Rhapsody on Bond, James Bond - Epic Piano Solo by Charles Szczepanek

[@2112bpj]

WOW, to say that was awesome is an understatement. Your dynamics and voicings are so fluid. I bet you could make chopsticks sound like an orchestral concerto.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks Brian! Ha! I’ve never thought about chopsticks like that! Thanks for listening and glad you enjoyed this!

[@wendymeyer463]

The BEST version I've heard

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you Wendy!!

[@RMPdude]

Excellent! Wow! Thank you.

[@kathryn_morgan]

Can't wait!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Kathryn!

[@helenholmes3530]

Charles i am so happy you are finally getting the recognition you so much deserve. You are so talented and your patience is paying off. Pleased also to see your subscription figures rising, well done Mr Super Star. ❤

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Helen! I hope it’s just the beginning of a long but fun journey!

[@baignots40]

Arrangement sublime ! Plein d'intelligence et d'évocations. Quelle émotion ! Force et puissance de Rachmaninoff. Subtil clin d’œil à Tchaikovsky et puis ce très rythmé stride évoquant James P. Johnson tout en légèreté. La virtuosité plaquée d'un Liszt. Vraiment le plus bel arrangement que je n'ai jamais entendu !

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Kevin, you are very kind! Thank you for putting me in such wonderful and esteemed company!

[@rosalindlaliberte]

OUTSTANDING!!! BEST BOND EVER!!! Thanks Charles, that was absolutely AMAZING!!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Haha, thank you Rosalind! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@EyeOfScrutiny]

I just recently discovered your channel. Amazing. You deserve more views, and I will contribute to that.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks so much! I'm happy to hear you are enjoying the music, and thanks for listening to more!

[@ayokay123]

What an incredible arrangement, not to mention performance. Wow!!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks so much!

[@remco7226]

Yes, yes, yes! Recognizing so many sounds.... It would be so cool hearing this arrangement in some kind of Bond overview documentory..

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Remco! That documentary idea sounds awesome!

[@remco7226]

I'm very curious... and excited already 🙃

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Gah, I'm excited too!!!

[@charlesfatt]

loved it !!! 👏

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Charles!

[@kellycoleman715]

Tour de force performance Charles. Bravo! 👍🏻👏🏻

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks for taking a look around the channel, Kelly! I really appreciate it!

[@DanielLight]

Absolutely brilliant! LOVE it!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Daniel!

[@rgarlinyc]

Astonishingly good, Maestro Szczepanek - you never cease to amaze!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Going back into the archives here! Thanks for listening!

[@deeannpetty3831]

WOW!!! That was powerful!!!!! Well done!!!!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks Deeann!

[@kathryn_morgan]

This is UNREAL Charles

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Kathryn!!

[@hanani2088]

Spectacular! Never stop entertaining... Love all of your masterpiece ❤️

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Hanani!

[@hanani2088]

No worries 😊

[@hih-meh1344]

Epic.. 👏👍🫶

[@milazhitova9050]

Wow! Your beautiful virtuoso performance is impressive! ❤🔥

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@johnforster1963]

awesome

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks John! Good chatting with you during the premiere today!

[@doyeonlim]

Best version ever! You have such a talent!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks!!!

[@suzannedemoranville7120]

1:01 and 1:06 are the most amazing changes in tone I have ever heard, and that bluesy-jazzy bit is SO GOOD. I love all of your interpretations so much. Thank you so much for putting your art out here for people to see!! Free concerts!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Suzanne!! I’m glad you enjoyed this!!

[@suzannedemoranville7120]

@@CharlesSzczepanek Always!

[@HS-wp5vb]

What? This is a stage piano! Musically, I almost didn't notice. I cannot remember ever having heard a stage piano that was so difficult to distinguish from the real thing. Oh and great interpretation.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Haha, thanks!

[@juliyaa2739]

Wonderful!!!🎶🎶🎶 🎹🎹🎹🎹💯💯💯💯👍👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Juliya!

[@mirto5663]

Excellent, Charles. Bond would also be very pleased with this rendition. What a workout on the keys!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Haha, thanks mirto!

[@burkhardhellmann3126]

Uhhh! That’s great! ❤

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you!

[@josesanchezbarea6436]

Awesome!!! Congratulations!!!!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Jose! Thanks for watching during the premiere!

