially if you're so experienced as her. You're taught pretty early on to ignore one of the hands so you can look at only the other hand. So with a bit of practise you can look away entirely :)
I swear Horowitz looks like he's straight out of an old Disney movie. Like he'd be a piano wizard here to teach you the skills to save your kingdom from your enemies to an elegant etude.
It looked as if Horowitz merely rested his hands upon the piano and they both reminisced about a life well spent. It was like a final farewell to an old friend. So peaceful, absolutely beautiful.
That's Horowitz for you. He just did what was absolutely necessary in terms of hand movement but he created a richness and depth of sound that was totally unique. As far as I know (I'm not a pianist), his hand position is actually seen as bad form by most piano schools. I remember reading about some pianist who was taught by Horowitz. Horowitz told him to hold his hands like he did but he just couldn't play like that. I think with Horowitz, it's like with many great artists who've absolutely mastered their craft: they just don't need to do much. Look at really great actors like Robert deNiro or Al Pacino. In most cases, they don't actually do all that much with their faces. Just a slight eyebrow raise or an intense look and it's done. When you've reached this kind of mastery, you can probably just reduce everything down to what's absolutely necessary.
@@apianoadventure How great would it have been to witness Horowitz and Rachmaninoff playing the Rach 3 in Steinway's basement. Horowitz played the lead, Rach the orchestral accompaniment. www.steinway-piano.com/steinway-news/a-meeting-of-titans-the-day-vladimir-horowitz-and-sergei-rachmaninoff-arrived-together-at-steinway-hall/
Back in the day, in piano competitions, they would deduct points from you for excessive movement, especially dramatic lifting of the hands or arms. Even if your performance sounded better than the others. That's why Earl Wild also played with very little movement, same era as Horowitz and they were competitors.
@@lczq6737 Note that some Alkan's works, no, most well-known pieces of Alkan is extremely difficult (e.g. Op. 15, Op. 33, Op. 39, Op. 76), while other works as well as a bit lesser-known pieces is quite easy in terms of technique (e.g. Op 13(?), Chants, Nocturnes).
i once practiced on a digital piano without switching it on cuz i didnt want to bother my brother and his friend's conversation (we were in a small room). he told me it's ok to switch it on, but i said im fine cuz i could hear my own playing - it totally freaked him out lollll HE SHALL BE INTRODUCED TO THIS COMMUNITY
I’m a new twoset fan and I didn’t know Sophie plays the violin too. That’s amazing!!! I don’t know about music, but they are expanding my mind. I’m currently on a marathon of their older videos.
I remember Horowitz being the first pianist that I ever saw on screen. He was doing something with trills and my sister who was a pretty good pianist in my estimation was just confounded by what he was doing. It was her reaction that I remember best because it wasn't dramatic. It was just the true and earnest astonishment of a person of adequate skill when confronted with a true master. Someone who is just good enough to understand what's going on when the rest of us don't even know what we're looking at.
That is sooo relatable! I am a junior pianist, and you get to that point where you know how excrucuatingly hard it is to do certain things, and then you watch a master doing it with the ease that I play twinkle twinkle little star. It makes you want to clap and cry and scream and faint all at the same time. I love piano!!
Nella Penelope // Really blew my mind when I saw Horowitz play Mozart and he rolled up his right little finger half the time because he didn’t even need it.
@@magicmulder That is just insane! Here I am wishing for just a few more fingers to help me out, and he just puts away his pinky as if it isn't neccecary. Oh help. At least I can comfort myself that I still have about 50 years of practice to try and get to that level. :'D
@@magicmulder Good luck with that! XD I bet if you practice your full 40 hours a day you could do it.... But yes, some people have a way of putting emotion into music, where others don't have the ability. I can just hope and pray I make it to be one of the former.
Rachmaninov piano concerto no. 2 is never fails to give me goosebumps. There’s just something about it that moves me so deeply and I love that it got included here and I love how Sophie spoke about this piece ❤️
I listened to his Hungarian rhapsody no. 2, while following along on the sheet music, and I could barely count fast enough... Not to even think about playing it!! And page turns..... We won't even go there.
Watching this for the second time, and the boys are so sweet to Sophie. It’s almost like they treat her as their little sister 😂 They laugh at small things she say and supports/promote her. Maybe I’m interpreting to much into the video, but Eddy and Brett definitely seems like nice ppl
I can't get over the way the ENTIRE ORCHESTRA is SWAYING along with Evgeny Kissin! It's like- he establishes the groove, and then they all get into it. It's one of the most organic, hypnotic, movie-like classical performances I've ever seen.
You should also check out Nobuyuki's performance of the piece! It's honestly quite moving as well, and the moments he does decide to bring out the virtuoso moments, he articulates them very nicely. The second movement is also pretty amazing!
That's one of the most transcendental moments in playing ever. Just feeling like you and everyone else around you are having an almost spiritual experience through your instruments... Oh man it's so hard to describe but it feels so euphoric... I miss playing with people 😭
This actually made me want to learn the piano. Seeing the older gentleman performing so elegantly somehow made it more accessible in my mind at least. Which to me means you don't need to start at the at of 3 and you don't need to stop at a certain age. I'm sure if you wanted to be the best of the best you probably do need to start at 3 lol.
the hardest thing to do is to make things look EFFORTLESS, that goes for the art in general, violin, piano, even ballet and paintings, you never see an artist stabbing the crap out of their paint brush (some of which costs hundreds of dollars for a single small paint brush), everything just flows effortlessly, it's magical.
It's as Yeats wrote about poetry: I said, ‘A line will take us hours maybe; Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought, Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
I like that she picked a couple pieces that aren't that technically difficult but impressive based on execution. The Schubert could be played by an intermediate pianist, and the Grieg is probably the "easiest" of the major Romantic era concertos. Pieces don't have to be technically ridiculous to be impressive; execution is everything. The Liszt is impossible, though.
100%. The Schubert...hell, I could read that as someone that hasn't played in a while. But to produce the same quality...impossible. It just felt so...soft. Absolutely stunning.
@@bunnysenpaimon6742 I have a special place in my heart for Schubert Impromptus. I remember when I was in 4th grade, I went to a local recital where a 5th grader was playing the No. 2 Impromptu and I was astounded at how beautiful it sounded; it has always made an impression on me. I soon learned them myself, and Schubert Impromptus were some of the first pieces I could play that really sounded like "real" piano music.
I completely agree with you. Though Liszt songs if played correctly can have the excitement enough. Although if played emotionally (and correctly) the effect is doubled if not tripled.
Yes I very much agree. I personally have played the Bach Gigue myself when I was 12 and it wasn’t as hard as people think it was, yet I love it how Sophie intends to find such in depth explanations of each piece, the recordings are legendary.
The Liszt piece was fast? Fast? Something something bumblebee something something if you can play it slowly something something I can't play piano and my fingers no longer function after watching that performance, because *how do you do those things?*
The Horowitz Schubert selection somehow immediately brought me to tears. So impressive. Wow. Thanks twoset and Sophie for sharing all of this classic music experience and knowledge!!!!!
Just gonna put this out there at a pianist who's played for the past 14 years: the ability to play fast is definitely impressive and and integral skill for every pianist to learn, but with that speed needs a but of grace or ease of movement. It's not just about whether (s)he plays it fast enough, it's whether (s)he can play it both when it's fast or slow with the same intensity, whether you can bring out emotion at the necessary times, and most importantly, to be able to tell the story the piece is trying to convey whole enjoying playing the piece. Lang Lang plays probably just as fast as these guys or with that emotion and stillness that Horowitz did, but he is at the top because he enjoys what he plays. That's the most integral part of music, not just for a pianist, but for every instrument, from violin to piccolo to tuba to the viola, you must enjoy what you play and not be stressed out while playing it. Happy Practicing #LingLing40Hrs mates!
Hey guys, I have video ideas!!! - Who’s more likely to (classical musicians edition) Or - How well do you know each other (one of you asks a question and the other one must guess the right answer) I think it would be really fun to watch ☺️ BTW I love watching you guys, lots of love for you and stay safe! ❤️
Jeremy Lam the bavarian and austrian accent is NOT the same, they are similar but even if you don‘t live in Bavaria or Austria (like me) you can hear the difference
@@JoshuaWillis89 No worries. It was just when I was once going through the well tempered clavier, my piano teacher always mentioned that to me and always said "with all those awkward turns, how on earth are you supposed to make a continuous legato passage without a thumb." Well Sokolov can do it no problem.
