Added: 5 years ago
From: ahdee5
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  • She's obviously a good violinist, but I do not think it prodigious to pick a piece to perform that is too difficult and sound that way as well, in terms of the way she's playing it. I know I couldn't do any better, but I'm also not choosing to play this in public.

  • Violinists with real talent reach stratospheric heights. Again, go back and

    listen to Leila Josefowicz, Yehudi Menuhin, Itzakh Perlman, or any like them,

    when they were children (younger than this girl). There you will find REAL

    talent.

  • There is no evidence to support the assertion she has any more than an average talent.

    She may be able to play simple pieces better (let us assume for the moment

    since I haven't listened to any such recordings), but does that prove talent? Any of

    a number of merely adequate violinists with no real talent but a strong

    work ethic can reach a mediocre level where they play easier pieces "well".

    I think the "talent" word is over-used for these workhorse players.

  • First, let me point out that my original post stated that "this [performance] sucks" and not "she sucks".

    Further, the title of the video claims she is a prodigy. I think it is clear, and we both agree, that she certainly is NOT a prodigy. You can google any number of REAL prodigies whose performances are vastly better at much younger ages. One such is Leila Josefowicz.

  • I went to TIFS with her :D. So pro

  • You are amazing. This video has inspired me 5 yrs ago and it still most definetly does now. Keep it up, Shannon!!

  • This sucks. Out of tune, scratchy, and amateurish. Definitely NOT a prodigy. For a real 13 year old prodigy search for "Leila Josefowicz" and check out her TV performances when she was 13 and 9 years old

  • Comment removed

  • @daniel0731ex Of course it does suck, whether the piece is difficult or not. Leaving

    aside any debates about Paganini vs. Ernst, which are irrelevant, a difficult piece played poorly

    is still played poorly. A poor violinist, overreaching and playing something too difficult, and consequently

    producing an out of tune and badly played interpretation, is not a prodigy, nor, necessarily

    talented. As for your test, I'm afraid I don't hear a talented violinist here.

  • @masterxiangqi I'm not trying to justify her overreaching to a piece like this; I totally agree about playing something you could handel musically with good tone production is crucial, but my point here is that she AS A VIOLIN PLAYER does not suck. Yes, her playing here is less than satisfatory, but I would not disregard her just because of one inadequet performance. Who knows? If she played an easier piece, I'm sure she''ll display extremely talented musicality.

  • @masterxiangqi What I'm trying to say here is that you should take into account of how difficult this piece is if you were to judge her skills, which you have done, from just this performance.

  • @masterxiangqi I wanna see you do better.Prodigy or not, the girl is better than most people will ever begin to dream of getting.Tune can be affected by the quality of the camera. (Not saying it was perfect, but I am saying the camera adds ten pounds to the person and tone.) It takes talent to play all of this piece alone, period. Played poorly or amazingly, she has some skill.

  • @hd9xc1k2 Google "list of music prodigies". There are SO many asians. 

  • Typical asian prodigy. She was probably born into violin playing.

  • @hwrdprkns Name me five other Asian prodigies.

  • @hwrdprkns don't you think that's kind of rude to say? she's not good because she's a "typical asian" ... she's good because she probably works her butt off to get where she is. give credit where credit is due.

  • That was way better listening to it the second time, but the whole prodigy title is still pretty arrogant.

  • I MISS YOU SHANNON!!

  • impressive. obviously her rendition isn't perfect, but after playing violin for 15 years i can't begin to play that piece, so there's little room complaint

  • Well, I did say she played well for 13! Since she is at least four years older now, I am sure it is spectacular. How long ago was here debut CD? And was this video performance a recital?? Rather casual dress for a recital! I am guessing this was probably a recital rehearsal.

  • She plays a difficult piece very well for age 13....but she has a way to go for it to be clean and in tune...listen to Leila Josefowicz play it...a bit older, yes, but flawless, IMHO...

  • @Elainelps0421 Kristof Barati's

  • @Elainelps0421 Shannon recorded it on her Debut CD and it is Flawless. May want to check that out. This is a phenomenal performance in its own right regardless of any age.

  • @Elainelps0421 I think it's the audio on the recording...

  • @gec1994 This is very, very good for 13...or for anyone but the audio cannot be held responsible for intonation issues.

  • holy guacamole!!!!! you are AMAZINGGGGG!!! Im 13 and I cant even do the first measure XD

  • wow! really really good! keep up the hard work! It seems like you really enjoy it too...

  • robot

  • lol hilary hahn played this too

    but i think hilary's version w/ the pianisimo at the beginning isn't intense enough...

    this versions much less clean but way more intense

    it makes me wanna spazz...

