Rather droll, considering that I did this nearly 40 years ago, before any of the music had been heard (except in K's race through it in 1930, of course).
@rapoport3a For one randomly ushered into this, in the last one hour, in the best (though still callow) traditions of the internet, i do see how it is an unearned privilege that i talk to one like you. salutations, from new delhi, from an untrained listener. all i can promise to you is that i listen.
wow! That sounds like shit! If Sorabje wasn't already known and acclaimed it might well be difficult for him to get anyone to play this and put enough time into it to interpret it so it sounded good. If they didn't know that it was a good piece would they spend time to keep working on it until it sounded good? Obviously originlly he must have plyed it himself.
And I know, that the harmony and melody aren't the only parts of music, but they're the most important - I am not filled with enthusiasm of rhytmus, but melody and harmony - Bach and Chopin for example, if I listen to one of them, the chill runs down my spine!!!
To declare them as most important is an entirely subjective statement. Many hold (such as the great compositional theorist Joseph Schillinger) that preference for melody and harmony are like fashions, and change with passing generations, but affinity for rhythm is the eternal in music.
@nmitchell076 yeah, but if I listen to some modern pieces, I find their beauty a bit later than the Chopins. But if I hate it even after 50 playings, I don't know, where is the mistake. I really hated Petr Eben, but I found his charm and know I love his pieces. For example /watch?v=cSgSuWkF5G4&feature=related
That is a matter of taste, which is subjective. This is not to say that we may not place objective judgments on music. We objectively identify what aspects are present in the music we are listening to, then we subjectively place value on one aspect over others. To say harmony and melody are the most important is entirely subjective, for there are entire cultures of music which do not even use harmony and melody, but which rely strictly on rhythm.
That is not art!!! And I think that the Liszt's Mazeppa is harder and that Liszt will have no problem with this if he lives... I hate this pseudo-art, I despise that! You can say I'm very radical, but I only defend the true art - Chopin, Liszt, DeBussy or Prokofjev...
Watch Liszt's transcendental etudes by Berezovsky (la Roque d'Antheron) in 2002
I don't get why people are making such a big fuss about this. To me it sounds a lot like some of Bartok's work, which a lot of people don't have any problems with.
i just listened to this and i need to take an aspirin. there is no melody; it's as if it was written to claim that it is complicated to play. it not something that you want to remember and listen to in your own mind, like, chopin or liszt. i won't be back.
on second thought, it could be used as background music for a horror show.
You people are discussing music before you have had enough music history ,harmony,composition ,counterpoint and all the other things so you dont know what you are hearing .You don't have an educated informed context yet. You should be familiar with allBach,Hadyn,Mozart ,32 Beeth sonatas. MuchChopin ,Schumann and so on up to beginning of 20th cent before looking into rarefied crannies of history. GET REPERTOIRE KNOWLEDGE IN PLACE ,INFORMED FIRST .
there is an element of objectivity in music even if a small one.....this is not pleasing to the ear and i think that is more than just my opinion.......horrid
@jayber131 Please objectively support your opinion, then.
I agree that music is not completely subjective. Let's objectively look at this piece.
First of all, we can hear clearly the rythmic pattern of the piece. Second, we hear a cadence at the end, indicating that it indeed is an ending, and not random.
Both the start and the ending is slow, with a climax in the middle.
I don't see how this is any worse than masters like Chopin and Liszt, objectively.
@LilWatto7 Agreed 100%. The composer just wanted to create the 'hardest piece ever written'. Look at the Etudes of Chopin, or Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, difficult pieces but still beautiful. This in my opinion, is the most hideous and pointless piece of music. Not pleasing to the ear at all, and who the hell would want to spend so long learning something that sounds so horrid?
I agree. Beethoven and all the other great classical composers wrote difficult music, BUT it was beautiful to listen to. This is intriguing, but hard on the ears. But I still like it. You don't listen to this music to "relax" but to be taken into another dimension. Four hours? Who recorded this piece? I would like to hear the whole thing--not just two minutes--before I cast judgment. What do you think?
I love Ligeti, Berio and Stockhausen, but this man leaves me with fear after each listening. HOW could he compose such a difficult music??? This is pure sado-masochism! FOUR pentagrams for a piano work!
I absoloutley love Baroque/Classical/Romantic music - but this is actually hideous to listen to. There is no thought in the peice. It seems the composer wanted to create a very difficult piece - so they just stuck a load of random notes on manuscript. It's actually insulting to this genre of music. Chopin (his Etudes) Liszt (Rhapsody etc) are REAL example of difficult classical music, not this. It's actually hideous.
@losinggrip1993 actually, this is an amazing piece. My ears aren't quite advanced enough to be able to fully understand this music haha, but although it is basicly atonal, i don't find it disgusting :P. in fact it is actually really nice :P. It also amazes me, how someone can write such a huge, massive piece, atonal, without it sounding disgusting. but thats just me hehe :P (but it is pretty crazy hehe)
@Guitareben The atonal music that really sounds unpleasant usually sounds unpleasant because of one of two things - either the melodic and contrapuntal lines have no contour (sudden jumps that confuse the listener, since there are no chords to support such jumps), or the orchestration is such that it causes timbers of different instruments to clash in sudden and surprising ways. Then there are the pieces derived from functions, or the ones featuring blocks of tone clusters... that's different.