@@kaiandchanellesimmons502 Bach was one of the first to promote the use of the thumb to all his students. So your teacher is quite wrong and it really doesn't matter so much with Bach anyways
It's interesting that people used to frown on using thumbs. But when it comes to technique I think tradition shouldn't be the chief arbiter. I'm all for remembering ancient wisdom, but more is known today about the body and its possibilities and liabilities than in the past. To me, refusing to engage my thumbs in a piece would feel like a pointless limitation of my physical expression and reach. On the other hand, why stop at the hands? I've found it necessary to use the nose when playing middle C simultaneously with the lowest and highest Cs.
Miwi R in my church band, tho, I know some people who imagine some riffs but the product is weird. It is true BUT it takes more training to think two or three bars before you execute especially in improvisation 😩
Beautiful selections. I love watching Horowitz play, always have, his hands are so quiet, and a curled pinky. He was an odd cat, met him twice in the 70's. I saw an interview w/ Julia Fischer, where she said that when she plays for her own enjoyment, she always plays piano. Six selections? So limiting. No Argerich. Yes, do a Part 2. Thank you Sophie. Lang Lang Carnegie Love Dream.
I'm a classically trained pianist, tho I'm not at a professional skill level. The "color" on piano sounds is produced in a couple of ways. The piano strings are touched by hammers and dampers. The primary tactic of changing the color of an individual note, is the speed and timing by which you apply and release both the hammer and damper, and the relationship to each other. On Horowitz's B-flat, he accelerated the hammer toward the string, but pulled back on the key at the last second, so the hammer struck the string while it was decelerating, instead of accelerating. The true skill was in that he did this while producing an accented note. This type of touch is quite difficult to master, obviously. It also felt like he applied some sostenuto right at the strike. You can also add color using multiple notes by slighting modifying the difference in volume between simultaneous notes, and also modifying the simultaneity of the notes, i.e. two notes that should be simultaneous, being played actually a few milliseconds apart. (Fischer did this in her right hand at the beginning of her piece.) I do think that the violin lends itself to a wider range of tonal variations per note, but the piano's ability to vary multiple notes simultaneously makes it produce a greater volume of overall tones.
I like your explanation far better than theirs. It seemed they were talking about the perfect sound of the Bb, and it just....was a ridiculous way of explaining it. I love your technical explanation, which makes more sense than "feeling or hearing it in your head."
What I find interesting is that for many talented people, that weird explanation is the way information passes from their brains to their execution. Technically analyzing doesnt do it for this type of people. I know analogously Robbin Williams did something like this for his improvisation, he could move through constructing the sentences and expressions we all laughed at, but there was a method to the madness that took longer to explain than him just 'doing' it. I get a sense the same thing happens for many musicians at a higher level.
@@AG-mt3xs ironically, "the feeling" they described it is very important, because they way I learned was that the slight sway of your body helps u control the force of the key strikes, so that u actually "feel" the music in your mechanics. And you literally start to move your body into a note before you play it, anticipating the sound. It's kind of like a sport, where you throw a ball with your whole body, not just your arm. What's crazy about Horowitz is that he barely moved at all while still producing the feel. I have no chance of doing that. That's the equivalent of throwing a 100 mph fast ball standing flat footed.
@@resonaire I have no doubt that Sophie understands the technical aspects perfectly well, but she prefers to enjoy the artistic, emotional aspect of the technique, and share that side in the video. That's what is so great about music, you can enjoy and execute it on many levels.
Well, basically, color is the difference between the same note played on different instruments. A C note on piano is the same as on the violin, but they sound different because of the color.
3:36 he's like an old knotty tree. So wise and powerful. The way he is playing is just so magical. I don't know how to properly express my feelings, English is not my first language, sorry
I absolutely agree!! It seems so peaceful but powerful at the same time And don't worry there is nothing wrong with your english and even if it was, making mistakes is totally normal :)
@Nous Lisons That is a lovely way to put it. I heard Horowitz at Woolsey Hall at Yale in 1980. He was 77 by then. I paid just $10 for my ticket. My seat was on stage, a few yards from “The Last Romantic” (the title of a well-known documentary about the aging Horowitz). To say that Horowitz was a virtuoso is an understatement. The concert was a transcendent experience.
I’m going insane, I haven’t left the house for three months and it’s most likely we’re gonna stay even more than 4 months, on break since 20th January, for now we’ll return on 20th April
If I had to recommend just ONE performance, Krystian Zimmerman's interpretation of the Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor definitely comes to mind. There are so many others, but would love for you to watch that one!
Two things: 1. Sophie is just delightful (I have a daughter her age!). 2. Liszt is frustrating. He writes so well for the piano that almost all of his music LOOKS playable to a serious amateur. For example: I can get through the Mephisto Waltz. But many parts of it I have to play slowly. I would never have thought about trying to perform it when I was a student. I did play Un Sospiro, Liebestraum no. 3, and Funerailles. I was working on the 12th Hungarian Rhapsody when I decided to focus on academics. That's a difficult but wonderful piece.
today I learnd that there are two sorts of piano players. those who play with relaxed hands and those who play with hands formed like claws. And then there is that one gentleman who plays whithout seemingly to move his hands
One day, the primordial music God, Ling Ling, practiced 80 hours. He attained eternal transcendence which caused him to split into three newer generation of Gods. Perfect Pizz, Perfect Pitch and Perfect Piano, the top representatives of Ling Ling were as divine as they can go to avoid human disintegration upon gaze. However, legends say that if a normal mortal gazed upon Ling Ling's true form, their blood would ooze out, and they themselves would inflate to the size of the sun, only to be exploded in a series of supernovas. Hail Brett Yang, Eddy Chen and Sophie Oui Oui. Long live Ling Ling. This is the closest we would get to gaze upon Ling Ling.
loved Eddy's face during the Schubert; so peaceful, while Brett nods his head in approval. And Eddy was also digging that Rachmaninov. Brett is so in love with Tchaikovsky that his reactions are so cute to watch. Same with the Sokolov Bach. When he said he learned that piece on the piano, it makes me wonder if sometimes (even though he is a violinist) he's faking "badness" on the piano.
Imagine once wee overcome the corona pandemic, we make a two set orchestra comprised of fans and we perform the Rachmaninoff with Sophie! .... What a dream... but serious a two set fan orchestra would be dope
tbh i really love this kind of videos. them discussing about the music and giving us a piece of a musican's mind, what they are thinking when listening/practicing music
@@jessevolley8 but yet they're all percussion instruments. There's certainly a massive difference between some of them. But certainly there's some that are somewhat similar
The first that came to my mind when they said EPIC PIANO PERFORMANCES was Seong Jin Cho and his performance of the heroic polonaise or Daniil Trifonov’s rach 3. Just hearing Sophie talk about these performances makes me realize the true passion she has for this music her ballade no. 4 is probably one of her best performances I’ve seen . I wish I could play as heavenly as she does one day until then I just look up to her in awe. Quarantines been pretty bad but at least these amazing videos are here to cheer us up be safe guys.😄
I thought of Liszt complete transcendental etudes by Daniel Trifonov when talking about epic piano performances , as I remember he got a Grammy with that recording not sure tho
Horowitz got me. They were all incredible but it was him that got me. I love that Schubert piece too. Horowitz made it seem so easy. It's like he wasn't playing the music, the music was playing him. He was just the vessel that brought the music and the piano together. That, to me, is excellence in a musician. When the music that is brought to life through the musician. I will most definitely be looking for his other performances. This was so great. Thank you Sophie and TwoSet. 😎👍
The way that you're talking about piano compared to violin is kinda how I think about strings compared to brass. I mean, I'm actually using my air to project my sound, my actual life force. I've played piano since I was 5, yet play brass professionally. I feel like it's an extension of my whole body, yet with piano you can't have control of the instrument you can with brass. Perhaps singers will have the same view of wind instruments? Loosely related, I actually have played that Schubert piece on piano. It's beautiful.
i sang professionally and played trumpft for 5 years. i can say that singing allowed me to control the sound and colour i was producing a Lot more than the trumpft did (probably due to my lack of kill with 14) but i can See where you are going. im going to statt learning the piano this year hopefully. Looking for a new Challenge
I think wind instruments and singing can't be compared the same way as piano and violin because they produce the sound on the same princip, the princip of making tone during singing and on a wind instrument is different. I play flute and also sing. And for me personally, these two disciplines are really different. It's true that from all of the wind instruments, making a tone on a flute is the most similar to singing (so you can actually weaken your voice and temporarily lose it at rare cases). But the tone on a flute is understandably more stable and easier to master (but that's my personal opinion). The voice is much more fragile because it's not an instrument you can control by learning some fingering or embochure. The voice has almost unlimited possibilities in mastering and learning wrong techniques at the same time. And it's so hard to explain the techniques (for example the voice registers - the teacher can tell you to use the high register but not how exactly, he can't tell you you need to press this one key or overblow it). Also your teacher can't see in lots of cases what are you doing. And the worst thing is, that if you ruin it, you can't buy a new one. Hope this helped a bit 🙂
I'm not saying I necessarily can do it but the great piano masters and players can make the piano and extension of their body. Liszt especially holds onto this as he felt one with the piano.
