Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto complete 1st mvt, E minor, Allegro molto appassionato

[@ErinABray]

I watched this and started crying. Not because it is so moving, but apparently because I don't want to blink while I watch. Beautiful.

[@queensnarf]

Often times I think, "wow so much respect to string players," and then I realize that I am a string player and that just makes me smile sometimes. :)

[@user-mi7xl5lc1t]

Natalie Hagler and then you realise you're shit

[@queensnarf]

Klasse Gemacht Lol it's more like there's always a bigger fish when it comes to skill

[@user-mi7xl5lc1t]

Yeah I know😂 i also play this piece but always when i listen to a recording i realise how shit i am

[@queensnarf]

Klasse Gemacht I'm sure you're way better than you think. Besides, it just takes practice :)

[@user-mi7xl5lc1t]

Well thanks I guess I'll see whats coming next

[@PinacoladaMatthew]

that violin soloist line is like heart beat

[@e.conboy4286]

It does resemble an EKG! And it stimulates my heart as well as ears!

[@nateetan1000]

OH MY GOD. I CAN HEAR THE ISNTRUMENTS SPEAKING LIKE THE NOTES WERE WORDS. MARVELOUS EXTRAORDINARY. MELODY AND SMALLIN´S ART. WONDERFUL. DIVINE.

[@smalin]

My first exposure to music visualization was a mural on the wall of the student center at the University of California at Santa Barbara. It was in some ways similar to these scrolling scores, but it was done by somebody who was actually an artist/painter, David McCutchen. He subsequently photographed it and sold prints. Coincidentally, I was just at a print shop, and asked about getting my scores printed in large format. Somebody's going to call me back with a price.

[@smalin]

Yes, and in the same way, there are people who are obsessed about art supplies --- more interested in developing paints and brushes than in creating meaningful art. I worked as a software engineer for most of my adult life; I have nothing against programmers. But I don't see the essential part of what I'm doing as being about programming or computers; it's about music, musical perception, cognition, structure --- and how these can be tapped with visual means.

[@Maatdrummer1]

WOW! That's an awesome piece of music, and probably my favorite violin concerto. Seeing it like that really makes it apparent to my eye why it is.

[@vendi558]

Štěpáne, jsi geniální pedagog! Díky! 😊

[@isaac_tuba]

I just noticed something after watching tons of times. I notice that as the violin part fades out and comes in, it condenses together while the orchestra part doesn't. It makes it look as if the violin part is on a different layer than the rest of the orchestra. You're a genius Stephen!

[@calebcar]

I can't thnak you enough>I've always found it hard to listen to classical music. I would go to a cconcert, be aware I am in the presence of something magnificent, and after the first few notes find my mind wandering to the days events. I would leave feeling unfulfilled and inadequate.. The visualizations help me follow what is going on and stay with and enjoy the music. I don't attempt to understand it, just see it unfold before me. You have made a world I felt excuded frrom accessible.

[@smalin]

I'd be interested to hear how (if at all) your in-person concert experience is affected by getting acquainted with the music ahead of time with my graphical scores.

[@calebcar]

@@smalin When they start having concerts again I'll let you know. I get more out of other classical music videos now. I can stay with it a while, but not as much as with the visualizations.

[@smalin]

Allan Levy Sounds good. I’m gratified to have made a difference.

[@KarIiah]

I fell in love with the Solo-Violin...just wonderful. It amazes me how clear and high pitched the solist ist able to play. Though I play Violin for 9 years now, I've never heard such a fantastic song for a solist...

[@e.conboy4286]

WOW! Stunning

[@ThinkCosmic615]

This is such a great idea! It is an awesome way for non-musicians to interact with the score and musical texture. I'm a music education major, and I am in love with your videos as teaching tools. Thank you so much for putting these up!

[@TravelWithYoga]

Smalin is the absolute master in music animation. Bravo.

[@chezzabutt]

I said the same thing quite a while back, prior to going to college for violin performance and I learned the piece in about 2 months and spent a year making it perfect. Trust me, it does NOT come easy to anyone...It becomes amazing by how much time you spend. You can pay it too, I promise. ;-)

[@tteu123]

This visualization really helps me appreciate the absolute genius of these composers. Thanks for this.

[@e.conboy4286]

Fascinating! Seeing the components of a music score in this manner aids in understanding and appreciating each instrument’s part.

[@sebastianeljaiek2547]

A song that you just don't want it to end.

[@iiAngelic]

this video makes classical music 100X more interesting than it already is

[@krishnamoorthyiyer8805]

Strongly agree with your remark!

[@MaestroPuffin]

Here it is, THE youth concerto. I've heard this so many times it almost lost its magic, but this video helped me appreciate it again. Thank you!

[@sodapopibc2]

Thanks to my wife/lover of 22 yrs introduced this music to me 22 yrs ago ....music appreciation class, she said. Been listening to it since.