[@MattCraigPiano]

Amazing

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Matthew!

[@MattCraigPiano]

@@CharlesSzczepanek I'm also an arranger / piano cover artist since the pandemic. I listen to a number of artists but I think your technique and arrangements are on a whole other scale. Can't wait for the next one

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@MattCraigPiano thanks!! I try to mix things up… sometimes intense, sometimes very calm stuff. Thanks for checking this one out, and it sounds like more on the channel too. I’ll have to check out your stuff as well!

[@ruthannfox6348]

This is SOOooo amazing!!! Wish I had gotten a chance to hear it sooner!! Your playing and arranging have grown by leaps and bound, such wonderfully creative combinations! I also really enjoyed your Behind the Bond Recordings blog all about this arrangement! Keep up the wonderful work! Ruthann

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks for going back about a month to check this out! Glad you enjoyed, and hope you are on your path to catching up on everything that has come out!!

[@torxsal7008]

Wonderful ! Love it !

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you!

[@torxsal7008]

@@CharlesSzczepanek 🥰

[@EnriqueLazaro]

Wow Charles an absolutely incredible arrangement and performance! I can tell you are a great professional and experienced pianist.😀🎹🎵

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Enrique! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@capemaxi]

What fun to listen to this!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Maxilyn!

[@phonyarc9895]

Amazing as always!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, PhonyArc! Glad you see you on the channel again!

[@emfunke]

Magnificent!!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you!

[@mariapappadia1139]

Come sempre wowwww!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Maria!

[@juanvalmont1566]

This is amazing🥳🥳

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you!!

[@JoeLinux2000]

Killer arrangement.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks! Always good to see you around!

[@MaryKeane-lt5sq]

Marvelous!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks!

[@lavender_moon11]

Wow, chills listening!! Thank you for sharing and just subscribed 🌻

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you!

[@PianoScenesMoviesandSeries]

Amazing.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thank you, Leon!

[@mestari33]

Wondenful skills!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks so much, Pete!

[@vy7006]

love this!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks!!

[@gretchenbueter6292]

Totally amazing and beyond belief 🙏🏻🙏🏻🌹You should play for Every movie that has music involved with it, because THAT’S what will make it a real success ❤❤

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Wouldn't that be awesome?! Haha, thanks GiGi!

[@donnabiczo1702]

This piece is among one of the best yet, Charles! Your fingers just glide over the keys like water flowing ever so vivaciously! Whoa! And of course, the aesthetic background and subtle props truly add to the ambiance of your setting. Another superb rendition!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Donna! Always nice to hear from you!!

[@LRRrocks]

Wow! That was awesome. You nailed the different styles and worked them together beautifully, and even had the keyboard itself rockin'. (:

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Linda! Glad you enjoyed this!!

[@MotifMusicStudios]

Totally enjoyed this fabulous upload. Truly inspiring!

[@vivoviva1236]

Fantastic performance, Sir 👏🎹

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks!!

[@soundso478]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Soundso!

[@eomp1975]

Excelente

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Edwin!

[@mariasmith3314]

Hi lovely. Please have a listen to Paul Mottram.....Sunset. It was played on the radio today for Armistice day. Very moving and fitting I thought. X

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Maria! Just listened... really a lovely piece of music! Thanks for sharing!

[@nicholasasplund]

Well done!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Nick!

[@tbip2001]

Truly amazing! What sample library was this? Whoich piano?

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks! I used the Garritan CFX sampled in Abbey Road Studios for this recording :-)

[@t04v7]

Cool to see what the MP8II is capable of. I’m pretty sure Kawai didn’t add double escapement to the MP line until the 10 or 11… which makes it even more impressive.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, Josh! It was a super impressive keyboard when it was new and I still feel it holds it’s own against the newest flagships. The onboard sounds are dated of course, but I’ve only used those once or twice in the entire life of the keyboard haha. From a performance perspective, I’ve found that even some “nice” concert grands don’t have great repetition. I try to practice everything as though I’ll have to play it on an upright without double escapement. That probably helps on the keyboard! Thanks for watching! Hope you’ll check out more stuff around the channel!