_"yet with piano you can't have control of the instrument you can with brass."_ This shows you are not a pianist. I don't know how much "control" you have with brass, but there is a lot of "control" with piano.
Vladimir K. I kinda get what they’re saying though - when you major in a band instrument (I main flute, I can’t speak for brass in particular) your whole body is in it - how you breathe, fingerings, posture, etc. Playing piano in comparison, especially non-professionally, probably feels more restricting. I’m positive that there’s a lot of control when you get used to the instrument on a pro level, don’t get me wrong! But on the onset there’s so many things you can do to control the sound on a woodwind/brass, and with piano you can’t get vibrato and all that fun stuff as easily.
I really think Sophie is a very genuine nice person. I adore all of their characters. They don't insult each other. It seems amazing to be their friends.
Back in the day, in piano competitions, they would deduct points from you for excessive movement, especially dramatic lifting of the hands or arms. Even if your performance sounded better than the others. That's why Earl Wild also played with very little movement, same era as Horowitz and they were competitors.
I play the cello and whenever I tell anyone who doesn't know anything about instruments they never understand cello I have to say that it's like a big violin and then they know what it is lol 😂
Coming back like... 5 months later after *really* digging and listening to classical music and comparing different interpretations, I can definitely understand Sophie really well and so much more than when I first watched this video❤️👌🏼 I am so gratefully that I found this channel - it absolutely brought me to the classical side of music and I love it. It's been a great adventure and I'm looking forward to experiencing more😊
For all those who never got to hear Horowitz live,--let me give you the short version. He was the Heifetz of the piano. Many great young and youngish pianists around today are very good indeed...but I heard him play. Nothing equalled his playing. He started with Scarlatti and it was transfixing--like I had never heard Scarlatti before. Chopin's Barcarolle (which I have played--and in public! and I understand all your Conservatory memes and roasts) went from melting soft and sweet to wowsers! taking off to the skies on Icarus-Like wings of golden fire. The Rachmaninoff Bb Major Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 left my mouth dry and I was speechless. I have ATTEMPTED to play it, but alas, like even the big time boys and girls of yesterday and today it sounds under my hands more like "the 20 minute roar in Bb Major". Horowitz played it and brought out counter melodies that I (and most I'm sure) had not even seen! As an encore he played Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever in his own arrangement. I still don't believe it, but I was there live and saw and heard it. Here's a recording he made (there are others--all are a bit different...if you find the one from 1938 it is even MORE astonishing. ua-cam.com/video/TxO9k53IsMU/v-deo.html
Vladimir Horowitz's Schubert was so moving, I got chills. There is a zen-like quality in his phrasing that just takes me away. Frank Sinatra had the same gift when singing, sometimes less is more.
Rachmaninov most famous piece is the bells (Prelude in C# minor). He regretted it because everyone asked for encores. I really like Rachmaninov (i really like romantic era Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Schubert, Schumann and Shostakovich)
Mi Les omg Scriabin is so good, his pieces are so awesome! If only he didn’t die so young from a boil on his lip. Also he was kinda crazy, he wanted to start the apocalypse with music lmao
@@duckymomo7935 Scriabin and Shostakovich are not romantic. Scriabin is modern and Shostakovich is contemporary. Their styles have NOTHING in common with romantic music. (To be fair, early Scriabin is more or less romantic, but Shostakovich was never romantic)
Ok i love how for the 4th performance with Kissin, everyone is involved in the music so much that they're all moving/dancing in a synchronized way, and even Brett was moving along while listening.
XD my mom has nightmares about fur elize... I played that first part over and over for my first few years, so she probably knows it better than Beethoven by now! (ps. That isn't the end mom! Wait untill I play chopin and liszt like that... X'D
I’m so happy you picked the Horowitz! That’s my favourite rendition of this piece, it’s just heartbreakingly beautiful. Fun fact: this is one of the last times he performed live, he was 84 when he did this recital. Truly amazing.
As a non musician I first heard Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 from Nodame Cantabile and fell in love with it, surprised to search the title and have a Twoset video show up. The recording shown in this video is my favorite interpretation of the piece and I always come back to it, so thank you Sophie and Twoset, I'm sure a lot more people went to listen to it after this video, its just SO good 😂
Now, I'm quite adverse to the recent century trend of speeding up everything on the piano to ridiculous speeds just for the sake of speed. Most pieces now a-days are played ridiculously fast. This was my thought when I heard Buniatishvilli play the Mehpisto. However, the only reason I'd give her a pass on this one is because Liszt probably would have done something similar.
Every time Sophie is mentioned:
Brett: weee weee!
Eddy: weeeee!
Sophie: tolerate it because they pay you on tour...tolerate it because they pay you on tour
It's oui oui not we we ;)
Patricia Plouffe lol I know. I’m making fun of how they use her name as a pun for the “weee”
sound.
Naah I think they’re pals so she doesn’t mind. At least they’re not telling her Go Practice all the time
Je confirme que le français est une langue très difficile, surtout pour l'accent qui est plutôt étrange quand on a l'habitude des accents toniques comme en anglais 😂.
I confirm that french is a very difficult language, especially the accent that all the anglophones struggle with 😂.
Patricia Plouffe i thought it was we we too
"The key is to be intense without being tense". Yes, two million times yes.
Can I like this comment twice?
This also holds super true in the voice world just so y'all know
@@Marie-ov6dn yes yes yes!!! Totally agree
Yeeeeeeesssss!!! And why is that so hard!? ( 10 likes for you!)
I am not a voice expert, but I can fully believe what you are saying Marie Brittain
Yes, this. This is something so many people don't realize or notice. So many of the things discussed here are really subtle changes in sound or technique, but they make all the difference. Many people people, as they said, "just play" the piano, as in just press the keys. But, unbelievable as it may sound, the intention and the way you visualize or imagine the sounds you want to make do make a big difference in the result. It's such a subtle change in the way you press the key, you just cannot replicate it just by copying the technique. For example: Listen to any of the recordings mentioned and then compare to a recording from Lang Lang. Not saying that he is bad, but when you listen closely, you might notice that his playstyle sounds a lot harder or harsher, almost as if you can hear the hammer impacting the string. You won't find this with amy of the "masters". Hence also what Sophie said about breaking the strings: its more likely to break them if use the "wrong" technique to play loud.
@@nellapenelope3240 It's so hard because we get in our own way and want to be perfectionists....at least that's my reason lol.
"Probably with every instrument it's finding the balance with the intensity but not being tense."
What great advice tbh
So true, and yet so hard to teach...
What makes a great player is passion, not power. And their energy in committing to the sound rather then the performance itself. But that's a singers humble opinion ^^
especially when my bands only euphonium/baritone plays too god damn loud, *a l a n*
Also can be applied to ballett dancing
I am old enough to remember when Horowitz returned to Russia to play a concert. Old Russian dudes sitting in the audience were crying 😭 because of what they missed in the time he was away from Russia in his “exile”.
Is there a video of that?
I can believe that. I had the privilege of attending one of his concerts when he played in Cincinnati. He is the standard against which I judge all other pianists.
@@DomskiPlays ua-cam.com/video/3fhKaAX5dOc/v-deo.html.
@@rhodaramirez5458 ua-cam.com/video/3fhKaAX5dOc/v-deo.html. Yes look at the audience have you ever seen a audience so rapt by a performance. The piece has some greater significance as it is an evocation of a memory the end of the Second World War when so many Russians died.