@Guitareben Each to their own I guess :) I'm currently studying a degree in Music so I can appreciate good music, but personally to me, this is a load of chromatic notes thrown together in a desperate bid to create the 'hardest' piece of Music ever written. Listen to Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Haydn (the list goes on) for beautfil melodies the actually contain musicality. Those were the true masters.
@losinggrip1993 ..you are studying for a degree in music and your ears are still so conditioned by tradition that you mention this is 'hideous'..hopefully at some point ion your degree you will study the criticisms made of beethoven , liszt et al...and come to realize that composers write the music of their time..bach is a long way from chopin..as beethoven is a long way from prokofiev...why do you stop at the romantics,,are you really doing a degree in music..or just in tradition ????
@MATTDUNCAN1 Actually, Yes. I'm not denying it. I find listening to a Chopin Etude or a Mozart Piano Sonata so much more pleasing to the ear than this. I've brought this piece up with numerous people including my piano teacher and university lecturer; they all agreed the piece is just an attempt at creating the 'hardest piece' ever written.
@losinggrip1993 Realize, that this ISN'T romantic, baroque OR classical.
If you actually took the time to listen, and really listen, you'll realize that while the sound may not seem consistant at first, they do all "fuse" together in a nice way, and that there certainly are rythmic patterns... It's certainly not random notes on a manuscript.
I have taken time to listen actually. It's simply a matter if taste, I personally find a Mozart Piano Concerto or a Chopin Nocturne a lot more pleasing to the ear than this monstrosity. I'm not disrespecting anyone who likes the piece, I just find it extremely horrible.
@losinggrip1993 If you recall, this is what you said 6 months ago:
"There is no thought in the peice. It seems the composer wanted to create a very difficult piece - so they just stuck a load of random notes on manuscript. It's actually insulting to this genre of music."
I think that's pretty disrespectful. Sorabji is a well respected musician, which is why his pieces are wellknown... To say that he is "insulting to this genre", when he isn't in the genres you mentioned, that's pretty
But my point isn't really to put you in a hard position here.
I used to feel the same way you do about opus clavicembalisticum. But I just thought "if it's so bad, why is it famous?" so I kept listening. I finally realized that this piece is actually quite pleasing. It's like Basil. You hate the taste at first, but you get addicted to it later on.
Just try it, and listen for the patterns and rhythm. You'll find it's attractiveness.
@YSFmemories Okay, I'm sorry if my comment offended you, but that's my opinion. My other point is that you can create this kind of dissonant, atonal music without it being so harsh. Look at the work of Ginastera or some of the more impressionist pieces by Debussy. I just think, what's the point in this piece. Not many of even the most virtuoso pianists can play it, nor (in my opinion) is it pleasing to the ear. Each to ones own I guess.
@losinggrip1993 THe only reason a piece is lessened in value by not being pleasing is if being pleasing was the intention in the first place. If it wasn't, then you can't really fault it for not being pleasing.
@nmitchell076 Okay, fair enough. But was exactly is the point of this piece? I'm not just faulting it for being unpleasing - it's just pointless. It's nearly impossible to play, unpleasing and defeats the whole object of harmony and melody. Just my opinion, if somebody thinks this piece is genius - so be it.
Well, harmony and melody are not the only two ingredients in a composition, there is also rhythm and texture. Both of which I find this piece actually utilizes quite effectively. So perhaps THAT is its driving point, and any harmonic or melodic considerations are secondary to those qualities?
@nmitchell076 Okay, but surely isn't every piece driven by those four concepts (Harmony, Melody, Rhythm and Texture)? So why is this piece so special, considering nobody can play the thing. I'm sorry if my comments are offending anyone, I just don't understand this kind of music, to me, it's just a bunch of chromatic notes stuck together.
yes, that is the four basic elements of music, but different compositions use each of the four in a different way, some rely more on harmony and melody, whereas others on texture alone (much of Saariaho's music, for example), others on rhythm primarily (such as Stravinsky). I'm not saying this piece is special, all I am saying is that faulting this piece for not being melodic and harmonic is like faulting a quesedilla for not being a chocolate cake.
@nmitchell076 No, faulting this piece for not being melodic is like faulting a quesedilla for not having cheese in it. If you understand anything about music, you can hear the clear melodies here, and if you understand anything about quesedillas, you can taste the goddamned cheese.
I should have been more specific. I was refering to melodic as in "sounds like a classical or romantic melody" I find it melodic, but I certainly don't think it sounds like the tune of a mozart sonata, which I felt is what losinggrip has a problem with.
Also, sorry for my Typical Angry Youtube Comment. I do that because I like to egg people on, but when they don't respond with a hilariously pissed off comment I usually drop the tone.
Both are foods, and you certainly have every right to like one over the other, but they serve different purposes and use different ingrediants to achieve a different effect, the same goes for this piece and other pieces of music, I believe.
i love this song, i'm not beeing sarcastic but this represents such a great oportunity to show how good at playing HARD songs you are!! AsSorabji said:
" you claim that I write monstrosities which only the composer can play. What if they were meant only for the composer?"
It's not really three staffs see it's just two treble staffs i.e. all notes played on the left they just use two G clefs treble clefs because there are SO MANY NOTES TO PLAY ON THE LEFT. The Bass cleft is bellow middle C that's all. It's a shittily composed song YES it's hard to play but shit music. I could also make a song even HARDER and almost impossible to play if I wanted that's complete shit by separating notes etc. This so called song is not appealing to the ears like classical pieces
Part 2: Some how Americans equate how hard a piece is to being how good a a musical piece is. I couldn't play this song and I wouldn't want too lol. It's not at all interesting Fur Elise beats this song in composition by a million times. It's rated much higher and isn't nearly as hard to play. Difficulty in piece is just ONE aspect of rating how well music is composed.
