Goodbye 2020

December 31, 2020 at 8:21 am

For many of us, 2020 was the crappiest year of our lives; I don’t need to say much about it here.

My year was pretty easy compared to many people – I didn’t lose my job, or my house, or my health. And, compared to the vast majority of humans throughout history, this “bad year” wasn’t so hard for many of us. As rough as things were, it wasn’t as bad as the Black Death, the Great Famine, or a World War.

The thing that was hard for me this year was to see first hand just how selfish and pig-headed humans can be. I suppose the fault is my own, since until this year, I believed that most people were good and capable of sympathy. Covid took many lives in 2020; yet the damage to our world by self-serving human interest rages on.

But it’s New Year’s Eve, so I suppose we should be looking forward with some sort of optimism. I’m just not feeling it yet. So, how about György Ligeti‘s “Volumina” for a Goodbye 2020 Jam:

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Would you sell your soul to play like this?

October 22, 2016 at 10:00 am

I’m a decent musician. When I see a pianist like this perform, I am floored. How can anyone play this fast while remaining accurate and expressive?

There’s only one way. They sold their soul to the devil!

It all started with Franz Liszt, who lived quite the life. He was by far the most talented pianist of his time, and pushed the instrument to new levels. He was also an international playboy and possibly the first musical superstar. But what really convinces me of his deal with the devil is that he joined a religious order late in life, perhaps as an attempt to buy out his unholy contract. Or, perhaps it was just an attempt to atone for his multiple affairs with numerous women in various European courts.

Perhaps, shortly after he sold his soul, Liszt regretted the decision and wrote his Totentanz – dance of the dead. This is a symphonic poem (a free-form style of composition which Liszt invented) which uses the ancient Dies Irae (Day of Judgment) chant (a popular chant for Halloween). It’s a spooky piece which shows off the legendary piano technique of the great master. The skill required to play this is inhuman … the devil has to be at work here!

Joking aside – these great pianists (and composers) are simply great, and have no unholy dealings; I celebrate them!

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Have You Ever Danced with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight?

October 14, 2016 at 11:43 am

Now’s your chance.

The Faust legend is a popular one, having been told by many different authors in many different versions throughout the centuries. In short, Faust sells his soul to the devil (Mephistopheles, or Mephisto) for worldly pleasures. Like many romantic composers, Franz Liszt loved this story, so much so that he wrote a Faust Symphony for orchestra as well as a handful of Mephisto Waltzes for piano (which, like most of Liszt’s piano music, are devilishly difficult to play). The most famous (the first) tells a story of Faust and Mephistopheles walking by a village inn; Mephistopheles starts playing the fiddle, and Faust seduces a young woman, before running off with her into the woods …

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