@@fredfrond6148 Wow that was just an amazing concert. Everybody quiet, immersed in the music, thinking about whatever it makes them feel. Wow
Horowitz: changes color
Eddy: wait how did that happen
Me, a pianist: Horowitz is magical
I could watch his hands forever.
his hands legit looked like it's floating. I'm a music pleb who enjoys classical music and I'm thoroughly impressed. I'm gonna check that one out asap just to watch from the beginning to end.
wonderful phrasing, just wonderful
@@PrincessSixThirteen oh yeah..although visual oldery and ruffling Mr. Horowitz piano playing makes much pleasure and fun and... is literally leading me to be in that charm again🥴oh my garden🌸
His use of Russian pianoschool touche and 3 pedals did it. Watch also his Liszt Consolation no.3 on DGG...same story. 😉
Khatia Buniatishivili's hair gets in her face
Me: how do you play without seeing the keyboard? how'll you get it out of your face?
Khatia Buniatishivili: *yeets head back*
You don't need to see to play the piano. Especially if you're so experienced as her.
You're taught pretty early on to ignore one of the hands so you can look at only the other hand. So with a bit of practise you can look away entirely :)
Sapphire Blue Wait really!? I’m self taught and thought it was weird that I’m always just looking at my left hand.
Most of the time she's playing, it looks like her eyes are closed. She gets so into her music.
her eyes are closed anyway lol ... she's definitely got mad skills
Katia buniatishvili ?? A georgian ? So rare that I noticed it 🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪🇬🇪
Can't even call myself a pianist at this point.
I can barely call myself a violist...
same. my parents are disappointed.
Can't even call myself at this point
me : brags about playing piano for 5 years
also me : messes up "c" scale, the first scale you learn.
Same man same😭😭
Every time I see Horowitz (4:00) play that piece I start crying. Tears just well up instantly.
I swear Horowitz looks like he's straight out of an old Disney movie. Like he'd be a piano wizard here to teach you the skills to save your kingdom from your enemies to an elegant etude.
805 likes and no reply? Damn
I once knew a composer who wrote a work inspired by his playing. A Tribute to Horowitz in the middle. Gerald Barry piano quartet.
That's because he totally is that wizard 😁
Truee
His hands are huge!!!
It looked as if Horowitz merely rested his hands upon the piano and they both reminisced about a life well spent. It was like a final farewell to an old friend. So peaceful, absolutely beautiful.
then check out a French movie "Amour" (2012) where this piece is played 😭
u make it sound so beautiful but melancholy wow
That's Horowitz for you. He just did what was absolutely necessary in terms of hand movement but he created a richness and depth of sound that was totally unique. As far as I know (I'm not a pianist), his hand position is actually seen as bad form by most piano schools. I remember reading about some pianist who was taught by Horowitz. Horowitz told him to hold his hands like he did but he just couldn't play like that. I think with Horowitz, it's like with many great artists who've absolutely mastered their craft: they just don't need to do much. Look at really great actors like Robert deNiro or Al Pacino. In most cases, they don't actually do all that much with their faces. Just a slight eyebrow raise or an intense look and it's done. When you've reached this kind of mastery, you can probably just reduce everything down to what's absolutely necessary.
"witchcraft"...................
His rendition of Chopin’s Heroic polonaise on that same recital is even better, to me it is the definite recording of that piece.
Horowitz looks so calm and attached to the music, he doesn't show off with his body, he just presses the keys and the sound is beautiful
Maria: The Demon Barber of UA-cam // Horowitz learned a very specific way of pressing the keys. They don’t teach that anymore.
@@magicmulder Ah, it is the good old way of being a musician which now tends to fade
crazy to think he actually met Rachmaninoff and was so close to him
@@apianoadventure How great would it have been to witness Horowitz and Rachmaninoff playing the Rach 3 in Steinway's basement. Horowitz played the lead, Rach the orchestral accompaniment.
www.steinway-piano.com/steinway-news/a-meeting-of-titans-the-day-vladimir-horowitz-and-sergei-rachmaninoff-arrived-together-at-steinway-hall/
Back in the day, in piano competitions, they would deduct points from you for excessive movement, especially dramatic lifting of the hands or arms. Even if your performance sounded better than the others. That's why Earl Wild also played with very little movement, same era as Horowitz and they were competitors.
1:03 - Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.1 (Buniatishvili)
3:32 - Schubert - Impromptu Op.90 No.3 (Horowitz)
6:37 - Grieg - Piano Concerto, 3rd Movement (Fischer)
9:21 - Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No.2 (Kissin)
11:52 - Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1 (Matsuev)
13:52 - Bach - Keyboard Partita No.1, Gigue (Sokolov)
+
thank you!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks
Twoset violin: piano pieces
Me, a pianist: *allegro con gusto*
Pianist approaches a piano with Liszt Sheet Music:
Piano: *chuckles* I'm in Danger
When someone prepares Alkan to play
@@lczq6737 Note that some Alkan's works, no, most well-known pieces of Alkan is extremely difficult (e.g. Op. 15, Op. 33, Op. 39, Op. 76), while other works as well as a bit lesser-known pieces is quite easy in terms of technique (e.g. Op 13(?), Chants, Nocturnes).
@@Yubin_Lee_Doramelin haha I've tried some Alkan before
Alkan or Mereaux. :)
Sheet music: Oh, you are approaching me?
"If you can't hear that yourself, in your head, you can't produce it, it doesn't happen."
Couldn't have said it better.
Rachmaninovian
-Every Teacher always
i once practiced on a digital piano without switching it on cuz i didnt want to bother my brother and his friend's conversation (we were in a small room). he told me it's ok to switch it on, but i said im fine cuz i could hear my own playing - it totally freaked him out lollll HE SHALL BE INTRODUCED TO THIS COMMUNITY
I’m a new twoset fan and I didn’t know Sophie plays the violin too. That’s amazing!!!
I don’t know about music, but they are expanding my mind.
I’m currently on a marathon of their older videos.
If you follow them you already know more about music than a 98% of the population.
I remember Horowitz being the first pianist that I ever saw on screen. He was doing something with trills and my sister who was a pretty good pianist in my estimation was just confounded by what he was doing. It was her reaction that I remember best because it wasn't dramatic. It was just the true and earnest astonishment of a person of adequate skill when confronted with a true master. Someone who is just good enough to understand what's going on when the rest of us don't even know what we're looking at.
That is sooo relatable! I am a junior pianist, and you get to that point where you know how excrucuatingly hard it is to do certain things, and then you watch a master doing it with the ease that I play twinkle twinkle little star.
It makes you want to clap and cry and scream and faint all at the same time. I love piano!!
Nella Penelope // Really blew my mind when I saw Horowitz play Mozart and he rolled up his right little finger half the time because he didn’t even need it.
@@magicmulder That is just insane! Here I am wishing for just a few more fingers to help me out, and he just puts away his pinky as if it isn't neccecary. Oh help.
At least I can comfort myself that I still have about 50 years of practice to try and get to that level. :'D
@@nellapenelope3240 // I'm intending to live at least 300 years but even then I will likely never reach his level.
@@magicmulder Good luck with that! XD
I bet if you practice your full 40 hours a day you could do it.... But yes, some people have a way of putting emotion into music, where others don't have the ability. I can just hope and pray I make it to be one of the former.
Rachmaninov piano concerto no. 2 is never fails to give me goosebumps. There’s just something about it that moves me so deeply and I love that it got included here and I love how Sophie spoke about this piece ❤️
That's one of my favorites too, but I think Valentina lisitsa's version is better
I like rachmaninoff’s own recording most
@@ShashwatJoglekar yep, and Valentina Lisitsa's recording is the most alike the original one
@Andrew Cheng Sviatoslav Richter did it better! :))
@@icedcalibre4066 My favourite recording of all time!
As a pianist with small hands, just listening to Liszt makes my hands start cramping.
XD As a pianist with relatively long fingers, Liszt still scares the hell out of me!!
I listened to his Hungarian rhapsody no. 2, while following along on the sheet music, and I could barely count fast enough... Not to even think about playing it!! And page turns..... We won't even go there.
@Nella Penelope IKR!
@@elizabethplank4984 XD **sigh**
I don't play Liszt at all and I make a living playing piano, so there's hope.
Disclaimer: I play jazz and ragtime for a living.