@andrewdpham3 With your third hand. You do have one don't you? Just joking, you move your left hand over to play the notes in the extra staff so you play the middle staff with your right hand, and the top and bottom ones with your left.
Fine bloodless MIDI reproduction of the printed page. I prefer the human-based version, by Michael Habermann or Jonathan Powell. Those actually sound like music. People, wake up, most music will sound less than ideal in a MIDI reproduction!
Well, there are bar lines. And there are dashed bar lines, but those most likely represent phrasing more than measures. It's hard to say if there are measures because measures are derived by the time signature, which this piece lacks.
@hanspellegrims 17/4 is not traditional, but there are no rules in music prohibiting how large your time signiture can be. i could have a time signiture of 400/8 (just an example) if i wanted.
This piece isn't as easy to enjoy as other pieces since it sounds so much like an exercise piece, but as what BrackenClelk said, there actually is a concept, which is the chord F#, Bb, and Eb that appears in the first movement about 1/40th of the time.
at first I absolutely HATED opus clavicembalistcum, but now, after listening a few times, I'm beginning to find the 'harmony" so to speak, of this piece, and really, some parts are quite nice.
IMO "normal" classical music (not just the classical era, but also romantic, baroque etc) is more utopic in sound, by contrast, this is more sinister.
Most people would prefer heaven to hell, but that doesn't mean there isn't beauty in this music.
I used to play around with this software on my laptop. It was called finale, or something like that. I would put pieces from Rachmaninoff and Chopin and a couple hours. It was pretty fun and you can actually learn from this!
This piece is quite musical in its non-musicality. Kinda like someone who knows all the right answers on an exam and deliberately circles in the wrong ones. Composing something this long without any semblance of musical development takes skill.
there's a fine line between good, and having complex music. and just because it's hard doesn't mean that it's good. i mean this song is really hard to listen too.
@BrackenClelk There is musical development. It's simply a drawn out study of the relationships between notes, the contrapuntal, the rhythmic, the sonorous, and the harmonic relationships.
That, and if you pay attention, this section is a set of variations on a motif.
So, you're implying, making a true crap needs awesome skills. Well, I don't think so...
I like for example Bach, because he composed clean, simple-looking, but at the same time incredibly complex and matchless pieces; Chopin and Liszt composed almost unreproducibly hard piano pieces - they're truly unique. These sensationalist modernist pricks try to imitate the big composers, and fail horribly.
Also, the first thing came into my mind, hearing this: METAAAL!
I don't know what the point of this is. It does nothing for the composer or the work or the listener. This rubbish. I have my own copy of the score and quite a few others, all purchased through the Sorabji Archive. Save your pennies, get a recording of G.D.Madge's LIVE 2nd Chicago performance, pour a drink maybe and sit back and have a joyride. This is how the composer wanted it to be heard, NOT every note exactly as written (the score is riddled with errors), so revel in the majesty!
Score is riddled with errors? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It was written as Sorabji wanted it to be, and this is what it sounds as such. There is no such thing as an "error" in playing all the notes on the sheet. Even I could play flight of the bumblebee if I only played whatever notes I wanted to...
Please do some RESEARCH. My copy of Sorabji's "Working Copy" direct from the Sorabji Archive has many corrections & comments by the Composer, and that's only part of the problem. Read the many articles about this work and you will find besides "errors in publication" (and maybe in the MS) are present. But the only point I make is that the LIVE performance is more thrilling than the STUDIO version. It's MY opinion. You don't have to agree. Peace.
How very combative. Please do not say anything at all unless it is something useful or pragmatic. I will not join your side because you said this, so what you have said is completely useless refuse and was a waste of your time. Also, Sorabji wasn't nearly as flawless people represent him as if he made the mistake to try to publish it before it had been finished.
You're acting as it the point of this video is to be a display of skill or something, when the video description says that this was played on a program. Obviously this isn't going to sound better than if it were played by a human.
I myself was curious to see how this song sounds with all notes played perfectly. If I wanted to hear it played by a person, I could just click on any of the hundreds of videos to the right of this page. This video isn't "rubbish" just because you don't like it.
well... since the piece is 4 hours long... about a 100 pages.... I think you can find it on the net that easily... try ebay.. maybe someone there has one ;)
Sorabji couldn't write any attractive tonal and melodic music but he still wanted desperately to "be" a composer, even though he didn't have any talent or genius. So he resorted to cacophony and it seems to have succeed with many.
POS.
StevenShields29 1 month ago
O.o 100% 5 star-ed it first try
killerkaiman 3 months ago
I find this piece so homoerotic, it's wonderful.
KhagarBalugrak 4 months ago
sounds like dream theather!
micietta01 4 months ago
it sounds like a song of pokemon games!
MrGioLaga 5 months ago
Rather droll, considering that I did this nearly 40 years ago, before any of the music had been heard (except in K's race through it in 1930, of course).
rapoport3a 6 months ago
@rapoport3a For one randomly ushered into this, in the last one hour, in the best (though still callow) traditions of the internet, i do see how it is an unearned privilege that i talk to one like you. salutations, from new delhi, from an untrained listener. all i can promise to you is that i listen.
egolessboy 4 months ago
@egolessboy All one may ever wish for is that others listen. Unless one is Sorabji, who most often wished that no one listen!
rapoport3a 4 months ago
@rapoport3a i don't know how to smile without using those smileys!
egolessboy 4 months ago
music for drug-addicted LOOOOOOL
hellmaniac666 7 months ago
let's see..... hey! the rests! I could always play them!
