Scarlatti, Sonata in G major, K 455, piano, animated score

[ScarlattiFreak]

I love your videos and performances very much and am especially fond of the Scarlatti sonatas, obviously, and would only request more harpsichord renditions. Your work brings a new level of understanding and beauty to music. Thank you for all that you share.

[ssw166]

Can someone point me to the other piano video of this piece? The "more straight" one?

[smalin]

@ssw166 The other version by me is done on harpsichord, not piano.

[Amarelaoo1]

You sir should be the official Scarlatti interpreter!

[Hrrrrification]

@smalin i think the old video was better. This is another way to play the piece but i feel that this Scarlatti's Sonata is composed with a more funny, relaxed feeling. Like a joke

[amadeus5889]

I feel I should thank you, Stephen. You animate not only the classics that everyone knows and loves, but less well-known yet equally-beautiful works like this. It can't be said enough that you do so much for musical education with your videos.

[TheMasenko]

better on hapsichord

[Bachsious]

odd interpretive hesitations

[smalin]

@Bachsious I can understand why you might say that, but I think that if you listen to it more, you'll understand them better. I did a "straight" performance many years ago (also posted here), and this approach is what evolved as I got to know the piece better. To me, the old performance now sounds mechanical and inexpressive, and this one now sounds natural.

[CRabbit86]

@smalin i am not really a musician (just playing classical guitar), but i agree with Bachsious. I think that this Interpretation is too 'expressive' for a composer like Scarlatti (i dont really know how to explain...). I think that your other Interpretation fits more to this piece... Also, i like the Harpsichord version more, it sounds more like its been written for this Instrument.... please excuse my grammar, i'm german^^ greetings, keep on the good work :-)

[smalin]

@CRabbit86 Well, what can I say?  I've played Scarlatti for over forty years. I've played all 550 of his sonatas. I used to play this sonata more "straight," but now this seems like a more natural way. One thing that affected my way of thinking was working on improvising in Scarlatti's style. As I began to do that, I found that the melodies I was inventing tended to group into smaller pieces, and it felt right to articulate them instead of just plowing through.

[TheVailTom]

@smalin I support the "new" approach, smalin. In a way it mirrors what harpsichordists do because it uses agogics and articulations to express the musical ideas. As you know, one can't get shaded dynamics on the harpsichord, so other means have to be used to make the most of the instrument. I believe a former and mistaken understanding of performance practice led to "straight," mechanical performances that probably bore little resemblance to expressive performances of the distant past.

[xyaqua]

@Bachsious the composer writes the notes- the performer write the tempo-

if you do not agree, speak with a. weissenberg,

this is excellent, approaching genius- not only variation in tempo but attack and sweep- tres magnifique

[TheVoodoovampires]

A composer carefully chooses his or her instrument of performance. Perhaps the harpsichord better expresses D. Scarlattis emotion/intention in his piece. I am certain that if the pioano would have been invented in his lifetime he would have considered it; and would have written this particular piece of music differen if for the piano. Why am I certain? Well, because the tone and quality of the harpsichord is quite different from that of a piano and in composition it is about a wholeness.

[NimbleTurtle13]

The harpsichord is more full in sound and has a stabler dynamic. Also, it sounds very artificial and dead on the piano. It may sound fascinating on the piano but this piece demands the character of the harpsichord.

[Tenifus]

I'm sure there's other comments saying the same thing, but I do prefer this sonata played on harpsichord.

[CubicRune]

the piano sounds so silent compared to the harpsichord

[wrongbuzz]

Is there any piece that sounds better on harpsichord than piano?

[smalin]

@wrongbuzz Many people prefer the harpsichord version of this piece.

[turbonelli]

@smalin The crispness is more or less lost in the piano version. I'd vote for the harpischord version any time any day.

[p2p4all]

@wrongbuzz Yes. This pieace, for example...

[InbictaProductionzZ]

@wrongbuzz I prefer the harpsichord. Yes, the piano is more expressive, but the warmth and fullness of the harpsichord pleases me the most.

