Pachelbel's Canon

Pachelbel's canon, what a wonderful piece. As for the second version (Winston's "variations"), I am not very enthusiastic, both from an interpretative and a re-reading standpoint. When choosing important pieces that are already perfect as they are, reinterpretations are always risky. In reality, one risks falling into the abyss, like in the film Amadeus where Mozart was criticized for writing pieces with too many notes!!! In short, there are masterpieces of classical music that are untouchable; they are perfect just as they are, and touching them requires artistic genius (the real kind). It is true that there are reinterpretations and variations on themes, but those bear the signature of Liszt, for example (not Winston, who, among other things, is being mentioned for the first time). Everyone can see it how they want, but my impression is that these variations are nothing more than a piano transcription of a string quartet where embellishments and improvisations on the predominant theme are added here and there, while I perceive the execution as very coarse, all on the forte, with few dynamic nuances, neglecting the polyphony of the voices where only the predominant voice is clear and the intertwining is confusing; in short, it sounds like an execution by a beginner self-taught player who hits the strong beat to avoid losing the rhythm, rather than by an established pianist, as he seems to be from the video. My modest judgment is that it is mediocre. I invite you to listen to Liszt's variations on themes by Bach and Paganini to better understand what I am saying. Forgive the harshness and the bluntness, but it is what I hear with my ears; however, there are 7 billion people in the world, so my judgment is entirely debatable.

I quote what Simone said!!!

Regards

saverio

I agree with Simone. Furthermore, it seems to me that the pianist uses a very strange technique. (He could use the "orthodox" rotation instead of "pinching" the keys in the alternating note passages!!!!!!)

Can I add a note ... without being seen as an exaggerator or a bigot!? 😛

But I mean, can one play the piano in public (especially if playing classical music) in jeans and a shirt!? My hair stands on end when I see things like that! 😳

I'm not saying one must wear a tailcoat ... but good heavens, not even the most basic things that are at hand!

Sorry for the outburst! 😉

From what I've heard, how he dressed seems to me the least... If he can afford it...

TheSimon wrote:

Pachelbel's canon, what a wonderful piece. As for the second version (Winston's "variations"), I am not very enthusiastic, both from an interpretative and a re-reading standpoint. When choosing important pieces that are already perfect as they are, reinterpretations are always risky. In reality, one risks falling into the abyss, like in the film Amadeus where Mozart was criticized for writing pieces with too many notes!!! In short, there are masterpieces of classical music that are untouchable; they are perfect just as they are, and touching them requires artistic genius (the real kind). It is true that there are reinterpretations and variations on themes, but those bear the signature of Liszt, for example (not Winston, who, among other things, is the first time I have heard him mentioned). Everyone can see it how they want, but my impression is that these variations are nothing more than a piano transcription of a string quartet where embellishments and improvisations on the predominant theme are added here and there, while I perceive the performance to be very coarse, all on the forte, with few dynamic nuances, neglecting the polyphony of the voices where only the predominant voice is clear and the intertwining is confusing; in short, it seems like a performance by a self-taught beginner who hits the strong beat to avoid losing the rhythm, rather than an established pianist, as he seems to be from the video. My modest judgment is that it is mediocre. I invite you to listen to Liszt's variations on themes by Bach and Paganini to better understand what I am saying. Forgive my harshness and practicality, but it is what I hear with my ears; however, there are 7 billion people in the world, so my judgment is entirely debatable.

Forgive your harshness, but are you joking, Simone? You wrote intelligent things; if anything, it is George Winston who should ask for forgiveness for "heretically" laying hands on dough that is not his.

Well, this is our opinion, but we must also respect the many people who, at least from what it seems, are instead die-hard fans...

I know the "variations" in question well; I mean George Winston's butchery. I transcribed it from a CD a long time ago, an Allevi enthusiast asked me for it... her proposal (among others) piqued my curiosity; I didn't know the composer and all in all they were variations on an author's piece.

She told me, "It's my favorite piece; even spending € 1,000, I couldn't find the score, I only have the CD and I am not able to transcribe it. You are a composer, do you think you can help me?"

She was a pianist (longing to be able to play it) and this piece drove her crazy... what on earth could be written inside, and yet?!

After the first listen I said to myself: "to hell with these variations!", it seems like Pachelbel with the addition of quite a lot of "uglification," not to mention the incessant harmonic progression.

Clearly Winston doesn't know what variations are and he even made money from his rubbish... and I even wasted a lot of time transcribing it and even fixed a couple of points that were unlistenable.

For anyone curious, I still have it in PDF 😉

When I delivered the PDF to my friend, I also gave her the CD of the original and she asked herself the necessary questions.

I consider it a privilege of a few to say so much with so few words; there is no use hiding behind a finger.

TheSimon wrote:

Well, this is our opinion, but we must also respect the many people who, at least from what it seems, are instead die-hard fans...

I relatively agree, otherwise one could not compare what Beethoven wrote with "go fishing", I'm not saying it's an easy job but there are things that are objectively banal and things that are less so.

Winston's variations are just a little commercial product of doubtful value, no offense intended... it's what the notes say 😉

Ahahah, I agree... Well, I'm not a composer but I do have ears 😆

I'm curious about the PDF. Could he post it here? To complete the post?

TheSimon wrote:

I am curious about the PDF. Could you post it here? To complete the post?

I prefer to send it privately to whoever asks me for it, I saw how to retrieve your email address... I'll pass it to you 😉

Sent

could I have the pdf too?

Many thanks dear...