TheSoken123 7 months ago 3
it reminds me of mathcore , but played by piano
evilRZ 8 months ago 3
youtube(dot)com / watch ? v=2 _ pjJ97rtVk much better and seemingly the "3 hour version of OC
VCYouShow 9 months ago
Said to be the most complex piano piece ever... I seriously expected something MORE.
Gandalf930 9 months ago
wow! That sounds like shit! If Sorabje wasn't already known and acclaimed it might well be difficult for him to get anyone to play this and put enough time into it to interpret it so it sounded good. If they didn't know that it was a good piece would they spend time to keep working on it until it sounded good? Obviously originlly he must have plyed it himself.
AA19752012 9 months ago
I thought it's impossible to put on internet since it's too long
ross368 10 months ago
And I know, that the harmony and melody aren't the only parts of music, but they're the most important - I am not filled with enthusiasm of rhytmus, but melody and harmony - Bach and Chopin for example, if I listen to one of them, the chill runs down my spine!!!
geuros 10 months ago
@geuros
To declare them as most important is an entirely subjective statement. Many hold (such as the great compositional theorist Joseph Schillinger) that preference for melody and harmony are like fashions, and change with passing generations, but affinity for rhythm is the eternal in music.
nmitchell076 9 months ago
@nmitchell076 yeah, but if I listen to some modern pieces, I find their beauty a bit later than the Chopins. But if I hate it even after 50 playings, I don't know, where is the mistake. I really hated Petr Eben, but I found his charm and know I love his pieces. For example /watch?v=cSgSuWkF5G4&feature=related
geuros 8 months ago
@geuros
That is a matter of taste, which is subjective. This is not to say that we may not place objective judgments on music. We objectively identify what aspects are present in the music we are listening to, then we subjectively place value on one aspect over others. To say harmony and melody are the most important is entirely subjective, for there are entire cultures of music which do not even use harmony and melody, but which rely strictly on rhythm.
nmitchell076 8 months ago
@geuros
Further, how could you say harmony and melody are the most important aspects in, for example, music for a non-pitched percussion ensemble?
nmitchell076 8 months ago
That is not art!!! And I think that the Liszt's Mazeppa is harder and that Liszt will have no problem with this if he lives... I hate this pseudo-art, I despise that! You can say I'm very radical, but I only defend the true art - Chopin, Liszt, DeBussy or Prokofjev...
Watch Liszt's transcendental etudes by Berezovsky (la Roque d'Antheron) in 2002
This is much better, isn't it?
geuros 10 months ago
This could make an incredible final boss song.
AuburnAttack21 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
super mario will now be shutting down
329thInLine 11 months ago
Comment removed
magisterandrew 11 months ago
Somebody is a bit loony...I LIKE IT!
bradleypianoman 1 year ago
messy noise
BlackIsOut 1 year ago
this reminds me of Christmas :P ahh colors!!!
300musicmaster 1 year ago 9
METAL!
mechazaowa 1 year ago 2
0:47 - 0:49 sorabji is an insane metal riffer
VCube100 1 year ago
How long did it take to copy that??? Or did you download it... CHEATER!!! No JK. Good job, this is helpful.
Spazztic13524 1 year ago
Very interesting seen in tandem with the live performance. I wish the comments weren't so hostile and ill-informed.
Sordel 1 year ago
sounds like some sega tune
magget16 1 year ago
I don't get why people are making such a big fuss about this. To me it sounds a lot like some of Bartok's work, which a lot of people don't have any problems with.
th3wing3dpaint3r 1 year ago
i just listened to this and i need to take an aspirin. there is no melody; it's as if it was written to claim that it is complicated to play. it not something that you want to remember and listen to in your own mind, like, chopin or liszt. i won't be back.
on second thought, it could be used as background music for a horror show.
mojazka 1 year ago
if someone can pull out this song on the piano and make it beautiful i salute you!!
MrPapacologne 1 year ago
its almost like you would need at least 3 people to play this. lol
AFNYOAQIS 1 year ago
It's a fucking code
Zeliek 1 year ago
As difficult as this may be, I think Boris Berezovsky could pull it off if he attempted to play it
ToxicLabProductions 1 year ago
I want the finale document
Negraldi 1 year ago
God awful music. I could write really difficult noise too.
rachman1noff 1 year ago
satan was involved from 0:01 to 2:09
Laudan08 1 year ago
I'm not sure why, but I want more of this. Much more of it. Maybe I'm psychologically unwell...
bowlf22 1 year ago
You people are discussing music before you have had enough music history ,harmony,composition ,counterpoint and all the other things so you dont know what you are hearing .You don't have an educated informed context yet. You should be familiar with allBach,Hadyn,Mozart ,32 Beeth sonatas. MuchChopin ,Schumann and so on up to beginning of 20th cent before looking into rarefied crannies of history. GET REPERTOIRE KNOWLEDGE IN PLACE ,INFORMED FIRST .
lovesGenet 1 year ago
play this song in a jail or whatever.... it'll teach those criminals a very good lesson...
Roxasxaldin 1 year ago 2
This has been flagged as spam show
sounds like shit
SatanPanda 1 year ago
there is an element of objectivity in music even if a small one.....this is not pleasing to the ear and i think that is more than just my opinion.......horrid
jayber131 1 year ago
@jayber131 Please objectively support your opinion, then.
