The best Classical Music videos of 2017
Watching classical music on the internet is not the same as attending Carnegie Hall, to put it mildly. This year online we saw many things that caught our eye: a cockatiel sing Mozart, a dog join an orchestra and an oboist switch instruments with his stand-mate in the middle of a solo. Here’s our picks for the most memorable classical videos of 2017.
Beethoven Has a Toddler in Tears
You may not remember the first time you heard Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” but this video of a two-year-old boy at a piano recital reminds us just how powerful his music can be.
A Canine Concerto
This unexpected soloist wandered onstage in the middle of a Vienna Chamber Orchestra performance — and stole our hearts.
Take On Me
The piano-cello partners of Brooklyn Duo teamed up with Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect to bring a little chamber music flavor to the 1985 A-ha hit.
When the Saints Go Marching In, With A Twist
Pianists Eyran Katsenelenbogen and Tal Zilber played this gospel hymn in every musical style imaginable, from ragtime to baroque.
This Oboist’s Incredible Reflexes
Check out what happens when the London Symphony Orchestra’s principal oboe Olivier Stankiewicz breaks his reed during a solo. Unbelievable.
What Does the Viola Say?
TwoSetViolin tries to start a feud in the string section with this clever viola joke. Nice try.
Cockatiel Queen
This bird sings the Queen of the Night’s aria better than most of us could.
Taking a Performance Below Deck
Brazilian pianist Eliane Rodrigues kept her cool when she noticed a broken pedal during a performance. Watch her keep the show going in this surprising way.
Cecilia Bartoli Becomes the First Woman to Sing in the Sistine Chapel
Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli made history this year when she sang with the Sistine Chapel Choir. Hear her talk about recording Pérotin’s Beata Viscera.
Drumming Shostakovich
Active-Duty Marine and musician Jesse Seiff served up a top-notch snare to accompany Rudolf Barshai’s orchestral arrangement of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8. Maybe the Little Drummer Boy should have added this to his rep.
Bernstein and Yo-Yo Ma
We unearthed this archival gem featuring a young Yo-Yo Ma and a debonair Leonard Bernstein at the Kennedy White House. Watch the maestro introduce the young cellist and his sister on the piano, Yeou-Cheng, to the President and tell their story: Born in China and having studied music in France, they were now “hoping to become citizens.” This wonderfully American experience will have your heart soaring.
‘A Brassy Down in the River to Pray’
The University of Texas at Austin’s Tuba and Euphonium studio delivered a stirring and solemn performance of the old spiritual in a way that only low-brass ensemble can.
An Operatic Work Break
An Australian construction worker wows his coworkers when he lays aside his jackhammer and starts singing “Nessun Dorma.” Love those hidden talents.
TRADY SINGS LIKE PAVAROTTI; );)#JACKHAMMERS&OPERASONGS;)well on a sunny monday morning in sydney the noise of the building sight was powerfully pushed away by Davi Oliveira version of Pavarottis nessun dorma;) absolutely amazing stuff!!! davi is actually studying muisic this year and one day dreams of singing in Sydney's opera house so like and share and lets make his dream come true;);) #peace&love#Pavarotti#lethal#sydney #jackhammer#yesthedavi;)
Posted by Patrick Keating on Sonntag, 26. Februar 2017
Oliveira hails from Brazil and has told us via Facebook that all of his prior singing experience came from singing in church choirs. Although he lacks any formal training, Oliveira says “I fell in love with opera, and everything in my life changed.” In Brazil he studied law, but when he felt the music calling “I gave up my lawyer career to follow my dream to become a professional opera singer!” Now he is working as a general laborer to save up the funds required to pay for his education at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Although that — along with the language requirement — presents a challenge, Oliveira remains optimistic and determined.
Oliveira’s also caused a bit of a stir in the local news; here’s a video of him performing live before Australia’s 9 News camera.
Watch This Delightfully Animated Grieg Classic
This animation from DoodleChaos will have you rooting for a little guy called “Line Rider” as he cruises his way through the increasingly chaotic “score” of Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” What an inventive and mesmerizing way to visualize music.