A new video is out on Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand for my Patreon subscribers!
There's a short video preview for those interested. Thanks as always for all your support!
www.patreon.com/c/SkylarLim
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Nothing quite like Bruckner for airplane takeoffs and landings. The anxiety of leaping into the air in a huge chunk of metal suddenly transforms into the ecstasy of heroically riding into a glorious sunset on a warhorse. It was also incredibly surreal listening to Messiaen's Turangalîla for the first time in the middle of a flight once with my eyes closed. Interesting piece suggestions for flights?
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Hi everyone! Big news to share and a big step for me as a creator: I have started my own patreon!
This patreon will mostly be a venue for me to dive much deeper into various analyses of different composers (explaining in depth the complex harmonies of Ravel, Scriabin or various commentaries on large-scale form of great symphonic composers like Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner) as well as focus more on helping young composers build up their foundation in counterpoint and harmony with video guides and worksheets. I also plan to share some of my thoughts on music in general, similar to what I've done on my community posts here on Youtube, but also on how I compose and my tips on composing music.
Well, lots of exciting ideas and (hopefully!) interesting content that you might want to see!
This week's bonus content is an analysis of one of my favourite Ravel's melody from his Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis. Do join if you wish to support me and what I do!
patreon.com/SkylarLim
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A rather lovely and succinct analogy that was expressed by a Chilean composer Francisco Alvarado in a masterclass I had recently: A great work of art is like the ocean with its different depths and levels of complexity. The layman could simply enjoy the surface quality of a work on the first listen while the connoisseur continues to discover new things upon multiple listenings.
Bach is perhaps the most suited as an example; his music can be enjoyed by anyone without paying any particular attention to it while the best experts in Baroque music are dumbfounded by the complex counterpoint and canonic interventions.
It’s this miraculous blend of simplicity and complexity that characterises any great work. It’s not exactly a matter of striking a balance between the two, but rather finding a way that fusions the two successfully.
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Favourite classical composer to put on in the background while doing mundane tasks like laundry or the dishes? I personally gravitate towards string quartets from the Classical period (Mozart/Haydn) or I also very much like orchestral music from Mendelssohn and Schubert. Strangely I rarely put on solo piano music, I find it rather dull as background music and much rather listen to it with my full attention.
Perhaps a bit more unusual but I also love to listen to Bach during workouts!
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Incredible artistry and a wonderful dialogue from both musicians...Cold chills especially for the first movement. We can also see where Brahms got some of his melodic ideas for his Clarinet sonatas I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tK4L...
watch video on watch page
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Nothing like the triumphant roaring finale of Beethoven's 7th Symphony to round up 2024!
This rendition by Bernard Haitink is quite possibly the best one I've ever heard and I now have a newfound appreciation for the last two movements. (I've always preferred the 8th to the 7th)
What are you listening to on the last day of 2024?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd0Hn...
watch video on watch page
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Mind-blowing. Considering how the very heart of Ravel's Bolero is in its various orchestral colours, I've always thought piano transcriptions of it end up too bland and repetitive. But this is astonishingly innovative with the prepared piano giving just a slightly different shade of timbre which is delightful and surprising.
Also worth mentioning that I've never been such a big fan of Bolero until I watched the magnificent choreography by Maurice Béjart which I highly recommend.
https://youtu.be/G-pP2EaZiLQ?si=Z_GFS...
watch video on watch page
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One of the best ways for a young composer to learn is by imitation - analysing and making bad pastiches of the great works in the repertoire. This is quite similar to how artists would go to museums and quite literally sketch out copies of established works or statues. The question about "finding one's voice" comes later at a composer's (or really any creative's) journey when technique has been assimilated and one actively seeks to mask one's influences or perhaps create a new language by amalgamating various different styles. Every great composer started out the same way: Beethoven with Mozart, Scriabin with Chopin, Messiaen with Debussy but the key works that we associate with these composers are usually more mature and traces of their influences reduced greatly. I suppose that after a certain period of study, if the composer is aware enough of their influences and they are genuinely in the search of newer forms of expression, they'd be more in tune with their personal tendencies and idiosyncrasies that would eventually make up their own unique style.
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Apart from being an incredible and inspiring rendition of Haydn's Cello Concerto no.1 on period instruments, the cadenza in the first movement is a welcome surprise - a nice and interesting way of revitalising old repertoire in my opinion. I was captivated from start to end. Highly recommend!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QutJX...
watch video on watch page
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Guided listening to interesting extracts of Classical music with accompanied analysis and commentary for those who wish to dive deeper.