Maya Beiser(s) and her cello(s)

[andreeaweed]

wowww...grate performance ...grate artist ...love it

[j3feazell]

hella hot!!!

[Kebabsoup]

I really loved this performance! It sounded so modern and so relaxing!

Nevertheless, I was a bit disappointed by the fact that she plays alone. I think that by playing just by herself, she's missing an important part of music, that is collaboration, symbiosis within a band. By pre-recording, her performance is only 1/8 live, although her music is of great quality, it kinda devalues it.

But well, that's just my stupid opinion I guess.

[shwestrick]

@Kebabsoup I believe that there are elements of a non-live performance that could be considered just as valuable as the elements in a live performance that people enjoy. Mixing live and non-live creates some interesting characteristics...

[Khazeous]

Beautiful, as was the music. I rarely listen to performances this intensely.

[77old]

Agree more with stickyjam1. the paradox is criticizing terms as classic and modern which are really voluminous and try to restrain them in one explanation-translation. Someone may use freely the language as long as it is understandable.

By modern classical music I expect to hear some classic musical structures and/or sounds through a new prism...which I am actually hearing here.

[Trinivalts]

The moment the tune kicked in, it reminded me of a nes game where that samurai runs and does long jumps and trows shurikens.

[sutphoe]

* 'Celli. Not 'Cellos'

[Wishrachi]

@sutphoe Both plural forms are accepted -_-

[tremulent]

Second performance was better than the first! 

[Bocbo]

Someone has been watching mystery guitar man video's.

[xorthan]

Nice bow shreddage.

[amoneymoney]

Rasputina, anyone?

[axelstall]

Steve Reich is amazing!

[KemaTheAtheist]

She's really good, but I don't get why this is special. People have been doing this kind of thing on YouTube for a long time. She gets special noteriety because she's a professional doing the same thing?

[NeckPickup]

reminds me that to shit, is an important part of a healthy diet.

[Poekina]

It's interesting to see her play. Her whole body is involved in it ... and it seems as if she's almost dancing with the cello and manipulating it to do what she wants

[mikesomething]

i like sexy women, and musically talented women ....... so i like this woman

im still gonna thumb it down though, cos i wanna play hard to get

[325982668]

i don't think this type of performance will ever replace the quality of a real orchestra, a huge part of organising an orchestra is the placement of sections so you can control how sounds will carry. i don't think running simultaneous audio over a speaker can really give the same effect.

[ColorsMercurial]

The 2nd piece gave me chills...

[marielstone517]

I am completely mesmerized! stunning performance!!!

[mikeogilvy]

This is simply stunning. To all those who write about cello ensembles like apocaliptica - you are comparing the wrong idea. this is NOT a cello ensemble - this is one cellist who uses electronics in a brilliant way . Beiser is one of the most important new music interpreters of our generation. She is called the CelloGoddess for a good reason and she really enriched the TED "line up". I was there :)

[clorofilazul]

I love STEVE REICH's music.

[jorgepeterbarton]

it was written by reich to be played somewhat like this.

full title is 'cello counterpoint for cello and multi-layered tape.'

it was actually comissioned to be played by this cellist.

but innovation- i think cellists can be conservative and regressive... so they're just playing to a backing track-thats been around for half a century, just now it might be acceptable for neo-classical cellos.

[Moryton]

Related: Lasse Gjertsen directed a video for the cellist Giovanni Sollima. Each cello part was superimposed resulting in a vishnu of a cellist. On youtube as: Giovanni Sollima - Sogno ad Occhi Aperti (Daydream) PART 1 - ldPf3yqq3-8

[paskal007r]

this is good music, but why should be a TED conference?

[TheLonelyScribe01]

@paskal007r The E in TED stands for entertainment. This is an (at least somewhat innovative) entertainment method.

[MartinsaMadman]

@TheLonelyScribe01 Not to mention the mix of technology with it.



[That1GuyWhosNumber1]

This gave me chills. I think the video offers a good mix of skill and creativity, and I very much enjoyed listening.

[FatLingon]

I normally don't care about the music at TED, but this caught my attention. IMO the first piece would have benefited from a stronger but still suitably dark melody, like the one in the second piece. And yeah, I'd reverse the order of the songs, the second one is more accessable.

[Yokailo]

Apocalyptica is so much better.

[dozza06]

she's quite skilled at playing with that piece of wood between her legs

[calmingspeed]

I am enthralled by cellists and the way it is a lovemaking of body and soul.

[ybra]

I like the cello a lot, but for some reason this doesn't do much for me. Way greater things have been done with the cello, take Apocalyptica for example.

watch?v=4G3Ny7ACtqM

[Kojak7snap]

@ybra Apocalyptica is pretty generic and derivative; not to say that everything they do is bad, but they hardly qualify for a gathering like TED which focusses on innovation and new ideas.

[ybra]

@Kojak7snap You don't think Apocalyptica is innovative? So tell me, who did combine cello and metal before them? I am not saying that Apocalyptica should be on TED, but neither do i see why this should. Don't get me wrong, she is a good cellist and i quite like the 2ed half of the video. But I don't think it is amazing or especially innovative.

