Rickroll Variations: "Never Gonna Give You Up" but it's a classical piano concerto
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- Опубліковано 12 чер 2024
- My biggest project to date, the Rickroll Variations is a concertante for piano and orchestra, based on the infamous tune "Never Gonna Give You Up".
0:00 Introduction
2:03 Var I
2:26 Var II
2:49 Var III
3:23 Var IV
4:35 Var V
5:07 Var VI
6:27 Var VII
7:49 Var VIII
9:18 Var IX (Tema)
10:35 Var X
13:42 Var XI
14:23 Var XII
15:26 Var XIII
16:51 Var XIV
Fully edited sheet music: www.buymeacoffee.com/jjunwu/e...
Free (unedited) Sheet music: github.com/junwumusic/2023/tr... (*Note: This is an unedited version, which may contain errors and/or improper markings.)
Original Lossless Audio: archive.org/details/junwu-ric...
SoundCloud: / rickroll-variations-ve...
Notation software: Musescore 4
Sound Library: MuseSounds
Buy me a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/jjunwu
The piece was actually composed by Rachmaninoff's lost brother, Rickmaninoff.
😂 best comment
ahhahahah
This comment deserves way more likes. Take mine!
This needs to be the pinned comment
Amazing 🏆
Imagine committing to a joke so hard you write an entire piano concerto to pull it off. What a legend.
L notifications
All irony and in-jokes aside, this is very beautiful, creative, and meticulous work.
You have to make this your next video :)
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
The sheet music legend commented
once this legend has commented, its no joke
ua-cam.com/video/AkAlRaZO_Zs/v-deo.htmlsi=KHp5WZPddEqn3lCf
i would be sinning had I not've shared this work to you - ravel reincarnated
- "Oh, so you like classical music? What's your favourite symphony?"
- "It's complicated...."
Why, Rickrollmanoff’s 7th, of course
"nEvEr gOnNa GiVe yOu uP bY rIcK "RiCkMaNiNoFf" AsTlEy" 🤓🤓🤓🤓
Write an 18 minute concerto on rickroll AND manage to parody Rach's Paganini Rhapsody? Dude that is some serious talent.
there’s a lot of stuff similar to rach 3 as well
@@humphryshan9494 true, especially the ending
The intro 1:13-1:54 structurally reminds me of Chopin's first piano concerto's beginning too.
Rach Roll
It should be called: “Rhapsody on a theme of Rick Astley”
As a musician and meme lover, this work deserves my first donation!
Thank you for the support!
As a professional pianist (in the making, but I've already toured Europe once) I would like to say that if I can find an orchestra then I WILL be performing this beauty. Thank you for creating something that is both a joke and a true romantic masterpiece.
you should post your piano vidss!!!!
Please PLEASE do. I'd love to hear an orchestra play this!
It's what Satie and Haydn would have wanted
This would be AMAZING to hear with a real orchestra and piano
If you ever get this set up, comment the details here so we can get tickets 😂
@Paysonlewis2072 I would definitely lend a hand conducting this, if you’re putting on a performance 😏🥰
This is genuinely the best 21st century piece I have ever heard
It is in a very hard competition with "Boris Johnson is a lying shit", but I think this piece might be even better than it.
You made such a silly meme so musically sophisticated and so well executed. Congratulations, if this was played and you were conducting I would immediately give you a standing ovation
So true😂 me too❤
But it’s.. not originally a meme.
That's it? I would yell Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!
It's hard to say I got rick rolled but this is the most beautiful version of rick roll, I'm not even mad 😭😭
Are you kidding me!? This absolutely needs to be performed by a live orchestra!!!
🤨 Consider this. We now live in a world where something like this is a "throw away" student project and uploaded for free to the world. It reminds me of what one of my teachers said, "Think about the best guitar player you know, guaranteed there's a random insurance salesman that only plays for himself that's just as good." Meaning some of the best musicians/composers of the age are out there undiscovered - this definitely proves his thesis....
IF ANYONE HAS A WAY TO GET THIS PERFORMED BY AN ORCHESTRA, ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, PLEASE DO SO. THIS IS AMAZING.
i could vote this in for nsyo :) we pick our pieces n stuff
@@Performances_On_UA-cam PLEASE DO
Not only am I amazed at the piece, I’m amazed at how good you’ve gotten Musescore to sound. Pretty incredible.
this is literally peak 21st century classical
WHY IS IT SO GOOD? FROM A CLASSICAL MUSICIAN, GOOD JOB! NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE A MASTERPIEACE 😭😭
It’s so fucking beautiful lmao it sounds like rach mixed with tchai mixed with shosty bro
@@yorkzie7593 Yeah and the begining is like a reference from Grieg a minor concerto also and its just so damn good
I’ve spotted many references, whether intentional or not, there’s definitely a lot of different influences and I love it!!