[@t04v7]

@@CharlesSzczepanek - I just picked one up (used, obviously). I’m surprised how good the internal sound library is for the age. What midi libraries do you use? Have you ever thought about putting your MP in a piano shell there in your home studio? I think it would look awesome in a duo piano configuration.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@t04v7 Considering the age, yes the stock sounds are still ok. I'm pretty sure the 'studio piano' is my favorite of the piano sounds. The electric pianos are pretty nice. For midi libraries I have a few favorites: Abbey Road piano by Garritan is a great CFX in Abbey Road studio 1, I go to this one a lot because it's pretty much the only more distantly mic'd piano library I've found. Everything else is super close mic'd, even when marked as 'distant' they are only a foot or two outside the instrument in too small of a room. For intimate stuff, I like Noire by Native Instruments. I used to use the felted part of that library a lot, until I started felting my acoustic grand. For more pop or jazzy stuff, I love a few of the libraries by VI Labs: The Ravenscroft 275 was a go to of mine for years. I still love the clarity and the power of it. Also, the Modern U is a great instrument when you don't want that massive grand piano sound. I hadn't thought of doing the keyboard in a shell! That's a fantastic idea. I'm moving into yet another new space at the end of this month and the piano and 'studio' will be separated into two rooms again, like they were in my previous place, so I'll have to think about it... but a nice shell would be really cool!

[@jordanwillrog]

Sooooooooo good

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks, JW!

[@jordanwillrog]

You’re welcome anytime, so inspirational , I just learnt it after years of being intimidated by this song, When you learn it’s simply Em C and A , with a few unusual notes in melody ,it becomes very clear, But you did something special here and we need to thank you . So thanks dude

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@jordanwillrog haha thanks! It was interesting to try and put a different swing on what is usually just a pretty simple tune! Definitely lots of fun once I figured out the direction!

[@jordanwillrog]

@@CharlesSzczepanek it’s definitely not a simple tune when you’re doing every little bit of the melody like nobody else does 😂, that comes from a die hard love for the song and I admire you a lot for that man, reminds me of Robert Johnson on guitar . Doing everything lol but I don’t appreciate the reverb on the acoustic piano dude

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@jordanwillrog I don’t know man, I might have to disagree about reverb always being bad. A dry studio recording of piano sounds really awful in the context of classical type music. Just listen to any classical album, it’s almost never real room sound because halls never sound good enough. Even on the Grammy winning stuff.

[@zbramble]

Those repeated notes though 🎶🎶... brilliant.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Hehe, lots of practice! Thanks Zach!

[@zbramble]

@@CharlesSzczepanek I always found keeping repeated notes equally balanced to be so difficult. Still ... they are monsters and you just kill ‘em 😂✅.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@zbramble thanks! They definitely aren’t easy…

[@kimcotter]

First you should know I have NEVER left a comment on YT before…but this score and performance are incredible! You created the best Bond piano score by a mile! Well done! 👏👏👏 I bought the score the day the video released and I have a question if you have the time. In one of your older technique videos you talked about having a relaxed wrist/palm and not arching it up. How do I keep my wrist relaxed when I’m stretching to the max to reach the larger chords? Any insight would be super appreciated. 🙏

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Hi Kimberly and happy first comment!! I'm glad it was here! Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you like this one! The best wrist advice I can give you, without seeing what's going on, is: no matter how big the stretch (octave, 9th, 10th) you should try to spend the least time possible actually stretching to the notes. Ideally, the attack with the fingers, wrist, arm, will encompass the stretch to the notes so that the stretch is part of one motion outward and down, followed by immediate relaxation. The best way to practice this is with simple octave scales, slowly. Each octave, strive to start with your hand in a fully relaxed position, prep for an attack with a slight lift off the keys and then, without holding or stopping motion, release your hand and fingers down (and out for the stretch). Once the keys have been deployed relax the hand as soon as possible back to neutral (in the best case this is as instantly as the notes are struck). If you are truly starting from fully relaxed, there may be some missed notes because this is a new motion for your hand. That's fine! The more you practice the motion of attack and stretch as one, the fewer missed notes you'll have and the more relaxed your playing will be! Same thing goes with bigger stretches, but it's better to accomplish this with octaves first! Let me know if that helps!