[Kojak7snap]

@ybra The novelty factor of playing metal with cellos isn't really what I would consider innovation, but even if it were, prog bands of the '70s were already doing that. I meant the music itself that they make, which is really generic. Again, it's not all bad, just not innovative. It's telling that their main success came from cover songs, but the style of the stuff they do write is mostly just swiped from B-movie soundtracks.

[ybra]

@Kojak7snap Maybe it is simply a matter of taste, in my view Apocalyptica does more interesting things than this with the cello.

Maybe you can enlighten me as to what is so innovative about this performance, because to my ears this is just some cello music.

[tmafkap]

@ybra She's not limiting herself to one particular style as Apocalyptica does. The innovative part is were she's playing multiple voices, there are not four dudes sitting and everybody wants to hear them playing songs that they didn't write themselves, here is a lady sitting and joining herself while playing her own compositions, expressing her own perceptions.

[ZirconCode]

@ybra Same thing I was going to say, Apocalyptica is amazing in this area =D

[WilliamEGD]

no sound

[morthim]

i wish i understood the music. :/

[profjaykay]

@morthim You dont need to understand the music... art is what you make of it.

[morthim]

@profjaykay luckily music isn't art. perhaps thats how i fail, maybe i mistakingly assume there is a meaning,an idea,a purpose unable to be articulated any other way.yet really only theory and passion 13548. perhaps there's frustration founded not in the subject matter or those you try communicating to,but with one's self; like art..however if so,why would the mechanistic strikes of bow on string sound so shrill?no breaths of soft cadence, just drowning in vibrato. near pre-language's soft shore

[Iker888]

uhh I love Reich's compositions...

[dadhusbandcyclist]

Ms. Beiser's playing is beautiful and, frankly, moving. I'm ignorant of most modern classical music, but this performance is going to encourage me to go learn more.

[NickRobo1994]

@dadhusbandcyclist modern classical music is an oxymoron. :P "classical Music" comes from the classical period. Modern music or contemporary music comes from the cotemporary era (1900-present+). The music is not classified by the instrument but by its characteristics that are derived mostly from the time period. I hope this will help you with your researching/learning. (don't take this a critic of your ignorance :P)

[stickyjam1]

@NickRobo1994 I know but firstly, if meaning isn't shaped by usage what is it shaped by? And secondly we need a way to differentiate between things like this and popular music and it's so easy to just call this classical. (don't take this as a critic of your arrogance.)

I'm joking of course, I just think that we should adopt the word classical in the way that it's used rather than the antiquated definition because ultimatly it's about the music, not the words.

[cnmaster01]

It's always great to find a Steve Reich work I've yet to hear, and a great performer too

[C0urante]

I hate the TED microphones. They make her sound so dry and nasal!

[Shiga37]

I think part of why her first piece comes off as monotonous, is because of her background. Beiser's work has mostly been in movie soundtracks, where repetition is frequently used.

[cnmaster01]

@Shiga37 It's not her who wrote it, but Steve Reich, my favorite minimalist. look up piano phase or electric guitar phase by him. it's 18 minutes on the same theme, played by multiple musicians in different tempi. It creates a a series of auditory illusions. as you listen, you'll notice "new" theme's sneaking in, but it's actually the same theme interacting with it's self. A bit boring for the first 5 minutes, but fascinating for the next 13.

[Shiga37]

@cnmaster01 Oh sorry! I didn't make the distinction that by work, I meant the work that she's performed, like the music that's been written for her to play, or to be part of the musicians play. Thank you for the recommendation though, I'll have to check that out.

[Iker888]

@Shiga37 The first piece was Cello Counterpoint by Reich, it's minimalist music (characterized my mellow loops with little variation). Many people tend to find this type of music almost exasperation because it sounds like it's repeating itself constantly. Music like this would very rarely be in movies.

[iFoamy]

Great video, wonderful work by Ms. Beiser!

[ninjakid165]

DAMN she ripped a bow hair!

[fiercefunky]

She looks a lot like actress Pascale Bussières. Gorgeous.

[tyrannicoystercult]

nice but monotonous

[cnmaster01]

@tyrannicoystercult minimalism does that. It takes a little adjusting like any new genre does, but it's almost trance like and absolutely destroys your perception of time. My long journeys are not complete without my Steve Reich Collection.

[1ucasvb]

If you enjoyed this, check out Zoe Keating. She's amazing.

[clothearednincompoop]

Another video with a lot of cellos played by one single person:

watch?v=ve4cBOnSU9Q

("A Cello Rondo" by Ethan Wiener that is...)

[gaiagale]

I always appreciate when an artist makes time to speak about his/her work/creation and Maya spoke as eloquently as she played

Brilliant demonstration of the many voices and versatility of the Cello

respect

[cuntsound]

steve reich is lord.

[manx1324]

it was ok but Zoe Keating is much better at this

[sebagr]

20 minutes enriching my soul. Thank you.

[defaultuser88]

I like the cello, it's a good instrument

[verhaenk]

AWESOME!!! :D

[Aresftfun]

I can feel the effort in what she is doing. Especially in the case of her movements some times.

This is a great talk to listen to while doing something in another tab.

[Aresftfun]

Beautiful.

[guitarvibe75]

I didn't know Black Widow played cello!

[STevEKlm012]

Great performance.

[mtdeezy]

2nd.