Sousa Horowitz Stars and Stripes Forever, Sean Bennett, piano

[VegasFlavorDave]

Why does this look like it was filmed with a calculator? 

[LoudCitizen]

Awesome piano arrangement; I'd like to get my hands on a copy.

[ayokay123]

Is this video a joke? It looks like something from Monty Python.

[SirWolfio]

Excelent talent.

Poor video quality.

[riccardo50001]

Wonderful talent and pianist . . . too bad the video quality is so bad. It takes away from his fabulous musicianship.

Richard, a singer in San Francisco

[MusTheBunneh]

How many fingers do you have? 30? :o

[MrMgriend]

@MusTheBunneh I believe the person with the most fingers in the world has only 15

[Kiarinadia]

You have been lucky that Sep 11. Nice thought to dedicate your performance...Thanks.

[OrangeSodaKing]

Your teacher is/was Dmitri Paperno! I played in a master class with him on two seperate occasions, and also got to casually hang out with him! He may be old, but he's a great teacher and a wonderful man! Nice playing, too! Very strong and confident performance!

[BradSD25]

A one man concert!!!

[buttsmellr]

Amazing! It's an extremely difficult piece: I could never master it myself. You're getting very close to having mastered it, in this recording. 

[TheMacfly72]

vidéo de mauvaise qualité

[OmGiMaNeRd30]

@TheMacfly72 No its not. It's awesome quality.

[uptonman666]

Am I worng? at about 45 seconds it sounds like you skipped a few bars or went to a different section. just curious. but man you play very well.

[TomBarristerX]

Yes, some of it was skipped there. It might have been edited out.

[MauroSciuto]

AWESOME !!!!! this is gold !

[mundymanor]

Wow Sean! Are you sure you aren't an octopus? Or do you have telescoping fingers?

That would be hard enough as a duet, let along a solo!

[bsam20uk]

Superhuman!

[steph5504]

omg that is quick!!! :D lol

[Goldowolf]

Well done! Thank you for sharing.

[leticiaszot]

The most difficult piece I've ever seen! I could never play something like that :(

Amazing job

[foxyjohnuk]

misses a few bars out near the beginning!

[cilva7]

sounds like he's dedicating it more for his own credit then he is for the country

[sdsga9e4]

tangnangyan! hanep!

[tubapizza]

Sean, that's amazing. I've listened to the Horowitz recording hundreds of times, this is every bit as wonderful. Congratulations! (and thanks for letting me SEE how it's voiced...wow!)

[NigelPRagtime]

anyone have any idea where i could get this version of stars and stripes?

[pequadcob2009]

Well ask Horowitz... Lol just kidding

[kastlesucks]

I can give you sheet music if you want.

[SuperCuntpuncher]

I will gladly take it!

[tootired76]

Max Headroom plays The Stars & Stripes Forever! C'mon! Cut the criticism! It's supposed to be a military march, played at walking tempo. I'm impressed! Sounded like two people playing!

[junkmailboy1000]

let's see the terrorists do this!

[Garselo]

Great performance, lousy audio.

[mariopmoreno]

WOWW!! YOU ARE JUST GREAT!!

[iwema93]

ive been playing this song for a few years, and i know ill never even be half as good as this! way to go!

[danb12333]

fake fake fake!!!!! only joking; great performance

[hurricanegunner]

Beautiful playing, Sean! You really are a gifted pianist.

[buschiyer]

here the German text

"wir trinken das schäumende Bier

und wir scheißen dem Wirt auf die Theke

schenket ein schenket ein schenket ein

wir wollen alle besoffen sein

der Wirt ist genauso wie wir

denn er fickt seine Alte im stehen

schenket ein schenket ein schenket ein

wir wollen alle besoffen sein

[ComTh0m]

LOL to... lol

[davinken]

Despite the bad video transfer, an awsesome performance.

[rbphoebus007]

Five (5) Stars..

[bobmartin3]

Col Tim McCoy's Real Wild West #57 John Robinson's 10 big Shows Combined #55 Sells Floto Circus #58 W.W. Cole's Great New York/NewOrleans Zoological & EQuestrian Exposition #53

[deathcar]

When stars and stripes forever meets the Matrix!

[jaimevieuxtemps]

LOL

[dahur1]

One of the best yet! Great job.

[CrazyPianist122792]

Hey, does anybody know what the heck's wrong with the stupid camera? It's jumping all over!

[David6180]

As Horowitz explained on 60 Minutes, bands will normally play this piece far to quickly. It should be played at the pace of a military march like this is.

[MrRicksStudio]

As I have heard it (and own it) on authentic recordings by the Sousa Band made during Sousa's lifetime (although Arthur Pryor conducted the sessions) the "faster" tempo is correct. Here Horowitz misfires. I do believe Bennett here is a little faster than my 1950 Horowitz 78, and closer to the Sousa tempo.

[Manx123]

I prefer louder octaves as opposed to a faster tempo.

[Skygrapped]

This would be exactly Horowitz' opinion.

[slambennett]

Actually my speed is exactly the same, down to the second (3:50 playing time) compared with the Horowitz recording.

[karlakor]

MrRocksStudio--Tempos of recordings made on 78 rpm discs are notoriously suspect. There are examples of artists who take tempos that are faster than usual, not because of any artistic impetus, but just to fit the entire piece on one side of the disc. Do you know whether Sousa himself endorsed the faster tempo?