Watching this for the second time, and the boys are so sweet to Sophie. It’s almost like they treat her as their little sister 😂
They laugh at small things she say and supports/promote her. Maybe I’m interpreting to much into the video, but Eddy and Brett definitely seems like nice ppl
Also Twoset: Sophie weeeeeeeeeee weeeeeeeeee
Yup,totally how older brothers treat their little sibling...
@@TitaniumTronic why not
My older sister saying that I am my mum mistake (obviously she says it joking)
@@TitaniumTronic Thats literally how older siblings are to their younger siblings.
yeah they definitely seem like really sweet people
Thumbs up because Sophie is wearing a "Practice" hoodie.
It's to prepare her for wearing a real hoodie.
I can't get over the way the ENTIRE ORCHESTRA is SWAYING along with Evgeny Kissin!
It's like- he establishes the groove, and then they all get into it.
It's one of the most organic, hypnotic, movie-like classical performances I've ever seen.
Yvgeny laid down that boogie and played that funky music 'til they swayed ...
You should also check out Nobuyuki's performance of the piece! It's honestly quite moving as well, and the moments he does decide to bring out the virtuoso moments, he articulates them very nicely. The second movement is also pretty amazing!
@@athanasiusleong3815 I have! His is bloody good too. BBC Proms 2013 version I think is the one I have bookmarked.
Also check Seong-Jin Cho's performance of the piece. I love how he started it.
That's one of the most transcendental moments in playing ever. Just feeling like you and everyone else around you are having an almost spiritual experience through your instruments... Oh man it's so hard to describe but it feels so euphoric...
I miss playing with people 😭
The background pieces are:
1. Beethoven-Moonlight sonata 3rd movement
2. Beethoven-Sonata pathetique 2nd movement
3. Liszt-Liebestraum no.3
4. Mozart-Rondo alla turca
Chris Y THANK YOU!!!
👌
❤
Not all heros wear capes. Thank you so so much.
Don't mention it guys. I'm just another classical nerd😂
Me: *see's all these amazing performances*
Also me: *Cries in beginner pianist*
Also me who doesn't even have a piano yet. 😭
Everything takes effort, just keep going and youll get better
3 words: just keep practicing!
Me: cries in non musician
This actually made me want to learn the piano. Seeing the older gentleman performing so elegantly somehow made it more accessible in my mind at least. Which to me means you don't need to start at the at of 3 and you don't need to stop at a certain age. I'm sure if you wanted to be the best of the best you probably do need to start at 3 lol.
BRETT AND EDDY FLEXING THEIR FASHION AND LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT PIANO PERFORMANCES FOR 17 MINUTES STRAIGHT
bread lol Bretts jacket is $350 🤣
THAT SUMS IT UP YEAH
"Fashion"
Sophie: *says literally anything* Eddie: That’s a great way to put it
😂 Veronica, you're right. that's a great way to put it.
😂
I agree with Eddy though! Sophie has great ways to describe such things. I particularly love her "The music is just...happening"
While Brett has his own shy way with Hilary Hahn
That's a great way to put it!🤣🤣🤣
Sophie’s teacher: Come to my lesson
my teacher: don’t come to the lesson today.
my teacher: don't come to the lesson today but pay for it anyways
@@blenppots4630 love the pseudo, keep spreading the positive vibes!
the hardest thing to do is to make things look EFFORTLESS, that goes for the art in general, violin, piano, even ballet and paintings, you never see an artist stabbing the crap out of their paint brush (some of which costs hundreds of dollars for a single small paint brush), everything just flows effortlessly, it's magical.
It's more like when you do it so many times, it becomes 2nd nature. Looking "effortless" is just a result, a side-effect, not the goal.
I don't think anyone needs a 300 dollar brushes. It's a brush. They have hammers that cost 250 dollars.
Just get a good quality 30 dollar hammer lol
It's as Yeats wrote about poetry:
I said, ‘A line will take us hours maybe;
Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,
Our stitching and unstitching has been naught.
Fred Astaire dancing.
Brett: HoW dOeS a PiaNisT dO tHaT?
Me as a pianist: *magic*
No, really. But how do we do that?
Practice
Bruno Scopel I don’t even think we as pianists know how we do it sometimes... it just happens.
If you want to see the magic and explained:
ua-cam.com/video/85KJkpbh_us/v-deo.html
Me as a pianist: *tears, sweat and blood*
brett&Eddy: You want Part 2??
everyone: Oui Oui !!!!
That was easy, but still cute ;)
I like that she picked a couple pieces that aren't that technically difficult but impressive based on execution. The Schubert could be played by an intermediate pianist, and the Grieg is probably the "easiest" of the major Romantic era concertos. Pieces don't have to be technically ridiculous to be impressive; execution is everything. The Liszt is impossible, though.
100%. The Schubert...hell, I could read that as someone that hasn't played in a while. But to produce the same quality...impossible. It just felt so...soft. Absolutely stunning.
@@bunnysenpaimon6742 I have a special place in my heart for Schubert Impromptus. I remember when I was in 4th grade, I went to a local recital where a 5th grader was playing the No. 2 Impromptu and I was astounded at how beautiful it sounded; it has always made an impression on me. I soon learned them myself, and Schubert Impromptus were some of the first pieces I could play that really sounded like "real" piano music.
I completely agree with you. Though Liszt songs if played correctly can have the excitement enough. Although if played emotionally (and correctly) the effect is doubled if not tripled.
Yes I very much agree. I personally have played the Bach Gigue myself when I was 12 and it wasn’t as hard as people think it was, yet I love it how Sophie intends to find such in depth explanations of each piece, the recordings are legendary.
The Liszt piece was fast? Fast? Something something bumblebee something something if you can play it slowly something something I can't play piano and my fingers no longer function after watching that performance, because *how do you do those things?*
The Horowitz Schubert selection somehow immediately brought me to tears. So impressive. Wow. Thanks twoset and Sophie for sharing all of this classic music experience and knowledge!!!!!
Just gonna put this out there at a pianist who's played for the past 14 years: the ability to play fast is definitely impressive and and integral skill for every pianist to learn, but with that speed needs a but of grace or ease of movement. It's not just about whether (s)he plays it fast enough, it's whether (s)he can play it both when it's fast or slow with the same intensity, whether you can bring out emotion at the necessary times, and most importantly, to be able to tell the story the piece is trying to convey whole enjoying playing the piece. Lang Lang plays probably just as fast as these guys or with that emotion and stillness that Horowitz did, but he is at the top because he enjoys what he plays. That's the most integral part of music, not just for a pianist, but for every instrument, from violin to piccolo to tuba to the viola, you must enjoy what you play and not be stressed out while playing it. Happy Practicing #LingLing40Hrs mates!
Tek Gung when was Lang Lang even mentioned in the video??? Why randomly bring him up?
mandas677 r/woooosh
Tek Gung who cares if Lang Lang plays with passion? His interpretations are awful.
You are right! They love what they do. If you feel attached to your instrument that's good
Yeah I too was a bit shocked the Lang Lang wasn’t in the video. He is the top pianist in my eyes because of the colors he brings out in his music
Hey guys, I have video ideas!!!
- Who’s more likely to (classical musicians edition)
Or
- How well do you know each other (one of you asks a question and the other one must guess the right answer)
I think it would be really fun to watch ☺️ BTW I love watching you guys, lots of love for you and stay safe! ❤️
Yes !!!!
:3
Good one!
Please make this happen 🥺
I like the ideas
Yeahhh
I as a german can totally hear her austrian accent when she is saying the names😂
Oh, so Austrians DO have an accent for Germans. Thank you for clearing that up.
Nah, außer man lebt in Bayern, aber ehrlich, Bayern ist nicht Deutschland, also trifft es zu
@@windmillwilly the austrian accent is so hard I actually sometimes struggle to understand them ... ngl
@@jeremylam6060 there always should be someone mentioning the Bavarians, when talking about German accents 🤣🤣🤣
Jeremy Lam the bavarian and austrian accent is NOT the same, they are similar but even if you don‘t live in Bavaria or Austria (like me) you can hear the difference
7:36 that half embarassed, half modest giggle was so cute lol. I think im in love now
Simp
What makes sokolov's performance even better is the fact that he plays without the thumb, which was how it was played in the baroque era
Kai and Chanelle Simmons thank you for pointing that out
@@JoshuaWillis89 No worries. It was just when I was once going through the well tempered clavier, my piano teacher always mentioned that to me and always said "with all those awkward turns, how on earth are you supposed to make a continuous legato passage without a thumb." Well Sokolov can do it no problem.
