This is Victor Borge in one of the most amazing piano improvisations I’ve ever seen. While you’re at it, his skit on phonetic punctuation is very funny indeed.
Andrew Bird performs the song “Section 8 City”. There are more live recordings with higher quality videos and a nicer website here.
Now, for some real music. This is Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23. I got the music for this last week, and the part I’ve learned so far is a lot of fun. I chose this specific video not for the audio/video quality - it’s quite an old recording - but for the sheer skill of the pianist. Of all the videos I could find, this one, with pianist Vladimir Horowitz, was far and away the most gripping. If it seems slow at the start, fear not, because it really picks up.
This is the beautiful Berceuse in D-flat Major, Op. 57 that I’m learning at the moment. Of course it’s by the brilliant Frédéric Chopin, but I think it sounds very Debussy-esque. This particular performance is by the pianist Arturo Michelangeli. I will post the other Chopin ballade that I am learning in short order, I just need to find a suitable audio/video file to post.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne in E flat major, Op. 9, No. 2
Oh my goodness I love Chopin. I just need to see if I can find the two pieces that I’m playing…
“Benjamin Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections.”
What a wonderful 20 minutes - beautiful and inspiring. Watch it through. You won’t be sorry.
Silver Lines, Dark Water
This is one of my favourite videos anywhere online. It’s created with photography by an Ontarian photographer/canoeist named Peter Bowers, with music by artist Shawn Stephenson, and assistance from Christopher Drost.
Check out Peter’s Photostream on Flickr for more great photography.