[MrRicksStudio]

I am a record archivist and am quite aware of the limitations of the medium. The Sousa Band recorded SASF many times, including at least once on a twelve-inch disc. The limitations of the 78 record side were not an issue here, as most marches of this type clock in at under 4 minutes. We must acknowledge that Horowitz wasn't an unassailable authority on early twentieth-century American wind bands. (comment continues)

[MrRicksStudio]

I am not criticizing Sean Bennett's tempo. I added to this thread because someone said he was playing it too slow. He is following Horowitz' tempo and in this case it would be the one to follow. But Sousa and his musicians made efforts to perpetuate the "correct" performance style of his marches - for example, many bands nowadays slow down the final statement of the trio theme. This is incorrect, as Sousa musicians later stated.

[Fuliginosus]

I hate this piece too, but you make it entertaining. Five stars.

[aldebussy]

Hate this piece. Great job though!!!

[piplol2468]

God has blessed you with a wonder full gift

[Floyd5642]

How about Odin? I always thought that he was the coolest. You know, with the missing eye that he sacrificed so he could drink from Mímir's spring in order to gain the Wisdom of Ages, and hanging from the World Tree, Yggdrasil for nine nights.

[bubylugo88]

gooood i like this performance....even if i prefer Volodos' one

[cobalt100]

Awesome. See how evolution is working its magical wand. In another 500 years, everyone will be able to play like that.

[vladimirhorowitz]

So you're saying Beethoven couldn't have played this piece if it was written 200 years ago? Somehow I doubt that.

[louswire]

THIS makes ragtime, look easy! . o O (Gawd I wish I could play like this!)

[jannokas85]

wow weezers! i got dizzy from watching that...what was the music again?

[friekunater]

perfect! better than any band that I've heard play it! where do you get that music?

[retrogamerdave]

uh, you listen to Sean playing it and then write it down.. :)

[lume1210]

este patita toca como mi causa jeremy

[retrogamerdave]

How does he play all three voices whereabouts 2:44? Crazy!

[almitydave]

For the 1st and 2nd statements of the "web-footed-friends" theme, the thumbs on each hand basically take turns, often playing an octave away from the other notes that hand is playing. It's hard. For the third time around, the right hand only plays the piccolo parts up high, the left hand just jumps back and forth between the theme and the bass. It's also hard.

[nnouk]

I WANT SOMEONE TO PLAY THE piccolo SOLO FOR THIS!!!!!

[lin2k4]

This guy is amazing

[villagec3]

In an interview, Horowitz even admitted this was an intense and very difficult piece. This is a good tempo. Good work.

[hineighbor]

Weird song to dedicate to 9/11 victims. Kind gesture, though, and very well played.

[elCarlito01]

Dude! Interpretation was fantastic, I loved it. I wish Canada had more than one National Anthems so that you could perform one for us too lol. Great Job

[bkgangstapianist]

better than the volods recording, but volodos' recording of the wedding march is much btter

[lichenxu123]

anyone who thinks this is bad is a loony - It was brilliant - the critics are just jealous :-P

[ayamei1]

kudos. great talent indeed!

[Krerksakul]

Great Playing of Sousa/Horowitz Star and Stripes Forever! I like you.

[nrpielstick]

i am playing this as a trio with my piano teacher and another student and i hope i can play it right and yea people shut up unless u can play better and prove be quiet

[uomodiclasse]

The piccolo solo is amazing!

[YngBttmBoi]

At the end of the day you folks that can offer ways to play it better need to post a link to your video so we can see exactly how you would play this peice. At the end of the day you folks that can offer ways to play it better need to post a link to your video so we can see exactly how you would play this piece. With that said, this was WONDERFUL and simply put a very entertaining song that I for one am lucky to have had the pleasure to enjoy!

[coRn3]

It is curious to me how some people (here and elsewhere)are very eager to criticise someone who has won more than 50 competitions, did more than 400 concerts at age 20, was the youngest person to perform the Rach 3 and is one of the most downloaded classical artists on the internet. But I suppose if you do "classical piano on the edge", you have to accept that...

[pianofan2]

i agree with aznpiccplayer that the level of sound in this is right - it needs to be big to be effective for a march. plus he backs off in the middle section. the volodos version of this is just bang bang bang. cziffra - i'm not sure what is so ridiculous about this guys claims - all he's claiming is that he played a lot of these in the same concert, which is what he shows with all these videos.

[aznpiccplayer123]

Actually he backs off a little in the trio (it's not really called the middle), which is the part where I think the clarinets have the melody. I'm not exactly too sure about the volume...I mean if the composer wanted it like this, but I think the original version for (I think) symphonic/ marching band was supposed to be mostly marcato, but the first time through each strain is supposed to be a little quieter. Then, the rest of the sections usually come in.

[aznpiccplayer123]

Well, for this kind of song, it's actually supposed to have lots of noise like that. It's a march for, originally written for marching band, which needs to be loud (I should know because I'm in marching band) so that the audience can hear everyone. I think, though, the piccolo solo in the trio is supposed to be an octave higher, am I wrong?

[pianofan2]

i think he's got lines and control, and this is very impressive. i'd like to see you play this cziffra1980!

this one is way better than the volodos version i just listened to

[dishflow]

okay, like what you said about his turkish march, i doubt he was the first one to play this...I am working on it right now. judging from the video, sean isn't that old... I'm sure that horowitz transcription was written down, I don't see why he would play them by ear, I kind of think your just guessing or lying "slambennett" -but anyways GOOD JOB SEAN!

[kasyapa]

it says probably the first to play -so many-. why is everyone so fast to criticize, and erroneously?

[caseew]

Actually, dishflow, I am both a fan and aquaintance of Sir Sean Bennett, and I am quite sure that this is his work.