Gonna ask my conductor next time i see him if he wants to play that ngl
I weas also getting vibes from brahms' first piano concerto@@yorkzie7593
Gosh, it sounds like a forgotten gem straight from Romantic era. Absolutely love this concerto! It has never been that pleasant to be rickrolled xd
Exactly! I feel like some sections are reminiscent of Elgar and others similar to Rachmaninoff
Yeah! The phrase starting at mm 182, 4:06, sounds like it came from the Enigma variations.
@@knight10666Yeah sounds like the main theme of nimrod
My fave forgotten gem is moszkowski's concerto in Em!
Idk but I'm kinda getting like a Moritz Moszkoswki Piano Conerto feels in this piece and Moszkoswki's Concerto is a really good hidden gem.
7:53 - It's 1882 and you're sitting in the audience listening to a beautiful new piano concerto from a talented young composer. Then a single oboe hits and you realize: you've just been rickrolled. And yet it's not even a rickroll in the classic sense. I clicked on this thumbnail with the pic of Rick Astley and the clever title thinking it would just be the pop tune in classical style for a few minutes. What I got instead was an 18-minute Romantic-era MASTERPIECE. Bravo JunWu! Bravo!
6:00 - End of 1st Movement capping urgent minor key: Tragic Astley
17:40 - End of 3rd and final Movement in boistrous major key: Triumphant Astley
I started listening because I thought the concept is funny but listened to the whole thing because it's actually really nice
I don't need all my classical music to be variations of meme music, but I do wish more classical composers and artists would be silly more often. This piece is fun and incredibly beautiful at the same time. Brilliant work!
Many of the OG classical composers had an amazing sense of humor, and this piece absolutely is an homage to classical music. ❤
Violinist here, some suggestions for the strings: 1st violins playing in the higher registers will sound fuller with octave doublings, especially with the 2nd violins, instead of them playing in unison, if you want a thicker sound, you can also have celli divisi to support the violins. GREAT MUSIC!
Thanks!
One year later, we FINALLY get a Jun Wu Piano Concerto! 😁
Thanks for waiting a year 😂
This is commitment to the bit
I pictured a man working through hardships to finally say 'never gonna give you up' to his loved one, and making a bright future together. I hope you do the same. Thank you so much, it was a immersive journey to listen
I like how you don't start the piece with an explicit statement of the tune (as in traditional theme & variation) but instead let it gradually emerge. Brilliant work.
I want to be watching an award-winning film and be swept off my feet to the soaring crescendo of the Rickroll Variations.
They literally played this on my classical music station this morning and said the title in German and I was like hm okay and then halfway through I’m like - GOD DAMN IT IVE BEEN RICK ROLLED. 😂
I'm truly overwhelmed by the incredible positivity in the comments. Thank you all so much!
For those interested in the sheets, you can find them on my github below:
github.com/junwumusic/2023/tree/main/Rickroll_Variations/pdf
*Please note that this is an unedited version, which may contain errors and/or improper markings.
edit: The fully edited sheet music is up! You can find them here: www.buymeacoffee.com/jjunwu/extras
Some wrong notes have been corrected, and the overall score has been edited to music score standard.
PS: As this video has been claimed (pretty sure by some copyright abuser), I have tried to turn off the monetization (bcs I just hates the idea of "giving" money to those people). But somehow, I am still seeing some ads playing. Soooo, if you encounter any ads, especially in the middle of the video, that's not me :)
FOR FREE!? you're the best!
also, this is actually brilliant, you're SO TALENTED
Incredible.. but is it even playable? It looks almost Impossible especially some chords. Have you played through it?
@@Jonathan_Moenethere's nothing unplayable and very few uncomfortable spots. The concerto that this is in part parodying (Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsody) is much harder. This has some difficult jumps but nothing unplayable. Just look at the monstrosities that are Alkan's works, Liszt's hardest pieces, Scriabin's late sonatas etcetcetcetc
It's perfectly playable.
Are you just using musescore’s basic sound fonts?