I agree that music is not completely subjective. Let's objectively look at this piece.
First of all, we can hear clearly the rythmic pattern of the piece. Second, we hear a cadence at the end, indicating that it indeed is an ending, and not random.
Both the start and the ending is slow, with a climax in the middle.
I don't see how this is any worse than masters like Chopin and Liszt, objectively.
YSFmemories 1 year ago
i woulnt even call this music, there is no passion in it, no emotion its just crazy notes to try and prove a stupid point.
LilWatto7 1 year ago
@LilWatto7 Agreed 100%. The composer just wanted to create the 'hardest piece ever written'. Look at the Etudes of Chopin, or Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, difficult pieces but still beautiful. This in my opinion, is the most hideous and pointless piece of music. Not pleasing to the ear at all, and who the hell would want to spend so long learning something that sounds so horrid?
losinggrip1993 1 year ago
somehow.... this music is really hurting my ear.......
Roxasxaldin 1 year ago
who composed this piece??
BNM321zxy 1 year ago
what an unpleasant melody!
DomoXDWobbuffet 1 year ago
So, would a silicon brain have done worse?
SiegfriedHorner 1 year ago
where is the other parts? i love this interpretation. thanks
kandutery 1 year ago
I agree. Beethoven and all the other great classical composers wrote difficult music, BUT it was beautiful to listen to. This is intriguing, but hard on the ears. But I still like it. You don't listen to this music to "relax" but to be taken into another dimension. Four hours? Who recorded this piece? I would like to hear the whole thing--not just two minutes--before I cast judgment. What do you think?
RunWalkRace 1 year ago
Listen to this piece played at a much faster (eg. double) speed. There is a melody.
nepenthes9997 1 year ago
I love Ligeti, Berio and Stockhausen, but this man leaves me with fear after each listening. HOW could he compose such a difficult music??? This is pure sado-masochism! FOUR pentagrams for a piano work!
The most prohibitive author of modern music ever.
MarcheseCadmio88 2 years ago
you should check out some ambient.
fatleader 2 years ago
I absoloutley love Baroque/Classical/Romantic music - but this is actually hideous to listen to. There is no thought in the peice. It seems the composer wanted to create a very difficult piece - so they just stuck a load of random notes on manuscript. It's actually insulting to this genre of music. Chopin (his Etudes) Liszt (Rhapsody etc) are REAL example of difficult classical music, not this. It's actually hideous.
losinggrip1993 2 years ago 3
@losinggrip1993 actually, this is an amazing piece. My ears aren't quite advanced enough to be able to fully understand this music haha, but although it is basicly atonal, i don't find it disgusting :P. in fact it is actually really nice :P. It also amazes me, how someone can write such a huge, massive piece, atonal, without it sounding disgusting. but thats just me hehe :P (but it is pretty crazy hehe)
Guitareben 1 year ago
@Guitareben The atonal music that really sounds unpleasant usually sounds unpleasant because of one of two things - either the melodic and contrapuntal lines have no contour (sudden jumps that confuse the listener, since there are no chords to support such jumps), or the orchestration is such that it causes timbers of different instruments to clash in sudden and surprising ways. Then there are the pieces derived from functions, or the ones featuring blocks of tone clusters... that's different.
BenMcCormack91 1 year ago
@Guitareben Each to their own I guess :) I'm currently studying a degree in Music so I can appreciate good music, but personally to me, this is a load of chromatic notes thrown together in a desperate bid to create the 'hardest' piece of Music ever written. Listen to Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Haydn (the list goes on) for beautfil melodies the actually contain musicality. Those were the true masters.
losinggrip1993 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 consider also Charles Valentine Alkan! his music is also great
BNM321zxy 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 ..you are studying for a degree in music and your ears are still so conditioned by tradition that you mention this is 'hideous'..hopefully at some point ion your degree you will study the criticisms made of beethoven , liszt et al...and come to realize that composers write the music of their time..bach is a long way from chopin..as beethoven is a long way from prokofiev...why do you stop at the romantics,,are you really doing a degree in music..or just in tradition ????
MATTDUNCAN1 1 year ago
@MATTDUNCAN1 Actually, Yes. I'm not denying it. I find listening to a Chopin Etude or a Mozart Piano Sonata so much more pleasing to the ear than this. I've brought this piece up with numerous people including my piano teacher and university lecturer; they all agreed the piece is just an attempt at creating the 'hardest piece' ever written.
losinggrip1993 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 .that is a shame ...people said the same of liszts etudes transcendante...in a way they are correct...but..so what ??
MATTDUNCAN1 1 year ago 7
@losinggrip1993 Realize, that this ISN'T romantic, baroque OR classical.
If you actually took the time to listen, and really listen, you'll realize that while the sound may not seem consistant at first, they do all "fuse" together in a nice way, and that there certainly are rythmic patterns... It's certainly not random notes on a manuscript.
YSFmemories 1 year ago
@YSFmemories
I have taken time to listen actually. It's simply a matter if taste, I personally find a Mozart Piano Concerto or a Chopin Nocturne a lot more pleasing to the ear than this monstrosity. I'm not disrespecting anyone who likes the piece, I just find it extremely horrible.
losinggrip1993 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 If you recall, this is what you said 6 months ago:
"There is no thought in the peice. It seems the composer wanted to create a very difficult piece - so they just stuck a load of random notes on manuscript. It's actually insulting to this genre of music."