@@kaiandchanellesimmons502 Bach was one of the first to promote the use of the thumb to all his students. So your teacher is quite wrong and it really doesn't matter so much with Bach anyways
@@s.l5787 That is really interesting to know
It's interesting that people used to frown on using thumbs. But when it comes to technique I think tradition shouldn't be the chief arbiter. I'm all for remembering ancient wisdom, but more is known today about the body and its possibilities and liabilities than in the past. To me, refusing to engage my thumbs in a piece would feel like a pointless limitation of my physical expression and reach. On the other hand, why stop at the hands? I've found it necessary to use the nose when playing middle C simultaneously with the lowest and highest Cs.
I’m not even a classical pianist and I can relate to what Sophie said about “hearing inside the head in order to produce it”.
ilovebeingprecious that’s true for all musicians!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideomotor_phenomenon it's a psychological thing.
Miwi R in my church band, tho, I know some people who imagine some riffs but the product is weird. It is true BUT it takes more training to think two or three bars before you execute especially in improvisation 😩
Nathan Huang OoooH thank you!
@@63302426 is it the same as when you're singing a song in Acapella but can pace yourself cos you can "hear" the music in your head?
Dear TwoSetViolin and Sophie,
I would like a part two for this video. I need it, please.
Thank you.
Best Regards,
Pumpkin Squares
the Rachmaninoff piece is absolutely out of this world ,, just ,,, wow
3 million subs: Sophie plays the solo, Brett and Eddy accompaning
YES YES YES
Yes!!! Piano concerto is always the most magnificent of all instruments😎😍
You guys look like two Harry potters and a hermione, love the team
Santiago Rodriguez Lira you just gave me a revelation. but which one is harry and which one is ron 😂😂
@@ajchandra7735 dunnow!! its as if harry had divided his soul into two horcruxes and they where it XD
Meanwhile Ron: ☹
I guess gingers don't fit in after all
Lol 😂🤣
So you're a potterhead huh? I'm a potterhead too
Horowitz looked like he had already died, but his hands kept playing out of pure habit 😂
who dat
@@thatheavenlycomposer vladimir horowitz, 2nd on this video
@@ekoorb7900 i am a corpse
Katharina Ewers That's what happens when you practice 40 hours a day.
He was 84 years old. Pretty remarkable. The Vienna concert is amazing.
Julia Fischer is insane. she's like one of the top ten violinists in the world, but also plays piano at that leve
L
Beautiful selections. I love watching Horowitz play, always have, his hands are so quiet, and a curled pinky. He was an odd cat, met him twice in the 70's. I saw an interview w/ Julia Fischer, where she said that when she plays for her own enjoyment, she always plays piano. Six selections? So limiting. No Argerich. Yes, do a Part 2. Thank you Sophie. Lang Lang Carnegie Love Dream.
I'm a classically trained pianist, tho I'm not at a professional skill level. The "color" on piano sounds is produced in a couple of ways. The piano strings are touched by hammers and dampers. The primary tactic of changing the color of an individual note, is the speed and timing by which you apply and release both the hammer and damper, and the relationship to each other. On Horowitz's B-flat, he accelerated the hammer toward the string, but pulled back on the key at the last second, so the hammer struck the string while it was decelerating, instead of accelerating. The true skill was in that he did this while producing an accented note. This type of touch is quite difficult to master, obviously. It also felt like he applied some sostenuto right at the strike.
You can also add color using multiple notes by slighting modifying the difference in volume between simultaneous notes, and also modifying the simultaneity of the notes, i.e. two notes that should be simultaneous, being played actually a few milliseconds apart. (Fischer did this in her right hand at the beginning of her piece.)
I do think that the violin lends itself to a wider range of tonal variations per note, but the piano's ability to vary multiple notes simultaneously makes it produce a greater volume of overall tones.
Awesome comment, thank you for explaining!
I like your explanation far better than theirs. It seemed they were talking about the perfect sound of the Bb, and it just....was a ridiculous way of explaining it. I love your technical explanation, which makes more sense than "feeling or hearing it in your head."
What I find interesting is that for many talented people, that weird explanation is the way information passes from their brains to their execution. Technically analyzing doesnt do it for this type of people. I know analogously Robbin Williams did something like this for his improvisation, he could move through constructing the sentences and expressions we all laughed at, but there was a method to the madness that took longer to explain than him just 'doing' it. I get a sense the same thing happens for many musicians at a higher level.
@@AG-mt3xs ironically, "the feeling" they described it is very important, because they way I learned was that the slight sway of your body helps u control the force of the key strikes, so that u actually "feel" the music in your mechanics. And you literally start to move your body into a note before you play it, anticipating the sound. It's kind of like a sport, where you throw a ball with your whole body, not just your arm. What's crazy about Horowitz is that he barely moved at all while still producing the feel. I have no chance of doing that. That's the equivalent of throwing a 100 mph fast ball standing flat footed.
@@resonaire I have no doubt that Sophie understands the technical aspects perfectly well, but she prefers to enjoy the artistic, emotional aspect of the technique, and share that side in the video. That's what is so great about music, you can enjoy and execute it on many levels.
I feel blesseddddddd. Have never heard Sophie talking so much in one episode and her voice is just so sweet and calming to listen to.
The piece played by Vladimir Horowitz makes me cry every time I hear it. The way he plays it is so beautiful.
Horowitz "owned" that piece forever, I don´t know someone else that plays Schubert with that level of poetry and beauty.
“most epic viola performances” next? 🤔
Vinz A. None
Hahahaa well maybe primrose 24 Paganini Caprice should be there
almost )
No well no one likes viola so I don't think so
No offence 😋🤭
number 1: brett playing in tune
I was privileged to see Horowitz play once. He wasn't in his prime but it was breathtaking.
LUCKY I would kill to see him play in person
@@jamien.5528 pls don't..
Brett: The music so colorful.
Me as a non musician: Ok ok makes sense.
Eddy: Yea, how do they even change the color?
Me: hUh?
i totally feel you lol
Well, basically, color is the difference between the same note played on different instruments. A C note on piano is the same as on the violin, but they sound different because of the color.
@@matko8038 oohh interesting! thanks man
Matko K u saved me thanks lolol
I've been playing piano for 12 years and same
Scientists are still trying to understand dark energy in the universe; Rachmaninoff already had it mastered by his 2nd piano concerto.
Piano teacher: So how much did you practice on the violin last week?
Sophie: *intense breathing*
3:36 he's like an old knotty tree. So wise and powerful. The way he is playing is just so magical. I don't know how to properly express my feelings, English is not my first language, sorry
I absolutely agree!! It seems so peaceful but powerful at the same time
And don't worry there is nothing wrong with your english and even if it was, making mistakes is totally normal :)
"old knotty tree" is a really good way to put it in words!
Nous Lisons dont worry about your English. A lot of native speakers don’t even know what knotty means
@Nous Lisons That is a lovely way to put it. I heard Horowitz at Woolsey Hall at Yale in 1980. He was 77 by then. I paid just $10 for my ticket. My seat was on stage, a few yards from “The Last Romantic” (the title of a well-known documentary about the aging Horowitz). To say that Horowitz was a virtuoso is an understatement. The concert was a transcendent experience.
Perfect
"Is she the Sophie?"
"Yes"
"I mean, the ACTUAL Sophie"
"Oh, oui oui!"
Sorry, this quarantine is driving me crazy, hope you are all safe🙏
It was actually pretty funny 😂
*dont worry I'm going insane 2. I havent stepped out of my house in 4 days*
@@minccyn I live in Italy, and I am actually staying here since 22nd of February, a month has passed...I feel you, stay strong!
I’m going insane, I haven’t left the house for three months and it’s most likely we’re gonna stay even more than 4 months, on break since 20th January, for now we’ll return on 20th April
@@thegloriousmorious9755 where do you live, if I may ask?
This is totally unrelated to the vid but my violin teacher actually went to uni with Brett and eddy, how cool!
Damn that's awsm
Sophie: *literally says anything*
Eddy: That's a nice way to put it
Sophie: Says anything
Eddie: 😍😍😍
@@norahaynegreenan6674 How are they not married? LOL
Good job stealing comments
@@kuro758 Wait where is the other comment?