A lot of your triplets are missing their "3"s, which is especially confusing in spots like m.282 which has three straight eighth notes followed by triplets that look the same in the next bar. I hope that's one of the errors you're fixing! :-)
Can we all just also appreciate that the software this was written on, musescore4, and the sounds its using to play it back, musesounds, are free? Like it sounds SO good
Dude if this was played by a classical orchestra and like marketed as a serious piece no one would even notice. amazing.
it'd be a rickroll of the likes never done before!!!
@@sonnystitt123 Always try, never gonna give you up!!!!
This is insane. Var X made me tear up, I can’t even tell wtf is going on harmonically at 12:45 - it’s like the same level of complexity as Rachmaninoff concertos. The playful theme in Var XI also reminds me of some of the works composed for Genshin Impact lol. I would pay to watch a live performance of this
Variation X ends in a similar way to how James Barnes ends the middle section of his Fantasy Variations on a Theme by Paganini for winds - give that a listen if you're not familiar with it!
If I didn't know what the rickroll was, I wouldve never guessed this PIANO CONCERTO is based off a meme song. This is genuinely heart wrenching and authentically beautiful. Well done.
I was really expecting like a lazy meme that was made in under one hour where it is quite obvious what you get.
...
And this really just astounding
this will be forever known as the rickroll concerto
Brilliant work. I would really love to hear this with high bitrate on the streaming services. Or even better, a live performance. It would be a shame to miss on the opportunity to rick roll an entire concert audience.
Yes a Spotify version is necessary 🤩
Gotta translate the title into another language though so they don't see it coming. For example: "Jamais Desistirei de Ti" ~ "I'll never give up on you" in portuguese
can you actually tell a difference between a lower and higher bitrate? as uninformed as i am on this, i dont actually notice any errors or dips in quality
There is quite a bit of aliasing, eher you can not tell two instruments playing the same note apart, but that is likely just my crappy speakers. UA-cam does mess up good music sometimes
i legit melted when the original theme finally appeared, that was such a magical moment
when the world needed him most, he returned
three months later and i still listen to this and sit for 18 minutes in shocked silence at how good you are at emulating the push and pull, that yearning sound of the later romantics. you're damn stellar. absolutely incredible. lost in the music. losing my self esteem as a composer too, definitely, in droves. absolutely worth it though.
This is a master piece!!!!!
After teasing the main theme for over five minutes, the tutti at 5:44 felt so satisfying and rewarding. Good job! Easily the most beautiful rickroll
Variation X is incredible. A perfectly executed reference to both songs.
May I know which other song did it reference?
18th variation of rhapsody on a theme of paganini @@KrisPBacon69
@@KrisPBacon69reference to rachmaninoff’s variations on a theme of Paganini variation 18. It’s famous for being one of the most beautiful Melodies
I’m a composer, and I’ve been following your channel for a while now and am a big fan of your work. But seeing this pop in my recommended I did not expect this masterpiece. Your orchestration skills are insane this is an amazing piece, well done!
This is really, REALLY good work. The writing seems reasonably playable for every instrument, and not overly difficult for the orchestra (useful, since most orchestras have incredibly limited rehearsal time).. The score looks well-notated as well!
I'm sure the Berlin philharmonic orchestra would accept to play this, it's so incredibly beautiful
It's worthy. Someone send it to them.
I am absolutely obsessed by this. I must have played it a dozen times today already, just trying to get to know it inside out. What a magnificent achievement. The accuracy of the imitations of Rachmaninov is astonishing, but it's so much more than a throwaway joke; it's a genuinely beautiful and fabulously exciting virtuoso piece. As though someone had gone back in time, given Sergei the music of Never Gonna Give You Up, and commissioned him to write a set of variations on it. I mean, I just don't have the words really. A breathtaking piece. Thank you so much.
100%.
This deserves Rick's personal attention
This is an insanely beautiful rickroll. The most beautiful rickroll ever.
I physically cannot describe how much I enjoy this piece. This is quite literally one of the first pieces that has literally left me speechless, I have no words, there simply aren't any, I may be late to the party when it comes to praising, and I'll likely get lost in the sea of bot commenters, but my god if this isn't one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard. Bravo.
I already know this is going to blow up so much. There is so much genious moments in this piece that it can not only be sorted as a "meme content" type of successful, but also in the most masterfully composed and beautiful piece. So glad I was here before it blowed up. Bravo maestro!! I am never going to give you up!
