Frank Zappa, The Perfect Stranger - Ensemble intercontemporain

Frank Zappa
The Perfect Stranger
Ensemble intercontemporain
Matthias Pintscher, direction
Enregistré en direct le 29.09.2018 à la Cité de la musique
Production : Héliox Films
En coproduction avec l' Ensemble intercontemporain
En association avec ARTE France / ClassicAll M_Media / La Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris / Radio France
Zappa, FZ, Frank Zappa and the Moustache are marks belonging to theZappa Family Trust. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

[@esjope]

Please play all of Zappa's orchestral work.. and then some. This sounds great.

[@Raul-vlc-86]

I think Matthias Pintscher conducts this piece with far more enthusiasm than Boulez did in his recording. This version shows a lot more of affection for the material. Indeed, I think I'm loving this piece now thanks to Pintscher. (First time in probably 15 years, though.)

[@tomkitchen9457]

I've read that zappa was disappointed by boulez

[@redwithblackstripes]

@@tomkitchen9457 When Boulez conducts works he has deep appreciation for it tends to be stellar work, but at the time he did Zappa's he cared much more about conducting works for establishing IRCAM as an institution than the works themselves.

[@egapnala65]

I once attended a composers' workshop given by Boulez and he was asked about Zappa and he was pretty enthusiastic about his work. He said that whenever he was in the US he would go and see what Frank was up to as it was always at the very least interesting.

[@mikele23170]

Merci à tous l’ensemble intercontemporain pour cette prestation splendide - ce morceau plein de nuances et de contraste est tellement casse cou que peu d’ensemble peuvent l’interpréter avec tant de grâce et rendre une telle émotion et intensité - j’ai un souvenir inoubliable de votre prestation et je vous félicite pour l’immense travail que vous faites pour LA MUSIQUE - Music is thé best - Michel Froment

[@clement084]

Michel Froment merci

[@martineleducador5654]

master piece

[@waltherstolzing9719]

This is 'program music' of sorts; here are Zappa's own liner notes for the album which inaugurated the piece:
A door-to-door salesman, accompanied by his faithful gypsy-mutant industrial vacuum cleaner (as per the interior illustration on the "CHUNGA'S REVENGE" album cover), cavorts licentiously with a slovenly housewife.
We hear the door bell, the housewife's eyebrows going up and down as she spies the nozzle through the ruffled curtain, the sound of the little bag of 'demonstration dirt' being sprinkled on the rug, and assorted bombastic interjections representing the spiritual qualities of chrome, rubber, electricity, and household tidiness. The entire transaction is being viewed from a safe distance by Patricia, the dog in the highchair.

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

interesting , i felt it was a soundtrack and this confirms my idea

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

If i can give a tip: the mics are too close, or lacks of a room mic, this makes the music sound sharper and too dissonant, also not sounding in the same space. It is also disturbing to look at the tension, lack of enjoyment, lack of communication, and also lack of comfort of the musicians playing. COntradicts Zappa own legacy. But this is not to blame on the performance so much, or Zappa, but the fact that a video is shown. It is like instead of showing the pop corn for a child you show how the engine of the pop corn machine is working: nothing to do with what she is hungry for...

[@zolarczakl3880]

Being that this same organization performed this work, among others, for the album of the same name back in early '84 (very nearly 35 years ago) it is nice to hear newer members of the same amazing orchestra tackle this piece. Also, that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the great Frank Zappa's passing, it is fitting that Ensemble Intercontemporain
dug up and dusted off this old chestnut to perform again in Frank's honor.
Happy Birthday, Uncle Frank. The eons are closing.

[@kkdonny4096]

Hurts my ears 😢

[@grahamgoddard9860]

Just can't listen enough to Matthias Pintscher and the Ensemble Intercontemporain's performance of this great Zappa piece. Thanks again and again.

[@propellerkuh3230]

and guess how it would feel l ike to sit in the orchester and hear every instrument distinct and distributed around you, not just through two loudspeakers

[@grahamgoddard9860]

A really wonderful performance. So glad they are still performing this piece. Thank you.

[@ornleifs]

Ah yes - Loved this. Great performance, you really captured both the seriousness and the humour of the piece.

[@criddyla696]

Check out Penguin Cafe Orchestra, created by Simon Jeffes RIP, this music was highly regarded by Frank and is timeless and pure genius, life is good music

[@simonzinc-trumpetharris852]

Frank is up there with the other greats.

[@fryingwiththeantidote2486]

Yess! One of my favorite zappa pieces!!

[@BobRoss-gr9px]

Wow...that was just lovely! Wonderful performance!

[@BobRoss-gr9px]

Question: Does anyone know if the seating arrangement of the musicians is specified in the score? It seems like a very Zappa-esque thing to separate instruments (e.g., the 3 violins, or the 2 horns, etc.) symmetrically around the central listening axis for maximum "stereo-i-zation" in performance, rather than clustering them together in traditional orchestra family groupings.

[@egapnala65]

I attended a performance conducted by John Adams and I seem to recall the orchestra seemed divided into groups on either side of the conductor. It made all the very difficult doublings of instruments Zappa indulges in more transparent. I sat there constantly thinking what an absolute bastard Zappa was being having all these doublings on those freaky irrational rhythms.

[@paulwhetstone0473]

@@egapnala65Dweezel Zappa has said Frank wrote doublings of difficult passages for his band as insurance in the event that he himself would falter.

[@jeanmarcblanc2903]

Une passerelle parfaitement réussie entre 2 formes de musique contemporaine: essentielle et géniale.

[@calogerobuttacavoli78]

Yeah!!! Excellent performance!
Frank Zappa❤

[@SamuelRHoward]

Great performance of such a great piece of music. A good, clear recording

[@laszlosandor34]

Zappa and EIC the perfect meeting

[@udomatthiasdrums5322]

still love his music!

[@duaneingalls4479]

such a great piece .. glad to'v experienced it with Berkeley(or San Fran) Symph. with K.Nagano & giant puppets many years ago...

[@bigfootpegrande]

Très bien! Merci, du Brésil...

[@Acoustic-Rabbit-Hole]

So this is a Buggs Bunny cartoon on acid? With a glass of water.

[@tomn9094]

cso missed the boat by not performing this with boulez. fuddyduddyism. I'm tired of bach

[@TheRudySchwartzProject]

Opaque melodies that would bug most people

[@bekl0r]

where is the suddenly? the chaos, the unexpected?

[@dannybarrs]

Superb composition, superb performance

[@PollisDrake]

Very essential.

[@danmartinazzi]

Masterpiece

[@theazza]

Like

[@pauloaraujo4518]

Superb

[@gentle_goy23432]

Топ❤❤❤

[@drahcirnevarc9152]

I love Frank Zappa, but hate the atonal antimelodic wasteland that classical music turned into.

[@muslit]

this music sounds so old

[@DanielHeikalo]

It is... composed almost 40 years ago.

[@craftmania000]

ceci n'est pas la réponse, car zappa est le musicien le plus moderne jusqu'à une nouvelle air

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

like any NEue Musik of today

[@shiroumxm2052]

honestly .. since a couple years ago i have notice that Zappa might be a liiiittle overrated , specially by progressive rock fans. I mean if you comare this to the best valuated clasical avant composers, this sounds kind of simple, outdated and innocent

[@GEB3R]

i think you don't have a mustache

[@emanuel_soundtrack]

it is film music without movie. This is why i prefer to do film music before looking pathetic

[@carlosmarques9468]

Is it relevant to be more or less complex?