[bonbadman]

:)

[Ianprime0509]

I like this version of the piece, but I do think it sounds better on a harpsichord.

[Dinomonst1]

I love on how the circles emphasize the touch/feeling of the note. :]

[SirSebastianWang]

Am I the only one that thinks this piano version sounds much better than the original?

[smalin]

@SirSebastianWang Well, I do.

[TotallyBursar]

@smalin I lenjoy both, the synth version is sharp and digital sounding, but that doesn't detract from it, in fact it makes it more enjoyable to listen to. But then the Piano version is more expressive and explores different avenues so they are both a pleasure to listen to.

[MissCrabyCake]

I love Your channel. Not only do you produce Studio quality music, your videos are visually stimulating ; the notes seem to paint their own art! Maybe is it just something that I developed as an artist, but I can see the hills, trees, and oceans in the notes' shapes.

[SarcasmRules9]

Ahhh, beautiful...

[24Pianist]

This is a great piece of music. I've never heard anything quite like it.

[YaelBerman]

I love both of your versions of this piece. The one with the harpsichord remains my favorite, nevertheless :).

[smalin]

@YaelBerman I predict that if you keep listening to both, the harpsichord one will start sounding more and more mechanical, and this one will become your favorite.

[NimbleTurtle13]

@smalin For Scarlatti, I feel that the harpsichord sounds "right" 99% of the time. This version might sound more interesting or fun but it lacks the "spiritual" depth that the harpsichord version offers.

[cordwangle19]

@smalin, I'm with YaelBerman on this - prefer to hear each repeated note fully articulated. Whatever floats your boat though, it's great music anyway :-)

[smalin]

@cordwangle19 I'm not sure what you mean by "fully articulated." The main difference between this version and the harpsichord version, aside from the instrument, is that there's a lot of fine-grained (that is, local) tempo variation in this one. If anything, this one is more articulated --- the harpsichord one is much more legato.

[BaboonBassoon]

@YaelBerman totally agree :P 

[semicolin]

i can't believe i had never heard of this project before... it's clearly a labor of love, on the part of an ingenious mind. really extraordinary! thank you for all of these videos. i'm enjoying them so much!

[DBJ06]

I like the harpsichord version best,, haha

[Nastollo]

better on harpischord..... but nice anyway!

[xyaqua]

I still like the ambience of the first k455 you posted better, but good gravy if you do not take advantage of the piano vs the harpsichord (and i do know the difference between those two! :-) ).

this is so great that you have given us these two perfomances (interpretations?) of the same piece. I have really gotten to love k455. Thanks for all your indulgence!

[byng51028]

Inflatable balls? I like it.

[T42nk]

Is it intentional that the bars move from background to foreground when they are played?

[smalin]

@T42nk Actually, what's happening is that the balls are filled in before they are played, and empty afterwards, while the bars are always filled in.

[T42nk]

@smalin Oh, I see. Nice effect, though. I read from your website that you were in a job related to hearing and visualization. Do you choose your visualizations and colors deliberately? Do you see your work more as art or as science? I hope these questions do not bother you.

[smalin]

@T42nk Oops, I need to update my website --- I'm "retired" now (which means: working full-time on my own projects). I choose the visualizations and colors deliberately, but I can't give a simple answer to the art vs. science question. Music is considered an art form, but it can be studied scientifically from a lot of different angles. What I do is definitely influenced by what I've learned from science, but it's also influenced by what I know as a composer, performer and appreciator of music.

[T42nk]

@smalin Some time ago you wrote that the intended audience is children and that you want to change their perception of music. Regarding this intention, do you make use of psychological research? (Writing this, I suddenly am interested in quantifying possible changes in music perception ... then again, this requires time that I could spend on enjoying your works)

[smalin]

@T42nk My stock phrase is that children are the "primary intended audience" for my visualizations; I'm happy if adults enjoy them, too. I don't make any special use of psychological research --- just my own observations.