Eddy + Brett
You know a piece is hard when Sophie hasn't learned it yet
If I had to recommend just ONE performance, Krystian Zimmerman's interpretation of the Chopin Ballade No.1 in G minor definitely comes to mind. There are so many others, but would love for you to watch that one!
I love his recoding of the 4th Ballade. So far the best interpretation I could find. Maybe he is Polish? Now, off to listen to it again...
@@suzanna3838 he is Polish! Us Poles just seem to understand Chopin. Favourite composer to play for me, back when i played piano more
Krystian Zimmerman is one of my favorite pianist
His Chopin's Ballades are really on point seriously
@@Sylvscats Yep, I know he is, that's why I thought. Chopin included a lot of folk music elements and I imagine, Polish people have a feel for it.
Two things:
1. Sophie is just delightful (I have a daughter her age!).
2. Liszt is frustrating. He writes so well for the piano that almost all of his music LOOKS playable to a serious amateur. For example: I can get through the Mephisto Waltz. But many parts of it I have to play slowly. I would never have thought about trying to perform it when I was a student. I did play Un Sospiro, Liebestraum no. 3, and Funerailles. I was working on the 12th Hungarian Rhapsody when I decided to focus on academics. That's a difficult but wonderful piece.
today I learnd that there are two sorts of piano players. those who play with relaxed hands and those who play with hands formed like claws. And then there is that one gentleman who plays whithout seemingly to move his hands
its the techniques
One day, the primordial music God, Ling Ling, practiced 80 hours. He attained eternal transcendence which caused him to split into three newer generation of Gods. Perfect Pizz, Perfect Pitch and Perfect Piano, the top representatives of Ling Ling were as divine as they can go to avoid human disintegration upon gaze. However, legends say that if a normal mortal gazed upon Ling Ling's true form, their blood would ooze out, and they themselves would inflate to the size of the sun, only to be exploded in a series of supernovas.
Hail Brett Yang, Eddy Chen and Sophie Oui Oui.
Long live Ling Ling.
This is the closest we would get to gaze upon Ling Ling.
What about Hilary Hahn?🙏
I first read eternal transcendance as the transcendental etudes lol.
Listz has got to me
Perfect piano?
Perfect Piano made me laugh xD
why would ling split into three after practicing double the amount
I can't believe that after only one piano lesson I'm already playing all of these pieces...
....on youtube
Jeb Rollins haha
Not gonna lie, they had us in the first half...
Haha
Bill Murray, Groundhog Day... ;-)
@@carlita4929 lmao
loved Eddy's face during the Schubert; so peaceful, while Brett nods his head in approval. And Eddy was also digging that Rachmaninov. Brett is so in love with Tchaikovsky that his reactions are so cute to watch. Same with the Sokolov Bach. When he said he learned that piece on the piano, it makes me wonder if sometimes (even though he is a violinist) he's faking "badness" on the piano.
Imagine once wee overcome the corona pandemic, we make a two set orchestra comprised of fans and we perform the Rachmaninoff with Sophie! .... What a dream... but serious a two set fan orchestra would be dope
That would be so cool!!!
We could do an online thing where people send in recordings to someone and they edit it together
Wait that would be so cool is we could record something together, I would practice 80 hours a day
Michelle Mantilla Quick petition for a discord server!
I WILL BE TUBA
Wait... is she wearing a two set sweatshirt?
PRATICE
obviously you need more merch, you cant spell it yet :P
Thali Venom obviously you need to watch old Twoset videos, that’s exactly how Brett spelt it in an old vlog of theirs
PraCtice
@@miwir1248 That's because Brett didn't PRACTICE enough.
tbh i really love this kind of videos. them discussing about the music and giving us a piece of a musican's mind, what they are thinking when listening/practicing music
Sophie: "They say playing 2 is impossible, you have to choose one"
Percussionists: "'scuze me?"
But in this case we're talking about the same family. Instead violin and piano are massively different
@@sebastianciarfella3061 marimba and snare drum are massively different, as are vibraphone from tambourine.
@@jessevolley8 but yet they're all percussion instruments. There's certainly a massive difference between some of them. But certainly there's some that are somewhat similar
@@sebastianciarfella3061 point is, percussionists don't choose "one instrument" to master, but many.
@@jessevolley8 true
5:19
Brett: “This is the amount of color I have on ny violin...”
Sophie oui oui: “Noo, that’s not true.”
The first that came to my mind when they said EPIC PIANO PERFORMANCES was Seong Jin Cho and his performance of the heroic polonaise or Daniil Trifonov’s rach 3.
Just hearing Sophie talk about these performances makes me realize the true passion she has for this music her ballade no. 4 is probably one of her best performances I’ve seen . I wish I could play as heavenly as she does one day until then I just look up to her in awe.
Quarantines been pretty bad but at least these amazing videos are here to cheer us up be safe guys.😄
Shevin Perera I’m sure they’ll be included in Part 2
I instantly thought of Zimmerman playing scherzo 2 and the 4 Ballades
I looooove Seong Jin Cho's Schubert... Wanderer Fantasie ❤❤❤
I thought of Liszt complete transcendental etudes by Daniel Trifonov when talking about epic piano performances , as I remember he got a Grammy with that recording not sure tho
Nevermind, Horowitz' Rach 3 is the ultimate performance
Horowitz's playing is just so beautiful. He doesn't move, but the song he plays moves for him.
I saw his fingers moving. That's all that is supposed to move.
Horowitz got me. They were all incredible but it was him that got me. I love that Schubert piece too. Horowitz made it seem so easy. It's like he wasn't playing the music, the music was playing him. He was just the vessel that brought the music and the piano together. That, to me, is excellence in a musician. When the music that is brought to life through the musician. I will most definitely be looking for his other performances. This was so great. Thank you Sophie and TwoSet. 😎👍
The way that you're talking about piano compared to violin is kinda how I think about strings compared to brass. I mean, I'm actually using my air to project my sound, my actual life force. I've played piano since I was 5, yet play brass professionally. I feel like it's an extension of my whole body, yet with piano you can't have control of the instrument you can with brass. Perhaps singers will have the same view of wind instruments?
Loosely related, I actually have played that Schubert piece on piano. It's beautiful.
i sang professionally and played trumpft for 5 years. i can say that singing allowed me to control the sound and colour i was producing a Lot more than the trumpft did (probably due to my lack of kill with 14) but i can See where you are going. im going to statt learning the piano this year hopefully. Looking for a new Challenge
I think wind instruments and singing can't be compared the same way as piano and violin because they produce the sound on the same princip, the princip of making tone during singing and on a wind instrument is different. I play flute and also sing. And for me personally, these two disciplines are really different. It's true that from all of the wind instruments, making a tone on a flute is the most similar to singing (so you can actually weaken your voice and temporarily lose it at rare cases). But the tone on a flute is understandably more stable and easier to master (but that's my personal opinion). The voice is much more fragile because it's not an instrument you can control by learning some fingering or embochure. The voice has almost unlimited possibilities in mastering and learning wrong techniques at the same time. And it's so hard to explain the techniques (for example the voice registers - the teacher can tell you to use the high register but not how exactly, he can't tell you you need to press this one key or overblow it). Also your teacher can't see in lots of cases what are you doing. And the worst thing is, that if you ruin it, you can't buy a new one.
Hope this helped a bit 🙂
I'm not saying I necessarily can do it but the great piano masters and players can make the piano and extension of their body. Liszt especially holds onto this as he felt one with the piano.
_"yet with piano you can't have control of the instrument you can with brass."_
This shows you are not a pianist. I don't know how much "control" you have with brass, but there is a lot of "control" with piano.
Vladimir K. I kinda get what they’re saying though - when you major in a band instrument (I main flute, I can’t speak for brass in particular) your whole body is in it - how you breathe, fingerings, posture, etc. Playing piano in comparison, especially non-professionally, probably feels more restricting. I’m positive that there’s a lot of control when you get used to the instrument on a pro level, don’t get me wrong! But on the onset there’s so many things you can do to control the sound on a woodwind/brass, and with piano you can’t get vibrato and all that fun stuff as easily.
17 minutes to me is like 5 minutes when I'm watching TwoSet.
WHAT I just realised that the video is 17mn long, I tought the whole time that it was just 5mn
Yess!! Why?