  • This is crazy amazing!!! I can't wait to see her play live!!!

  • @weng437 :)---she is my friend...she is so sweet:)

  • HOLY SHIT

    I've never seen ANYONE do that! She sounds like a quartet!

  • omg.. that's so crazy :D

    and so good !

  • Go Shannon-love you!-have fun at colombia!!!

    -bff-Hope

  • Wow, this is amazing! Go Shannon!

  • i dont understand how ppl memorize the notes just by a lot of practice? If im gonna play violin i dont think ill be able to memorize notes to play a song im prob gonna have to look at the sheet lol

  • its actually a non volluntary thing . . . if you play it enough your mind just recalls it. on top of that music is somewhat patternised so its not to much memorising

  • You'll be able to. It gets pretty easy. In fact, I find that sometimes the piece is memorized before I can play it well.

  • I memorize the sibelius concerto within few weeks.Just listen to the music and follow it.

  • it's harder for me to look at the sheet than to just memorize...

    for piano, anyway. When you're playing you have to make sure you have the right positions and such... After you play it enough times it just comes naturally

  • It just comes naturally. After you do it a lot, you just feel it in your fingers.

  • welldone,it was very difficult but her try was too strong and very beautiful~!!!

  • Her recording of this on her CD is 10x better than this one

    It was musical and technical

  • can you play in this way?your critical was very bad!

  • hahahahahahah

  • amazing! i wish i could play like that!!!!

  • holy hell...

    how many tunes are in that?

    2 or 3?

  • For a 13yo, this is amazing. I played this when i was 17 and i had lot of problem with it. If she cleans up here and there and do more phrasing, it'll be awesome.

  • fuckin perv, ur a disgrace to mankind

  • she's awesome and plays with a lot of feeling!

    if u haters dont like this video so much, then why bother wasting ur time commenting and causing a fuss about how much u hate how she plays of how she cant compare to hilary hanh.

    i personally think that shannon plays with more feeling, whereas hilary plays more with technique.

  • LOVE! This violinist. Happy to see she has a recording contract. Well deserved

  • amazing....bravo...

  • "didn't use the whole bow"? what the heck. how are you supposed to use whole bows when playing notes like that? the bow strokes are supposed to be played short.

  • @LookItsJelly I haven't looked at the music but yea it seems like it'd be staccato notes.

  • good music i play the violin to i play pretty good but your tottaly better than me imperessive!!!

  • I heard her play this today at my school, and It's much cleaner now.  The videos don't give her tonal qualities justice though. Her tone is beautiful.

  • i want the CD she has out now (:

  • o god

  • She`s good.

  • que vaina tan la verga esa vieja interpretando eso impresionante

  • you did a good job shannon, better than what i could do and i've been playing the violin for a while now.

  • Hilary Hahn's version is the cleanest I have ever heard. Just the same, I wish violinist would drop this awful arrangement of the song by Schubert. Even well played,it sounds awkward and a struggle to get through. Shannon, if you ever see this, I LOVED your new CD. Drop this piece and replace it with some unaccomplished Bach or one of the Paganini Caprices. They are far more gratifying to listen to.

  • better than Hilary Hahn's

  • what are you smoking?

  • I agree, you are most likely smooking something to think that. That like me comparing california rolls to fatty tuna sushi.

  • does she look a little bit tense? or is that just me.

  • nah, she's very relaxed. that's just how shannon plays

  • she's 13.

  • sound like 2 violin playing at the samee time ;]

  • this IS a serious arrangement O_O

  • whoaaa this girl is good! i wish i could play like that! her technicality is amazing!

  • I just saw Shannon play the Barber Violin Concerto with the Colorado Music Festival tonight in Boulder (she's now age 15) and she is terrific. An up-and-coming hot player -- watch for her!

  • For her age THIS GIRL IS A GODDAMN BADASS

  • she is really amazing for her age, but who should check the hilary hahn version

  • Hilay's version is uncompareable - Shanon plays with affection, Hilary - boring and apathetic

  • yes this child has more emotion when playing... but hilary is so incredibly precise which i think, for such a complex peice is more important than feeling

  • Precise is always important, but music without affection is nothing worth of listening. But i agree, Hilary is technically better.

  • i can't believe you guys are even comparing the two! this is a student. hilary is a seasoned pro. stop it.

  • the girl is good, no question about that. but the piece is way too difficult for her. in music clocks ticking an other time. one should never reach too high in music.