I think that's pretty disrespectful. Sorabji is a well respected musician, which is why his pieces are wellknown... To say that he is "insulting to this genre", when he isn't in the genres you mentioned, that's pretty
YSFmemories 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 offensive, no?
But my point isn't really to put you in a hard position here.
I used to feel the same way you do about opus clavicembalisticum. But I just thought "if it's so bad, why is it famous?" so I kept listening. I finally realized that this piece is actually quite pleasing. It's like Basil. You hate the taste at first, but you get addicted to it later on.
Just try it, and listen for the patterns and rhythm. You'll find it's attractiveness.
YSFmemories 1 year ago
@YSFmemories Okay, I'm sorry if my comment offended you, but that's my opinion. My other point is that you can create this kind of dissonant, atonal music without it being so harsh. Look at the work of Ginastera or some of the more impressionist pieces by Debussy. I just think, what's the point in this piece. Not many of even the most virtuoso pianists can play it, nor (in my opinion) is it pleasing to the ear. Each to ones own I guess.
losinggrip1993 1 year ago
@losinggrip1993 THe only reason a piece is lessened in value by not being pleasing is if being pleasing was the intention in the first place. If it wasn't, then you can't really fault it for not being pleasing.
nmitchell076 10 months ago
@nmitchell076 Okay, fair enough. But was exactly is the point of this piece? I'm not just faulting it for being unpleasing - it's just pointless. It's nearly impossible to play, unpleasing and defeats the whole object of harmony and melody. Just my opinion, if somebody thinks this piece is genius - so be it.
losinggrip1993 10 months ago
@losinggrip1993
Well, harmony and melody are not the only two ingredients in a composition, there is also rhythm and texture. Both of which I find this piece actually utilizes quite effectively. So perhaps THAT is its driving point, and any harmonic or melodic considerations are secondary to those qualities?
nmitchell076 10 months ago
@nmitchell076 Okay, but surely isn't every piece driven by those four concepts (Harmony, Melody, Rhythm and Texture)? So why is this piece so special, considering nobody can play the thing. I'm sorry if my comments are offending anyone, I just don't understand this kind of music, to me, it's just a bunch of chromatic notes stuck together.
losinggrip1993 10 months ago
@losinggrip1993
yes, that is the four basic elements of music, but different compositions use each of the four in a different way, some rely more on harmony and melody, whereas others on texture alone (much of Saariaho's music, for example), others on rhythm primarily (such as Stravinsky). I'm not saying this piece is special, all I am saying is that faulting this piece for not being melodic and harmonic is like faulting a quesedilla for not being a chocolate cake.
nmitchell076 10 months ago
@nmitchell076 No, faulting this piece for not being melodic is like faulting a quesedilla for not having cheese in it. If you understand anything about music, you can hear the clear melodies here, and if you understand anything about quesedillas, you can taste the goddamned cheese.
breakfastisgo 9 months ago
@breakfastisgo
I should have been more specific. I was refering to melodic as in "sounds like a classical or romantic melody" I find it melodic, but I certainly don't think it sounds like the tune of a mozart sonata, which I felt is what losinggrip has a problem with.
nmitchell076 9 months ago
@nmitchell076 Alright.
Also, sorry for my Typical Angry Youtube Comment. I do that because I like to egg people on, but when they don't respond with a hilariously pissed off comment I usually drop the tone.
breakfastisgo 9 months ago
@losinggrip1993
Both are foods, and you certainly have every right to like one over the other, but they serve different purposes and use different ingrediants to achieve a different effect, the same goes for this piece and other pieces of music, I believe.
nmitchell076 10 months ago
this is finale!!!
cafity 2 years ago
i love this song, i'm not beeing sarcastic but this represents such a great oportunity to show how good at playing HARD songs you are!! AsSorabji said:
" you claim that I write monstrosities which only the composer can play. What if they were meant only for the composer?"
^^
chii1808 2 years ago
Thought-provoking.
MultiFailBot 2 years ago
who could be bothered
11jOrDiE11 2 years ago
ghagahahahahahahha
lemoneater88 2 years ago
terrible music
anonymousQ45 2 years ago 2
shit. wtf is this. finger breaker!. you're gonna like break your finger trying to play this. lmao.
saleall 2 years ago
It's arguably the hardest piece for piano. Plus, the full thing is about 4 hours long. In my opinion, just a bunch of crap on paper. :)
JClayCast 2 years ago 2
@JClayCast - Agreed 100%.
losinggrip1993 2 years ago
this sounds like the music I compose in finale at 1am after severe intoxication
vokuheila 2 years ago
so if you were to play this; how would you play the 3rd staff?
andrewdpham3 2 years ago
the 3rd staff is for notes above the 2nd one, it would be trouble some to keep drawing ledger lines and look messy and confusing
gnimez 2 years ago 2
I have a copy and already can't read the whole notes at the end of the 2nd measure (It is a handwritten)
lshow123 2 years ago
with your middle hand
or you just let the computer play it seeing that this "music" is not meant for us
PrinsTan 2 years ago
It's not really three staffs see it's just two treble staffs i.e. all notes played on the left they just use two G clefs treble clefs because there are SO MANY NOTES TO PLAY ON THE LEFT. The Bass cleft is bellow middle C that's all. It's a shittily composed song YES it's hard to play but shit music. I could also make a song even HARDER and almost impossible to play if I wanted that's complete shit by separating notes etc. This so called song is not appealing to the ears like classical pieces
longhairsRcool 2 years ago
Part 2: Some how Americans equate how hard a piece is to being how good a a musical piece is. I couldn't play this song and I wouldn't want too lol. It's not at all interesting Fur Elise beats this song in composition by a million times. It's rated much higher and isn't nearly as hard to play. Difficulty in piece is just ONE aspect of rating how well music is composed.
longhairsRcool 2 years ago
Comment removed
MasterMorty 2 years ago
@andrewdpham3 With your third hand. You do have one don't you? Just joking, you move your left hand over to play the notes in the extra staff so you play the middle staff with your right hand, and the top and bottom ones with your left.