Did i just get rickrolled.. 😂
Dw; clarinetdoom wouldn't let you down...or hurt you.@@jun_wu
@@jun_wu It's ok, even if I will make a joke, I will never make you cry
Is there any chance you can upload this to Musescore directly? I would love to talk to my university orchestra about performing this for real!
@@BC-uj4nu this is the new MuseScore Sounds software at work, probably the best free software out there for doing stuff like this. It came out in April of this year with MuseScore 4.
Okay, I unironically come back to listen to this over ALL the piano concertos from classical rep I could be listening to. Amazing, amazing job!! Thank you for your music.
This has no right to be so good. Amazing!
Also worth noting that incorporating familiar tunes into your works was super common practice in the 18th century / earlier 19th century, so there's a very funny way in which this actually continues a longstanding classical tradition.
This is a masterpiece. The orchestration, the solo part, the variations; everything is in the right place. You, sir, are a genius.
Now that's dedication
It's astleynishing. I was prepared to roll my eyes, but my eyes were rick in tears instead. It's not a cheap ass meme, it's a work of art that I'd be glad to hear from a live orchestra and give a standing ovation to. I'm no musician myself but I can recognize good music and this is very, very good piece of music!
I felt an occasional echoing cough sound of grand, magnificent hall inside, it was my dad outside earphones actually lol great work!
I'd like this played at my wedding with a full orchestra. Probably not gonna happen but a girl can dream
The buildup to the original melody was incredible and variation XII was like magic 🌟
OMG then variation XIV gave me absolute chills
Expected a meme, got a full-blown masterpiece. Bravo!
4:47 Qué bella sección.
This is so good! Unironically listen to it on a regular basis
I would actually listen to this unironically it has no reason to be this good
I have never been more inspired in my life. This is awesome.
One of the greatest things UA-cam has ever recommended to me - amazing work! This needs to be performed! Only halfway through and already floored at how good this is.
Finally, I was ready to start writing my master's dissertation, after some months of procrastination, but I stopped to hear this properly... Well done! So much criativity here. And the harmonies are so good! You're really gifted. Please continue making things like this. I just hope to hear it in concert one day! :)
Stop procrastinating. It's time to write your dissertation
Thanks.. good luck with your dissertation too!
I also am putting off my music History homework to listen. This piece is too good to be background music
Incredible stuff. Your channel has some great stuff, but this is definitely your magnum opus (so far!). Thanks a lot!
Thanks for your support!
That was legitimately beautiful. I'm extremely impressed, this elevates itself above just being a funny meme bit. Great voicing, great use of dynamics, packed with winking reference but not beholden to it. I would pay to see this performed live.
I've been blessed by the UA-cam algorithm, this piece is a GIFT, thank you for sharing with us! This truly made my whole week I'm laughcrying at how great this is!
How are you this talented? You made a 18 minute concerto . THIS on its own is an achievement. Respect.
Not a concerto, variations for piano and orchestra.
@@praestant8 It's literally a concerto for piano, a concerto is orchestra+feature solo instrument. Also "concerto" is literally in the title of the video
i would pay to go see this live wtf i came for a joke and ended up with a masterpiece???
It's like a bizarro rickroll.
WHY IS THIS SO GOOD. This orchestration is some of the most beautiful I've ever heard with elements borrowing from so many composers and periods. I love the romantic string harmonies and the beautiful piano work. This is amazing.
this is a masterpiece!
It may have been intended partly as a joke but a beautiful inspirational and uplifting piece. Hard to stop listening to it. And it creates such an earworm throughout the day. I have to sneak back to it to see if I understand it correctly.
Displays an amazing amount of talent. It needs to be performed in a concert hall!!
I thought this was just going to be some nice silly meme score but I was blown away with this! Var 3, 6, 10 and 13 were my absolute favorite. Amazing job on this!
This shouldn't be named like parody. This masterpiece deserves it's own title! Absolutely magnificent and worthy of being played in concert-halls!
This genuinely belongs in a concert hall. PLEASE someone make it happen.
Which variation of your favorite? 😀
wasn't gonna comment but variation X blew me away... awesome use of the theme
definitely IX for me
i think for me Variation VI was my favorite so much colors on that one! even the main motif!
Variation VII is my favorite due to the Rachmaninoff and Chopin references
loved the rach var 18 reference in variation X
this is unironically one of the best things I've listened to in my entire life.
You absolutely need to write another concerto, this is some seriously impressive work. Im impatiently waiting for the next one. I beg you to not making me wait for a long time, everybody needs another piece like that.