[xyaqua]

Holy moly Steven, this is good- awesome tempo interpretation. really, this is penultimate class.

Thanks, good sir, for sharing your soul.

[Harmonieuniverselle]

Better on harpsichord.

[Homer4421]

This sounds very interesting, but I think I prefer the tempo of the harpsichord version. In my opinion, the 2nd part sounds a lot cooler with a constant tempo and kind of a "driving" feel. Thanks for the uploads!

[smalin]

@Homer4421 The "driving" tempo of the first version is easy to appreciate/expect/understand at first listening, but the "reflexive/reactive/responsive­/flexible" tempo of this version may be something you'll get used to; keep listening!

[Bl00DN00B]

=)



[andreskamps]

great project!! but too much Rubato (is not used in baroque music), I like more your old version in harpsichord

[12345qazx1]

very nice!!thanks,

[pmchsaini]

I will agree with the user that says that the harpsicord version is better... It sounds more classic being played by piano... (that makes me angry!) Has anybody seen the animated harpsicord version?

[smiley1295]

absolutely like it,

but the harpsichord version is better!

[DBJ06]

I like more on harpsichord,,

[Metroidhunter07]

how about some rhythm...?

[xyaqua]

SWEET! The tempo sounds a little more "organic", your tempo flutters sound so very appropriate to this, whatever you are doing, keep it up!

Hey, what a series this would make- progressively more interpretive performances of the same piece!

I think you've got the potential to pull it off- a new interpretation a year? 3-6 more years? That would be a seriously original recording.  Best if you do it for fun, of course, but you know i'd support it

[smalin]

@xyaqua That's an interesting idea ... but I don't think I'd want to do it. There's a quote that I forget the author of that goes something like "Life is like being on stage playing the violin, learning how to play in the course of the performance." It might be interesting, but it's a little more revealing than I'd be comfortable with. It would be hard to resist the temptation to remove the older, less-expressive performances.

[xyaqua]

@smalin

You are such a tease. ;-)

But you are patiently indulgent to me for speaking in Italian baroque to me at all. It's really the only genre (? is that the correct term?) I am familiar enough with to attempt to discuss the music. Or maybe i just listen to it a lot.

i told you i play itialian in the background while my students are testing? They almost universally love it, i'm including several of your you-tube performaces (credited of course), if you have no objection ??

[smalin]

@xyaqua I don't mind, but if any of them do, I'd respect that. When music is playing, I can't think about anything else. If there had been music playing during tests, I would have flunked out.

[pianissimo5]

@smalin that's the same with me.

[kattymiaow3]

@smalin the quote is in a room with a view, e.m. forster!!! i was just reading the comment and realised we studied that quote in english today!! 

[gadwin45]

i don't know if this is in your FAQ's section but you perform the music on a piano then use the software add the visuals to it or is it all done by the software? Also, im really happy none of your videos have ads :)

[smalin]

@gadwin45 None of my videos have ads? I thought they all did.

[potpourri360]

I'm pretty worried. This is a time that you have not posted videos. Tell me only when will you upload your next video.



[smalin]

@potpourri360 Don't worry, I haven't given this up. I'm just lazy and easily distracted. If you want to be sure not to miss my videos, subscribe.

[xSnoweyexp]

I want a video of you playing it :D this is a nice piece

[molorolo]

I think the excessive rubato comes from smalin playing this slower when recording and then rising the tempo of the MIDI for the video. 

[smalin]

@molorolo No, this is the speed I performed it at.

[Flutenatic]

I didn't think I would, but I love your piano interpretation. It sounds very whimsical.

[smalin]

@Flutenatic Thanks. It's a little "over the top" for me (rubato-wise), but I think it has some aspects that recommend it.

[FatBoySlim696]

Sounds better on a harpsichord.

[OBcanBOcan]

@FatBoySlim696 Yes, you are right.