  • hahaha you are so~~ funny hhhha

    I think you think you sound like a genius by saying that hhaa

  • No, it's because her bow touches more than one string on her violin.

  • it is all her, she is creating the illusion of many lines with multiple strings and doubble stopping, and you fell for it, deary-deary me......

  • for hating this piece so much you sure do like to watch the vids.

  • I never said that I hated the peice, I love the work by Schubert, I think it is the definative setting of the poem, but as a violin solo, no my cup of tea. Yes I appreaciate that it is extreamly difficult and challenging, but it should be enjoyed as a song for male voice and piano- not some encore for a violinist who want's to show off.

  • not to detract from this ok performance of this extremely difficult work I must agree with you. Whole heartidly agree with you. This was meant for a Voice and piano, not a squeeky violin. Sorry

  • very scrachy sound i don t like the tone however it is good thecnique

  • Wow....I'm impressed.

  • Great!

  • Perhaps someday people will learn that sacrificing tone and beauty of a piece for speed does not make you a great musician.

  • Who's to say that there is no beauty in the pure velocity and passion of the piece?

    Music is all about interpretation.

  • Music is often more than sounding pretty.

  • Excellent performance.

  • This is amazing! Good job!

  • whoaaa omg thats amazinggg keep it up!!

  • WOW.

    13 years old?

    You're AMAZING.

  • this girl went to school with me in 6th grade! and she was in my english class...the teacher in orch didnt allow her to join orchestra cause shes only a soloist...

    she played as a soloist in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra...which is something even elders dream of doing

  • When i was her age i was still leaning how to play in 2nd and 3rd position. She is jaw-droppingly good and i hope she makes a successful career in the crazy world of concert artistry.

  • i tought her how to do that

  • Wait She's only thirteen? This is is amazing!

  • I also bow down to her genius...just imagine her after 20 or so years of playing! Good God.

  • I bow down, in the deepest admiration i could ever give. She deserves the respect of everyone on this planet for having the wonderful talent of reaching in everyone's soul with her notes so well executed with finess and elegance.

    Once again Shannon, thank you for your music, and keep practicing!!

    (A new fan :P)

  • yeeeah! omg im so stupid

  • shes good plua i need to interprit this song for a music project im doing so its a good thing shes good.

  • Ms Lee's playing is good enough but the sound is quite bad due to the recording environment. This video does not do her justice at all and perhaps does her a disservice. This woudn't have happened if she had a manager.

  • My god, you are dumb.

  • No, she's not. I find this version of the song for solo violin inexpressibly weird...I ask myself why anyone ever thought we needed that...but it's evidently wicked difficult, and she's not showing the strain in any big, notable way. I'd say she deserves full credit.

  • well she's a very accomplished violinst for sure, but it does sound like the Wehrmacht is coming to town...

  • bet she's better than you

  • they don't call her a prodigy for nothing

    I wonder if they have this for viola

  • NOT TRUE AT ALL..... YOU MUST BE DEAF

  • wow. she is amazing.

  • No, there isn't.

  • i agree with franzzen94..

  • I don't know what your music background is, but I don't think you realize how difficult the Erlkonig is to play. At the age of 13 if she can pull of such a strong performance and hold it all the way to the very end I think that is something to be commended for. Whether or not she will be a "star" we can't say for sure but never-the-less, she has the skills to go far in the music world.

  • Wow..... You know it takes great skill to play the violin, even for simple music, for a 13 year old to pull off the Erlkonig, she must be very dedicated and skilled to play strongly, not everyone has the skills like her, not a lot of people are as good as her, not even some adults.

  • you fucking moron. By 'classical', he/she is referring to the general genre of traditional western concert music, not the specific movement within general classical music

  • lol

    yes there are kids with talents...but i really dont think anyone can match up to her

    she used to goto the same school as me and was in my english class

    and ive seen her play...

  • You should take a look at Sarah Chang. She's much better in my opinion.

  • age difference and experience difference.. u've forgotten to think about those aspects.

  • her double bowing is amazing!!! (she is the only one playing right???)

  • She will go a long way in the music world

  • Amazing....

  • I think one of my favourite parts is the very end where she flicks her bow :) Ultimate coolness. Great performance, none the less.

  • sounds lyk two violins playing...so gd^^

  • Maybe I am strange, but in my opinion Shannon is better than Hilary Hahn. Her iterpretation is much more emotionous and horrorous.

  • i thought i was partly biased to say it too... but i found hahns...boring... and shannon's more...you could say bold..