MasterMorty 2 years ago
Fine bloodless MIDI reproduction of the printed page. I prefer the human-based version, by Michael Habermann or Jonathan Powell. Those actually sound like music. People, wake up, most music will sound less than ideal in a MIDI reproduction!
wtripmwsc 2 years ago
ugly music!! if there's such a thing!!!
randomsupastarr1986 2 years ago
I don't think this song is good, listening at... cutting my ears :S it's hard, but it doesn't have any tones-lines that I like :D
mortenkul 2 years ago
i feel like i should point out - my terrible composer comment was in response to
"it's actually so much easier to compose compared to pieces like Mozart fantasies."
which made me want to throw up on my keyboard. i quite like sorabji.
sonicv3 2 years ago
so looooooooooooooong... haha...the whole composition lasts for four hours... :))
booklover890 2 years ago
this was done of Finale no one is actually playing this
kktrumpet 2 years ago
Why didn't Sorabji decide to make the song in that last part 16/4 instead of 4/4?
Starbirdy9999 2 years ago
In the actual piece, there is no time signature.
QWERTYkid911 2 years ago
Oh.
Starbirdy9999 2 years ago
so it's just one long, hard-ass measure?
HyperAX5 2 years ago
Well, there are bar lines. And there are dashed bar lines, but those most likely represent phrasing more than measures. It's hard to say if there are measures because measures are derived by the time signature, which this piece lacks.
QWERTYkid911 2 years ago
exactly, so it is one long measure. And it may be complex, but it's hard to listen too. but if there is no time signature, then measures can't exist.
HyperAX5 2 years ago
Well, its meter is 17/4, but that's irregular as hell.
hanspellegrims 2 years ago
@hanspellegrims 17/4 is not traditional, but there are no rules in music prohibiting how large your time signiture can be. i could have a time signiture of 400/8 (just an example) if i wanted.
supersmashermeta 2 years ago
This piece isn't as easy to enjoy as other pieces since it sounds so much like an exercise piece, but as what BrackenClelk said, there actually is a concept, which is the chord F#, Bb, and Eb that appears in the first movement about 1/40th of the time.
xxxxx123456789xxxxx1 2 years ago
at first I absolutely HATED opus clavicembalistcum, but now, after listening a few times, I'm beginning to find the 'harmony" so to speak, of this piece, and really, some parts are quite nice.
IMO "normal" classical music (not just the classical era, but also romantic, baroque etc) is more utopic in sound, by contrast, this is more sinister.
Most people would prefer heaven to hell, but that doesn't mean there isn't beauty in this music.
YSFmemories 2 years ago 3
My sentiments exactly!
What a wonderful way of expressing it. :)
SwankyBerry 2 years ago
I had the same opinnion as others at first, but I'm beginning to find something i like in it. Something chaotic, like stravinsky on crack.
AmazingShoestring 2 years ago
I used to play around with this software on my laptop. It was called finale, or something like that. I would put pieces from Rachmaninoff and Chopin and a couple hours. It was pretty fun and you can actually learn from this!
jonprak 2 years ago
Practica Musica!
samjohannes 2 years ago
This piece is quite musical in its non-musicality. Kinda like someone who knows all the right answers on an exam and deliberately circles in the wrong ones. Composing something this long without any semblance of musical development takes skill.
BrackenClelk 2 years ago 34
no, it's actually so much easier to compose compared to pieces like Mozart fantasies. Plus, you don't need to follow any "keys" in atonal music.
chopinandliszt 2 years ago
wow you must be a terrible composer.
sonicv3 2 years ago 2
there's a fine line between good, and having complex music. and just because it's hard doesn't mean that it's good. i mean this song is really hard to listen too.
HyperAX5 2 years ago
This is not a "song".
pelodelperro 2 years ago 2
@BrackenClelk There is musical development. It's simply a drawn out study of the relationships between notes, the contrapuntal, the rhythmic, the sonorous, and the harmonic relationships.
That, and if you pay attention, this section is a set of variations on a motif.
Lukecash12 1 year ago
@BrackenClelk Yeah - imagine being forced to listen to the whole 4 hour piece... hmmm, new for of torture for us classical musicians, aye? :)
JClayCast 1 year ago
@BrackenClelk Haha, you're a fucking moron.
MusicaRicercata 1 year ago
@BrackenClelk It does not evoke any emotion at all...
ToxicLabProductions 1 year ago
@BrackenClelk
So, you're implying, making a true crap needs awesome skills. Well, I don't think so...
I like for example Bach, because he composed clean, simple-looking, but at the same time incredibly complex and matchless pieces; Chopin and Liszt composed almost unreproducibly hard piano pieces - they're truly unique. These sensationalist modernist pricks try to imitate the big composers, and fail horribly.
Also, the first thing came into my mind, hearing this: METAAAL!
ShanyyHUN 1 year ago
Is this supposed to be in any designated key?
virtuosomusician 2 years ago
no it is atonal.