I really think Sophie is a very genuine nice person. I adore all of their characters. They don't insult each other. It seems amazing to be their friends.
Plot twist:
Horowitz actually incorporates telekinesis that's why his not putting much effort on pressing the keys🤣
Back in the day, in piano competitions, they would deduct points from you for excessive movement, especially dramatic lifting of the hands or arms. Even if your performance sounded better than the others. That's why Earl Wild also played with very little movement, same era as Horowitz and they were competitors.
@@watutman well I onow yhat much. Im just making a stupid comment😂. Im a pianist myself so I know some. Its not like horowitz is paganini😂
Nonmusicians vs Musicians
Musicians: Violin, violia, cello, base, and octobase
Nonmusicians: Violin, Bit bigger violin, fat violin, overweight violin, and obese violin
Sushil Dicholkar bass or double bass
I thought it peaked at cello as a non musician lol
Lauren Henley yea either that or they pronounce bass like the fish
A non musician would call a viola a violin.
I play the cello and whenever I tell anyone who doesn't know anything about instruments they never understand cello I have to say that it's like a big violin and then they know what it is lol 😂
I feel like Eddy is totally, completely, legitimately crushing on Sophie. Who wouldn't tho. She's awesome.
Brett crushing on hilary and eddy crushing on sofie heh
You can totally see it through out the video! Especially when she first comes in the video!!!
I got the same feeling... :)
Yup
Totally ( ´･ω ก` )
Coming back like... 5 months later after *really* digging and listening to classical music and comparing different interpretations, I can definitely understand Sophie really well and so much more than when I first watched this video❤️👌🏼
I am so gratefully that I found this channel - it absolutely brought me to the classical side of music and I love it. It's been a great adventure and I'm looking forward to experiencing more😊
Liszt broke piano strings, so his performances usually had a spare piano XD
...how the...HOW DO YOU EVEN DO THIS?!
Pianos in the 19th century were weaker
@@WH40KHero pianos in the 1800's were not as strong
@@paolo6219 Hmm...
@@adolescenterevoltado9008 they were built different
For all those who never got to hear Horowitz live,--let me give you the short version. He was the Heifetz of the piano. Many great young and youngish pianists around today are very good indeed...but I heard him play. Nothing equalled his playing. He started with Scarlatti and it was transfixing--like I had never heard Scarlatti before. Chopin's Barcarolle (which I have played--and in public! and I understand all your Conservatory memes and roasts) went from melting soft and sweet to wowsers! taking off to the skies on Icarus-Like wings of golden fire.
The Rachmaninoff Bb Major Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 left my mouth dry and I was speechless. I have ATTEMPTED to play it, but alas, like even the big time boys and girls of yesterday and today it sounds under my hands more like "the 20 minute roar in Bb Major". Horowitz played it and brought out counter melodies that I (and most I'm sure) had not even seen!
As an encore he played Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever in his own arrangement. I still don't believe it, but I was there live and saw and heard it. Here's a recording he made (there are others--all are a bit different...if you find the one from 1938 it is even MORE astonishing. ua-cam.com/video/TxO9k53IsMU/v-deo.html
I wish I could hear John Bonham live.
I wish I could hear BTS live
I wish i could hear Albrecht Meyer live again, he was amazing, i melted away...
Horowitz was way bigger than Heifetz. Even when correcting for how much bigger piano is than violin.
@@joash4332 I did! Epic!
Sophie: explains
Twoset: Maaagiiiiiiiiiic
Vladimir Horowitz's Schubert was so moving, I got chills. There is a zen-like quality in his phrasing that just takes me away. Frank Sinatra had the same gift when singing, sometimes less is more.
I've never been so early
It's almost 1 am in Korea..
But I love you Eddy and Brett
BTW Happy birthday Eddy!
wait, it’s eddys birthday? 😳
Beargummy Ketchup yes, march 23rd
@@一星期-v6g Here it's March 22nd... 😂
Anything Rachmaninoff
Everyone: It's beautiful!
Accurate because Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninov most famous piece is the bells (Prelude in C# minor). He regretted it because everyone asked for encores.
I really like Rachmaninov (i really like romantic era Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Schubert, Schumann and Shostakovich)
Pianists: * nervous sweating *
Mi Les omg Scriabin is so good, his pieces are so awesome! If only he didn’t die so young from a boil on his lip. Also he was kinda crazy, he wanted to start the apocalypse with music lmao
@@duckymomo7935 Scriabin and Shostakovich are not romantic. Scriabin is modern and Shostakovich is contemporary. Their styles have NOTHING in common with romantic music. (To be fair, early Scriabin is more or less romantic, but Shostakovich was never romantic)
Is Brett not wearing two set merch!?! Isn’t that illegal haha jkjk
He’s wearing Burberry. 😂
@@fashionmwah username checks out
Sophie is wearing it
he is repping the Wal-Mart clothes department HEAVY
ua-cam.com/video/repxFQXVsHc/v-deo.html
@@Johnwilkinsonofficial thanks for the lulz :D
(also that is indeed a Burberry hoodie though , the internet confirms)
im a pianist and im currently playing Tchaikovsky and Chopin for a competition but these performances blow me out of the water. Dang.
Ling Ling be the master of Violin
Oui Oui be the master of Piano ...
5:46
Brett to eddy: what note was that?
Me: that’s why they’re twoset 😂
Expert Pianists have always been impressive to me, these performances are just remarkable
I didn't know you watch twosetviolin too-
Wait YOU AGAIN-
xayle “You again” is what I wanted to say 😂
Just Some Guy without a Mustache workout videos, random trending vids, piano vids. Can’t escape the guy without a mustache
You can’t escape this guy
Omg ever channel I see u lol
Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1 took my breath away. Just the opening melody is stunning.
Last time I was this early, Ling Ling only practiced 1 hour a day.
I haven't practice
*Back when time and space haven't began
@@ijuice5641 back when she's only been 1 hour old you mean
Physicists and Mathematicians are still trying to wrap their heads around a non-40hr LingLing practice session.
This hoary old chestnut of a comment is still getting likes smh
Pianists be like: Just listen and hear the music, feel the music. *MAGIC*
I like Potatoes as a pianist I can confirm this 😂
Ok i love how for the 4th performance with Kissin, everyone is involved in the music so much that they're all moving/dancing in a synchronized way, and even Brett was moving along while listening.
Kissin's left hand at 9:50 and after was amazing, utterly beautiful sound.
"8 Most Epic Viola Performances"
Let's go Viola Gang
D10 Raging Mountain they better
+
Number 1 twinkle twinkle little star
🤘🤘🤘
"We don't do that here" 🤚🏿
Nobody:
Beginner Pianists: “BuT WhERe iS fUr EliSe? nAnI?!”
Lel
XD my mom has nightmares about fur elize... I played that first part over and over for my first few years, so she probably knows it better than Beethoven by now!
(ps. That isn't the end mom! Wait untill I play chopin and liszt like that... X'D
NaAAAAAAAaaaaaaNNNNNNNNnnnn IIIIIIiiiiiiii
xd
Kissin: "Omae wa mou shindeiru..."
they probably don't even know about winter wind or la campanella lmao
I’m so happy you picked the Horowitz! That’s my favourite rendition of this piece, it’s just heartbreakingly beautiful. Fun fact: this is one of the last times he performed live, he was 84 when he did this recital. Truly amazing.
As a non musician I first heard Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2 from Nodame Cantabile and fell in love with it, surprised to search the title and have a Twoset video show up.
The recording shown in this video is my favorite interpretation of the piece and I always come back to it, so thank you Sophie and Twoset, I'm sure a lot more people went to listen to it after this video, its just SO good 😂
Now, I'm quite adverse to the recent century trend of speeding up everything on the piano to ridiculous speeds just for the sake of speed. Most pieces now a-days are played ridiculously fast. This was my thought when I heard Buniatishvilli play the Mehpisto. However, the only reason I'd give her a pass on this one is because Liszt probably would have done something similar.
It’s such an honor to meet you in real life. I wish Schroeder was here to see you
Hnmmmmmm, have you seen the written tempos of Beethoven symphonies? If anything, music has slowed down
@@haydentaylor2101 a couple pieces = a staple example of music in general over the past 300 years?
Says the man who composed Moonlight Sonata (and with that I mean the 3rd Movement).
@@haydentaylor2101 Have you heard of whole beat metronome practice?