  • I have to disagree. I saw Hilary play this piece as an encore after playing the Goldmark Concerto. It was probably the best performance of the piece I have ever heard, not to mention after a concerto with plenty of notes already. Besides... Hilary was, as always, perfect.

  • lol no, hilary hahn owns her, but shannon is still great

  • Um yeah because Hilary is also a lot older than her. So it's a bit unfair to compare the two no?

  • Splitting hairs, it seems, the discussion of what is and what is not a "prodigy". Anything that is difficult to measure will result in people trying to decide. If a child or adult studies violin for 8 years he/she will sound expert, but the adult will not be considered a prodigy. It's the number of years of study, not the absolute age of a player that is critical, I think.

  • only technique..

  • wow...shes amazing

    she used to be in my english class in 6th grade

  • She used to roleplay the movie 300 with me in middle school. In real life. It hurts being by an (Insert asian ethnicity here) girl. Especially when yelling that THIS IS SPARTA!

  • Говно...

  • thanx hetoo for giving me information about this little angel-shannon god bless u

  • that looks and hears like a playback

  • your bowing makes me want to commit suicide.

  • I'm sorry, but a prodigy is not made by playing someone else's work with proficiency, one is made by the creation original, ingeniously well-written material. Practice makes proficient, not prodigy.

  • and you would know 'cause you're a prodigy right?

  • And in your posting on this website, I presume you are fully understood in all forms of current internet code and procedure, to the point where you are as talented as any programmer in existence? You don't need to be something to realise a basic point. I have, however, been composing for a very long time and also listening to good music for an equally long time. And I stress again - practice does not make prodigy - it makes proficient reciter of existing material, likely written by a prodigy.

  • I disagree. Music is so much more than composition. A prodigy doesn't necessarily have to write any music at all. In this case it's all about the performance, which in some instances can be just as important.

  • Performance of music is far less reliant on creative genius than is composition. There is no way around that. If you are a true musical prodigy, you will be able to utilise your inherent genius to compose beautiful, innovative music.

  • Again, music is much more than composing. Absolutely it takes talent to compose music, many so-called musical prodigies compose. It is naive, however, to boil music down to a single aspect of a large whole. To be a talented musician it is neccessary to also have skill in performance -- after all music schools require theory and composition majors to also major in a performance category as well.

  • I agree. You cannot claim that this girl is not a prodigy simply because she has not composed. Simply to achieve this level of violin proficiency at her age is something to marvel at. If she was not tremendously talented, regardless of how much she practiced, she could not have come this far. Professional violinists play songs such as this, and they have practiced their whole lives.

  • A genius does not have to create works in order to be pronounced a genius. If a 6 year old child can accurately describe and walk someone through all of the formulas of Einstein showing a thorough comprehension of the material, then that child will be considered a genius. That others will expect great contributions from him is beside the point. Simply his comprehension of the difficult material at such a young age allows him to be a genius.

  • If Mozart decided not to grace us with his music, his playing would still have regarded him as a genius.

  • you dont have to inheret music.

    for me neither my mom or dad got very involved in music.

    just maybe a guitar or a clarinet but they didnt get first chair or anything.\

    how was i suppose to know that i would get where i am now.

    so not all instances are of inhereiting music.

    i did it befcause i have a passion for music.

    i also dissagree with your theory of prodigies having to have to be composers. i respect your theory though.

  • Someone's been practising:P

  • Holy belony, sounds like there are like 10 other people playing with her. Damn she must sit on her butt like 10 hours a day practicing.

  • WoAhhhhhhhh. That's sooooooooo good!

  • omg..

    woah

  • bravo Shannon!!!

    amazing!

    thanks a lot ahdee5 for sharing such a wonderful video!

  • holy...sh***

    omg tahts pro

  • holy cow how old is she???

    the hands look freaky

  • She is 13.

  • could anyone tell me who arranged this for violin solo from the original?

  • What about reading the comments?

    But its Heinrich WIlhelm Ernst - kind of a rival from Paganini, played his secret concertos after hearing it! Wrote harder pieces than Paganini, esp. the 6 polyphonic etudes including the variations of "last rose of summer"

  • i'd like to be the bow

    :love:

  • She is a very talented young lady, with much promise, She brings this colors of this piece to life with little effort.

  • Racist much?

  • NO! I don't mean to be nasty I mean I don't think that was Shannon just a cute little Chinese Girl :D.

  • no duh i mean. everything schubert touched turns to music. poor guy was depressed "no one understands anothers grief, no one understands another joy.ppl imagine they can reach one another but tehy only pass each other by"

  • her legs stay cooompleetely still from 0:05 on. FREAKY!!!