[@kimcotter]

@@CharlesSzczepanek Thank you so much for your in-depth response! It is SO appreciated! I will def practice this! I assume this same technique applies and would help when playing a chord like CEC or ACFA? When I add in the middle notes in between the octave notes my wrist also reaches for the sky 🤪 Again your response to my questions is immensely appreciated! 🙏 🙏🙏

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@kimcotter yes same idea! It’ll be more difficult to feel the attack with those notes in the middle so I’d still work on just octaves first!

[@kimcotter]

@@CharlesSzczepanek Thank you for being so gracious with your time to walk me through this! You’ve been a huge blessing as I’ve been lost on this issue for quite some time. 🙏 Now on to practicing my octaves! 😃

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@kimcotter No problem! Always feel free to reach out with questions!

[@andreadivita8615]

Very good as always I saw that you use a Kawai as a digital piano I have the Kawai Mp11se on which I would like to combine two quality monitor speakers what do you recommend I was undecided between the Focal Alpha80 evo or the Rcf ayra pro 8 or if you can give me a suggestion based thanks to your experience

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks Andrea! I'm a fan of Focal products. I've used them in a handful of studios as an engineer and they are always good. On the contrary, I'm completely unaware of the RCF brand. They might be great, but I've never even heard of them before today and I haven't seen them in use in any professional contexts. I also like monitors by Adam. The A7V would be a bit more money than the products you're looking at, but would sound great. I'm not sure about the T7V for a fraction of the cost. I'd really want to hear any and all choices before buying. I've been using an old (and discontinued) set of JBL LSR series monitors for more than 15 years, paired with the matching sub. I love them and bought after hearing them in person. I also owned a pair of the current JBL model... it doesn't sound even close to as good as their LSRs. I also have 3 extra of my JBLs... originally bought to mix in 5.1 surround, but now I keep them as a backup in case my two mains fail at some point. Until that happens, or until I have an extra $15k to drop on Barefoot monitors, I'll be keeping mine and not changing brands! Also, you probably already know this but, I don't use the onboard sounds on my Kawai... ever. I'm exclusively using the keyboard as a MIDI trigger and play through a handful of VSTs that I also love.

[@andreadivita8615]

@@CharlesSzczepanek Thank you so much for answering me I saw the Adam monitors they are really beautiful but they are out of my budget I will definitely take the Focal Alpha 80Evo which I consider Value for money a good compromise I didn't know you didn't use Kawai sounds... what sound engine do you use as piano sounds? I congratulate you again for the technique you use when you play, you are really very good

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@andreadivita8615 I run my sounds through Pro Tools and mainly use one of three piano libraries: Garritan Abbey Road CFX (used here), VI Labs Ravenscroft 275, and NI Noire. I'm thinking about maybe picking up the new Fazioli F308 library from Vienna Symphonic Library, but with my current 3 libraries I love and seeing how that one costs $650 USD, I'm not sure I can justify buying it! Thank you for listening to my music!

[@mariasmith3314]

Hi. Me again. Was just wondering.....have you done a score for this lovely?

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

I have! You can find it here: www.musicnotes.com/l/7BKMn

[@mariasmith3314]

Oooooh.......thank you. Am going to get it, am on a mission 😘

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@mariasmith3314 Awesome! Let me know how it goes!

[@mariasmith3314]

@@CharlesSzczepanek ha ha. I will. Don't be surprised if I come back shouting help.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

@@mariasmith3314 haha no problem! I’m here to answer questions!

[@doyeonlim]

Oh.. I have to wait….

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Sorry! But I hope you’ll tune in for the premiere!

[@doyeonlim]

@@CharlesSzczepanek of course! I wonder how you did it!

[@capemaxi]

You know who I wish would add arrangement this to her encore repertoire? Khatia Buniatishvili-With all that gorgeous black hair in a red or silver dress -She’d be the Bond girl of the keyboard! 🥵 Hot! After all, Yuja Wang gets away with Art Tatum’s “Tea For Two “ as an encore. Whata think, Charles?🌾LOL.

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Oh my gosh, abso-friggin-lutely!

[@capemaxi]

👠If only…

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Someone just needs to get the music in front of her! I've had a few others tell me that they like my arrangements more than Lang Lang's as well... so maybe there is hope... just need a little luck on my side ha!

[@audistoquattro5031]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍........

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks!!

[@patlapirate]

comme toujours c'est magnifique !! je suis une tres grande fan!!

[@CharlesSzczepanek]

Thanks so much, Patricia!