Guys we need to make this go viral, the whole world must hear the genius of this man
Comment and like for the algorithm.
i like how you randomly throw out tema in var 9 instead of the beginning
Amazing! No words to express. This is pure Art. Please, show this to Rick Astley, so he can listen to and feel the hommage. 😊
That's make you rickroll Rick himself 😂😂😂
Spot on, surely Rick is gonna wanna pick this up and do a show based on it??? Crazy not to, it's just stunning!
Ever since the dawn of music
We finally found it.
_The pinnacle of music itself_
I dont know what to say but this neeeds to be on spotify. This is great, it made my whole month and I love it. Much love and appreciation from Germany.
Thank you very much!
Thank you for your support!
This is the most amazing thing I've ever heard come out of a meme. This is absolutely phenomenal, thank you for this gift of music you have shared
Amazing work, can't wait to see what you do next
Thanks a lot for your support!
When i see the tittle i was like it's gonna be a bullshit meme parody and then i see the 18m and i listen, it was INCREDIBLE, you make in style of my two favorite composer liszt and rach. Cheers and sorry for my bad english
This is actually stunning! What a banger
this actually sounds like prime rachmaninoff, the sound of the music just resonates with ingenious chord progressions and melody development. really enjoyed, you earned a sub
Have you considered uploading this to Spotify? I'm hosting our campus' student orientation next month and while I typically play classical pieces during our orientations, I'd love to add this to the playlist since it's both classical and pure, timeless meme material. Wonderful work!
I am crying. This is absolutely amazing!
Absolutely gorgeous. I cannot believe I exist in the same time period and universe as this masterpiece. W o. W
Music like this, it’s what brings the world together.
I am a professional pianist. First, good job. This is amazing. I enjoyed it. Second, I would like to suggest finding a pianist and giving them the part and asking them to mark any places that are physically impossible to play. I saw at least one. That’s not to mention how insanely difficult it is, it is INSANELY difficult. Maybe not so insane for someone really great, but it looks pretty hard.
Again, this is amazing and I love it. Please do more. Just pointing out there might be a revision or two needed before the debut with a real orchestra.
what measure(s) do you think are physically impossible? and why? some parts look hard to play at tempo but not necessarily impossible (speaking as a player of Rachmaninov)
@@th1rtyf0ur Personally I don't think for example measures 209 - 215 (starting @ 4:52) are possible to play at this tempo. The melody + arpeggio in the right hand is just too much, the left hand jumps and positions are kind of awkward in this section aswell, perhaps at a slower tempo it would be easier, I didn't try it, purely judging by the sheet music.
Every single day I come here to listen to this divine masterpiece. It saves and relieves me of my torments and painful memories. I'm simply in love with it! 😌
I would literally pay to see a live performance of this piece
This feels like an orchestra version of an OST compilation from some classical JRPG, with different tunes going with the highs and lows of the story, but the main theme is always there.
Brought tears to my eyes for how beautiful and amazing this is! Thank you for this masterpiece!
I foresee this masterpiece gaining hundreds of thousands, if not even millions, of views down the line. Might not even take long.
This is (unironically) a masterpiece :')
I've listened to this twice today, and I've really enjoyed it. I enjoyed all the variations, the different moods they share. I adore taking that song and using it to create this concerto. Truly beautiful. I'm now wondering what Rick Astley thinks of this. I hope he hears it.
As a department of music student:it’s very marvelous work!!!
I shared your piece to my music theory class professor.(she also is an orchestral compose professor.)
She said:What the brilliant arrangement!!!
He based in relative conserve orchestration but it has some particular effects.
My professor suggests your music theory:You need more notation in scores,like legato,expression marks…etc. if it wishes to performed by real orchestra.
For my professor suggestion,I’m also have an advise for you:brass parts it’s very weakness in your piece especially low brass.
In addition,your piece performance in live orchestra,brass parts will not conspicuous.
This piece SHOULD BE performing by real orchestra.I will recommend that you need to revised this piece.
Thanks a lot for your inputs!
Yeah, there are no phrasing marks in the winds/brass or bowings/slurs for the strings, instructions for divisi, courtesy accidentals, etc. But the style is so familiar and this synth recording is quite good, so not hard to guess the intention. As an orchestral violinist, I'd be able to make do with it as-is (though a fully marked part would be very welcome). The string parts all look playable and the voice leading is quite good. Most importantly, I know I'd enjoy playing the orchestral parts, and that's more than can be said for some standard repertoire piano concertos out there *cough*Chopin*cough*.