SwordlessSlayerIzPro 2 years ago
this is the basis for all nintendo video game music =D
tomgt4 2 years ago
It sounds like a song from Pokémon on the Game Boy xD!
Jeffreytjn7 2 years ago
The first movement is so random...it doesn't sound right, and there is no coordination between the notes.
xxxxx123456789xxxxx1 2 years ago
lol i can live without this "music"
andriskaya 2 years ago
I love this version of the OC. One thing I dont know about finale is how you got the colored notes in
yzhu81 2 years ago
It's a different layer.
SwordlessSlayerIzPro 2 years ago
0:47 holy crap, 32nd deca-tuplets?
turbosprint 2 years ago
Sorabji wrote it with mythical music.
his music was so unorthodox.
but this piece is in the Guiness Book Of World Record as the longest piano work ever written.
salamence47 2 years ago
there is evil in this o_o
Erikk91 2 years ago 22
No. Even the devil has taste in music. :P
piachmaninov 2 years ago 2
XD youre right
Erikk91 2 years ago
I think my verson on liszt paganini etude is beter than this xD What IS this!? :D ^^
addeex1 2 years ago
Is this program Finale? How did you get the music into it? And what are the horizontal lines that are not staff lines? I am very curious.
ExpressStaveNotation 2 years ago
I don't know what the point of this is. It does nothing for the composer or the work or the listener. This rubbish. I have my own copy of the score and quite a few others, all purchased through the Sorabji Archive. Save your pennies, get a recording of G.D.Madge's LIVE 2nd Chicago performance, pour a drink maybe and sit back and have a joyride. This is how the composer wanted it to be heard, NOT every note exactly as written (the score is riddled with errors), so revel in the majesty!
EuriskoLontano 2 years ago
Score is riddled with errors? What the hell is that supposed to mean? It was written as Sorabji wanted it to be, and this is what it sounds as such. There is no such thing as an "error" in playing all the notes on the sheet. Even I could play flight of the bumblebee if I only played whatever notes I wanted to...
Randomnessk 2 years ago
Please do some RESEARCH. My copy of Sorabji's "Working Copy" direct from the Sorabji Archive has many corrections & comments by the Composer, and that's only part of the problem. Read the many articles about this work and you will find besides "errors in publication" (and maybe in the MS) are present. But the only point I make is that the LIVE performance is more thrilling than the STUDIO version. It's MY opinion. You don't have to agree. Peace.
EuriskoLontano 2 years ago
How very combative. Please do not say anything at all unless it is something useful or pragmatic. I will not join your side because you said this, so what you have said is completely useless refuse and was a waste of your time. Also, Sorabji wasn't nearly as flawless people represent him as if he made the mistake to try to publish it before it had been finished.
Randomnessk 2 years ago
You're acting as it the point of this video is to be a display of skill or something, when the video description says that this was played on a program. Obviously this isn't going to sound better than if it were played by a human.
qwertyuiop2000 2 years ago
I myself was curious to see how this song sounds with all notes played perfectly. If I wanted to hear it played by a person, I could just click on any of the hundreds of videos to the right of this page. This video isn't "rubbish" just because you don't like it.
qwertyuiop2000 2 years ago
IMO,this is just some note-bashing,without harmony and it doesn't deliver much pleasure for the ear.
dm1kristian 2 years ago
sounds like super mario....
chineseporcupine 2 years ago 7
mayb i just have a bad taste in music, but did any1 else think that this just sounded like a bunch of random and hard notes with hardly any balance?
DoubleYouTeeEf101 2 years ago
i really like twentieth-century music, but i agree-- i just can't get much out of this...
3215edudlooc 2 years ago
No it's not. Every note counts just like Mozart.
jdbrown371 2 years ago
idk, just an opinion. I get some parts, but i guess its largely based upon the listener.
DoubleYouTeeEf101 2 years ago
why, go to the trouble???...i don't get it
siralchemistuk 2 years ago
è osceno!!! dai che schifo!! O_O
Danko1975rm 2 years ago
Sorry but i kinda don't get it.. there are parts of it that i like, but some parts of it sound more like a rhythm exercise to me :/
Brezimenko 3 years ago
what are the time signatures? i can't see font that small and i am very interested in what the time signatures are.
sccrash420 3 years ago
The first one is 17/4, but these are all merely provisional, as the work itself is ametric.
Sorabjian 3 years ago
the hardest is this cientifically speaking harders for the human brain to make a point of reference
khlymore 3 years ago
Where can I get the sheets for this, I really need it...
I love this piece so much.
IloveAlexisBledel689 3 years ago
where can you get sheet music for this piece?
dickinyourmouth69 3 years ago
well... since the piece is 4 hours long... about a 100 pages.... I think you can find it on the net that easily... try ebay.. maybe someone there has one ;)
foxxthefox 2 years ago
actually the entire piece is 260 pages, and it, along with countless other pieces, can be purchased from the Sorabji archive
egyptianghetto56 2 years ago
but it's all nearly in the same loudness ! hm.
MartinaFromPoland 3 years ago
I wonder how long it took you to count and add all those time signatures...
georgecziffra 3 years ago 4
Sorabji couldn't write any attractive tonal and melodic music but he still wanted desperately to "be" a composer, even though he didn't have any talent or genius. So he resorted to cacophony and it seems to have succeed with many.
nearenough3 3 years ago
He can write beutifull music you just have to appreciate it.
xiphoid13 3 years ago