[ezcheeze590]

@FatBoySlim696 i agree wholeheartedly, imo the piano should have never overtaken the harpsichord in the first place

[subjected2music]

@FatBoySlim696

totally agree

[snafflesify]

Hi! can you please do one for merry christmas, mr lawrence?? =)

[itsanthonyhere]

Sounds like there is a tube sock stuck in the piano strings.

[smalin]

@itsanthonyhere Is that where that went.

[Flutenatic]

@smalin How did you fit a tube-sock in an audio sampled piano? The mechanics behind that sound amazing!

[smalin]

@Flutenatic  Trust me: don't ask.

[Akaikumo21]

Amazing and beautyful.

But I think this song was done for harpsichord.  Thanks

[jbalint1]

first i've seen of this new animation. pretty neat :) great playing too

[SkyDragonVX]

Your play all the songs? Or are they simply recordings ? It's simple curiosity, i love your work.

[smalin]

@SkyDragonVX Some I play, some I don't; it usually says in the FAQ.

[CreateWorlds]

Everything you do is amazing, I love all your videos.

[vlamnire]

Not bad

[LadyLumiere]

beautiful.

[omoshiroidayo]

i prefer harpsichord. but that also sounds good

[TheHomelessCripple]

damn, im exhausted just watching this

[BasdK95]

Outstanding! 

[10220523]

Respectful greetings, I hope you are well. Do you provide some information about the charting of the symphony (patterns, constant).

It is of great interest and I appreciate that. "

I await your response.

[MatchbookD70]

Scarlatti must have been a caffeine drinker if the nature of this piece is any indication.

[TheAspenTom]

Beautifully played, smalin!

[CamButler]

Write more music, Malinowski!

[augustmaple]

apsis is trolling...

also, this is good and all, but i really am a bars man at heart. *sigh*

back to marriage of figaro

[milleniumbug86]

*standing ovation*

[Huddiethegreat]

I most defiantly love 455

[scherzoq]

Wonderfully colorful piece. Very nice performance, too.

[then00best]

AMAZING

[Laudan08]

no keed. he made 555 sonatas.

[mcSHTT]

idk why but my eyes always seems to be attracted to the bottom row and never really looks at the top. anybody else like that?

[Vahe333]

@mcSHTT its opposite for me

[ApsisApocynthion]

Boring....

[Laudan08]

@ApsisApocynthion this was before Bach dude. u have a pretty small music sense, although the complexity for this is hard to understand by some people.

[smalin]

@Laudan08  Scarlatti and Bach were both born in 1685.

[polymath7]

@smalin

Presumably he's confusing Domenico with Alessandro.

[ApsisApocynthion]

@Laudan08 Don't get trolled. Everyone has an opinion. My favorite period is the Late-Romantic, yet I love Bach.

I don't listen to music for silly reasons. How old something is has no bearing on my choice. If we listed composers by the complexity aspect of their technique, then Mozart or Haydn would be the worst, and perhaps Wagner would be the most complex, but we don't, or at least I don't. Composers are all equal in my eyes.

That said. I was still bored by this.

[polymath7]

@ApsisApocynthion

Composers are all equal in your eyes?

You cannot possibly be serious.

"...Mozart and Haydn would be the worst, and perhaps Wagner would be the most complex..."

Uh, what!?

I'm no musical expert, but you appear to be confusing musical complexity with mere complexity of notation.

This is rather like saying that the most complex poetry is that which employs the most abstruse spelling and punctuation.

[vanderbilt887]

It's a little ironic that with regards to the "complexity aspect of their technique" you call Mozart the worst and Wagner the greatest. Wagner himself would have *entirely* disagreed, the influence of Wolfgang Mozart on Wagner is profound, and that is putting it mildly. Wagner himself said of Mozart: "The most tremendous genius raised Mozart above all masters, in all centuries and in all the arts." Mozart himself was relatively unpopular exactly due to the complexity and craft of his music.

[ApsisApocynthion]

@vanderbilt887 But I am not Wagner, and this is no longer the late-romantic period. Mozart was a great composer, and some of his music was complex. However, sheer influence =/= complexity. Not only that, but if you knew your history, you would know that Beethoven was by far the most influential composer of the early-romantic period. In fact there wouldn't be a Romantic period without his influence. Furthermore, since the turn of the 1880s, Wagner has been the most influential composer.

