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Rick Beato on Bach
I don’t know if you all know Rick Beato, but he offers some great insight into rock music and musicianship in general. I came across this really interesting video a few days ago about Bach, and his Well Tempered Clavier. This is arguably the greatest monumental work of music in history of western music, as it is the keyboard training book Bach wrote that every notable composer after him learned from, like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt etc…. It is considered the foundation of musical theory such as counterpoint, harmony, and melody, and it’s impact on music, including rock and roll is profound. I love Rick Beato’s take on it, and his appreciation of it.
I was especially taken by the point he makes about how much a difference an individual’s interpretation and musicianship makes, which is why I wanted to post this year. Even the same piece of music, interpreted uniquely by an artist such as Glenn Gould or Andreas Schiff for example makes all the difference in the world.
It highlights for me Mona and Lisa’s amazing interpretation and musicianship that sets them apart. I would never normally listen to for example Time of the Season by anyone other than the Zombies, but with MLT, their interpretation is incredible, offering a version all their own, just as stellar as the original, and for me the version I prefer.
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16 Replies
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I Love Rick Beato and watch all his stuff. That is a really good one. For such a classic rock and jazz guy, I wasn’t expecting that kind of in-depth classical deep dive from him.
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Hi Roger. Yeah, Rick Beato is quite the rock and roll guru, and it was something to see him get so into a piece of Bach music. Interestingly Bach has amazing influence on rock and roll as stated by some of rock and rolls greatest like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Jimmy Page, Ray and Dave Davies, John Sebastien….and many others who don’t even realize the second hand Bach influence.
Lately for classical, Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2 have become my favourite classical work. Lately I’ve been having a Rick Beato moment listening to this piece Bach Fugue from Book 2 of the Well Tempered Clavier. The piece starts slow and then builds up slowly and beautifully until it gets to about 1:30 and then again at 2:18 when the magic happens and the immense beauty just hits me, the counterpoint is out of this world. I feel like listening to MLTs “WHY?” when the vocal harmonies and Cello collide! 😊
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Hi Jung, thanks for posting. I always wondered why there were so many recordings of the same pieces of classical music. I always figured since they were all played from the same sheet music, they’d all sound pretty much the same. As you could guess, I didn’t listen to much classical music growing up. The first Bach recording I bought was “Switched On Bach,” by (then) Walter Carlos. Soon after I bought Virgil Fox’s “direct-to-disc” (do they still do those?) recording of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. On Halloween I’d put the speakers in the window and blast it to the neighborhood. Pipe organs do tend to make music sound cooler, in my opinion!
I have noticed that when Philip Glass (or his Ensemble) re-records a piece of his from the 70s or 80s it tends to sound much more emotional and less about the formal ideas that made it stand out when originally released. In general he’s been less radical in his later years and I think it shows in his re-interpretations of his own works, even though he says things like, “We finally got to record it how it was originally conceived…”
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Hi David. When I first got into classical music, I felt the same way. A piece of classical piano music should all sound the same whoever plays it, but I remember once hearing a Beethoven piano sonata performance on the radio, I knew the music, but it just lacked the wonderful feel I came to know from the CD I had. And then on another occasion I heard a piano piece I didn’t really find that interesting before, but the performance by a particular pianist just sounded so much more beautiful.
I like Bach’s Toccatta and Fugue you are referring to. It reminds me of some of the hard rock music I use to enjoy a long time ago. Classical and rock and roll have a lot in common. If Bach or Beethoven lived today, they could very well be a rock star.
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Rick Beato is awesome. I have been enjoying his videos for quite a while.
I was first turned on to Bach while taking a History of Music course as a university undergraduate. The Baroque period continues to be my favorite era of classical music. My major paper for the course was a comparison of the music of Rush to the Baroque period. It was a pretty good paper for an eighteen year old kid.
Thank you Jung, for posting this. Maybe Mr. Beato can do a “What Makes This Song Great” on one of the MonaLisa Twins’ songs.
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Hi Christopher,
That paper you wrote sounds intriguing, would love to read it some time! One of my post retirement goals is to audit some university course about astronomy/space, and music history/theory. That would be so awesome. I really like Baroque music too, Vivaldi, Albinoni, Pachelbel, Handel….A favourite New Age pianist I got into back in the 90s is Christopher Peacock, and he did a piano version of Pachelbel’s Canon, that I absolutely love. His piano playing expresses that beautiful melody so wonderfully, better than anyone, it just captivates me every time. This is the only version of the Canon in D I listen to. I think Rick Beato should listen to the WHY? album, he would be impressed!
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Ahhhh, Pachelbel’s Canon in D, the song that has begun many a wedding, including mine and Deborah’s, 23 years ago.
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Hi Jung, I also watch videos from Rick Beato every so often, he is very interesting and covers a wide range of musical topics. Also, I also always thought classical music would be the same as its played from music sheets but I think its true that the performer can make a big difference to the emotion of the playing which can bring new dimensions to music you have heard many times before.
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Hi Allan. I enjoy Rick’s analysis of music, and his other videos on Bach is quite interesting. Bach seems to be the composer most admired by rocks greatest.
In classical there is often quite the interesting debate when they compare some inspired modern musician and their interpretation versus opinions on how the original composer would have played it. Of course there is no recordings to fall back on when talking about classical music composers, so the debate goes on endlessly.
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I found this really inspiring. Music has the magic to bring out the child in you.
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Here is another one, this time on Beethoven, Rick Beato does it again! He must be on the same wavelength as me lately, and I love this! His remark about Bach Well Tempered Clavier being the old testament, and Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas as the new testament in music is brilliant. Would have to agree with him.
Rick needs to listen to MLT WHY? 😊
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Beethoven’s Piano Sonata’s are timeless, like this one. The melody sounds like it could have been composed today.
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Hi Jung,
Rick Beato’s video contributions are always very entertaining and well presented. I find it very exciting when a certain piece of music is interpreted in a new way, but when this interpretation is done on a different instrument than the one actually intended for it, then it sometimes gets really interesting. So I’ll jump back to Bach and his masterpiece Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565. I’ve found a very nice adaptation for a classical guitar here (I hope I haven’t missed the point now…):
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…and back to Beethoven: I just can’t resist re-posting this stunning guitar version:
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Hi Jurgen, what amazing musicianship, from that beautifully elegant Bach Toccatta played on that classical guitar, to that brilliant blazing performance of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No 14 3rd movement on the electric guitar. If Beethoven lived today and could play the electric guitar, this is how I think he would have expressed that movement. The feeling and emotions Beethoven is trying to express in that piece was perfectly captured here on the electric guitar. When I use to be really into AC/DC and that wonderfully hypnotic guitar sounds captivated me, and fast forward a couple of decades to when I listen to Bach or Beethoven, the feeling and effect in my brain is the same. The music is expressing the same feeling and emotions, just different instruments. Thanks for sharing this.
ACDC Thunderstruck and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor on Organ have a lot in common for me in the instrumentation and feelings it evokes.
Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor on organ
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AC/DC Thunderstruck on electric guitar
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