[vanderbilt887]

@ApsisApocynthion

I know that complexity =/ influence (duh), but do you honestly think that if Mozart was a mere composer of pretty tunes without any shade of complexity and craft, he would have influenced Wagner the way he did? Would Wagner have admired his genius if he was in fact the worst along with Haydn as regards complexity?

It's funny you mention Beethoven, because the composer who most influenced Beethoven was.... of course Mozart.

[vanderbilt887]

@vanderbilt887

Also, your statement that there would have been no romantic period without Beethoven is highly, highly dubious at best. There would have not been the *same* romantic period, true, but given the fact that Romanticism swept through all of European culture, it would have been utterly unbelievable had not Romanticism entered music without Beethoven.

And despite what you might think, I do know my music history, thank you very much.

[ApsisApocynthion]

@vanderbilt887 What makes you think that I look down on Mozart? This boggles me. I admire him too. You're taking an element that I used as support for another argument, and using it as my thesis. While jumping to other conclusions - that I'm comparing composers or what not.

I am not comparing composers.

That said. It is obvious that Wagner's music is more technically complex than Mozart's. Wagner's average opera score has 3-times as many staves as Mozart's largest works, for example.

[vanderbilt887]

@ApsisApocynthion

As it is obvious that Xenakis' music is more complex than Wagner's, in the sense that you're using the word "complexity" here. What is not so obvious, is that "If we listed composers by the complexity aspect of their technique, then Mozart or Haydn would be the worst, and perhaps Wagner would be the most complex".

In fact, it's utter gibberish.

But where did I say you looked down on Mozart? Also, are you not comparing composers in that very quote? Just asking.

[ApsisApocynthion]

@vanderbilt887 Is it? I wouldn't be so sure. How exactly?

When I said that quote I also said that I don't believe in listening because it is complex in response to someone who said I should like the piece in this video, but didn't because its complexity was over my head....

[redeyedol]

Brilliant

[wingedtraveller]

I've always loved Scarlatti, so this piece was a treat!

[Grea1234]

its crazy with the same note playing so fast! its like tremolo picking on piano :s

[Jaydoggy531]

@Grea1234

It's even crazier to see it in person. If you see someone who's fast it's like a blur waving over the keyboard.

[lfsrteixeira]

Perhaps @smalin record his own hands for us to watch the blur... Please? :-) Anyway, BRAVO!!!

[Edootjuh]

I wish you would post more music from Mozart and Beethoven etc. again.

[miiwiiplay]

Meh, I don't like the form. AABB' just doesn't do it for me. I feel as if it lacks resolution.

[smalin]

@miiwiiplay You should probably steer clear of Scarlatti, then --- nearly all of his 555 sonatas are AABB.

[TheAspenTom]

@miiwiiplay And for that matter, most of Bach's dance movements in his French Suites, English Suites, and Partitas are also in AABB -- to say nothing of the profound Goldberg variations, all based on an air in AABB form. Actually the Tonic-Dominant, Tonic-Dominant, Dominant-Tonic, Dominant-Tonic (or other similar pattern) does have a lot of resolution and for some people doesn't seem

resolved" unless the movements are played with all the repeats.

[PatriziaBluette]

Oui, c'est magnifique!

[EmceeLorder]

You remade this video! Magnifique!

[edonan85]

@EmceeLorder The first one was played on clavier, this one is a piano version (nice anachronism), so the videos are not the same because of the different features of the two instruments

[smalin]

@edonan85 "Clavier" means "keyboard" ... the word you want is "harpsichord."

[rudbeckie1]

Krásné! Jemné, ač "hravé", přesné a dokonalé.Díky za tuto nahrávku.

[franielee38]

I love this piece!

[EphemeralWinter]

Just lovely.

[JuCho3]

EPIC!