[@Rabbismith1]

This and the piano concerto for Mozart and Beethoven vids are the best style. I understand the artistic approach you’ve gone for for your recent vids but I just love how simple and laid out everything is in videos like these. No stained glass artistry messing with your vision, just plainly visible to see how the notes’ pitches and rhythm stack up against each other. I wish you’d return to this style!

[@smalin]

Many viewers prefer the old style (which I used almost exclusively during the first thirty years of this project), and I sometimes post alternate versions in the old style on my alternate channel (musanim). Many viewers prefer the new style, too, and ask me to remake older videos (which I sometimes do, though not in response to viewer requests). In the future, there will be software that lets everybody make these videos in whatever style they like, so I think it's more important for me to develop new styles than to crank out more videos in the old style. If there's a particular piece you'd like me to make an old-style video in, you could underwrite its production (you'd get a bargain rate, since it's only a few hours work to re-do an existing video in a simpler style): www.musanim.com/Underwriting/

[@Rabbismith1]

@@smalin That explains things; I understand what you’re going for and I’ll keep that in mind. Mainly just throwing my hat in the ring on the side of the old style.. thanks for the reply

[@serryjeinfeld3571]

the violin is a truly beautiful instrument

[@cleliaduquene7448]

Impressionnant et majestueux

[@LilCash7]

Clélia Duquêne impressionnant c'est ta beauté ♡

[@PraiseMedusa]

Delightful! Varied & layered shapes in brilliant colors on black; dimensional with excellent score choice. Another masterpiece, I love it.

[@trioamadeus]

Congratulations for this wonderful work! I was so envolved that after the video, the coments were also in movement, like an optical ilusion!

[@muulka]

As a violinist of sorts, I actually can't understand how these concertos are playable lol. Such talent there is in the world, that it seems like magic to us mere mortals.

[@orqqun]

You make me love classic music. period.

[@zeoxdragon]

After so much time... this is still my favorite piece

[@buzzknutson]

One of my all time favourite pieces. Thank you.

[@smalin]

@Shine860530 The synchronization took many days, but mostly because I couldn't stand to do it for more than an hour or so at a time.

[@TheDogan96]

A masterpiece without any discusions.

[@lntellectualrap1522]

Спасибо за Вашу заботу, о наших вкусах. Нужно в ближайшее время сходить на концерт симфонической музыки)

[@GameGlitcher94]

0:34 on wards is pretty much what made my day. perfect interpretations. just perfect violin.

[@angelicapiscitelo2769]

Struggente e dolce malinconia, tocca le corde del mio cuore!

[@mauricedesaxe1745]

Love this concherto! I'm getting the pleasure to hear Ishtak Perlman preform it at the MSO tonight (4/28/2015) and I'm very exited. It's more than awesome that my first live hearing of the piece should be headed by the greatest violinist in the world.

[@ApsisApocynthion]

A great first movement from a great concerto.

[@NicolasdeMayo]

just the most beautiful that i've see in the latest 5 years

[@anisometropie]

Flute in brown and french horn (I'm not sure if it's a french horn in green) play the same thing in octave D C B, but the anticipation of the B in the flute part is what makes it absolutely awesome.

[@tcybutterfly]

That is exactly why it is SO wonderful. Thank-you again and agin!

[@viannysk8]

Simplemente Hermoso! una delicia! gracias por tomarte el trabajo y hacernos disfrutar esto!

[@Kiyotea.clarinet]

I love keeping up with your videos, because via your channel, I have found so many wonderful pieces that I wouldn't have otherwise known. Thank You!

[@konradswart4069]

Breathtaking, this video! What a good choice, to let the solo violin line move. It suggests a violinist standing in front of the orchestra, what is probably what you intended.

[@jaeevans191]

Perfection.

[@spittface]

Thank you so much! I found this composition a few months ago and this is so much better!

[@TRANCEMONKYE]

Virtual Drugs my friend. This is virtual drugs.

[@smalin]

Yep.

[@beanacomputer]

Au contraire, the dopamine is very real.

[@divine_wind296]

Sh*t i’m addicted😂👌🏼

[@BoneBrendan]

This soloist is very focused making everything sound so aggressive. I play violin, so I know how difficult this piece is- but I can tell just by this recording that the soloist is very fond of big fast slammy movements of the bow. As Jascha Heifetz once said, if you play like your in a rush, the audiene will be in quite a rush to leave because you have to be busy to rush.

[@e.conboy4286]

I enjoy this so much! Thanks

[@smalin]

Yes.

[@smalin]

I have experimented with several things; see the link in the About text for the Bach cello piece I did.

[@banginghats2]

I'm getting seriously addicted to your vids. Amazing.

[@oscarstephanedeniau1305]

Wow ! Beautiful and incredibly tricky for the soloist !

[@pattyfromtoledo]

I could so totally watch your videos on a a large screen in a movie theater ~ This one is particularly beautiful!

[@Danthaman1971]

Is you'd ever feel like doing Sibelius' violin concerto I would be ever so happy!

[@misschelseawilkinson]

The piece is brilliant, and you are brilliant. Bravo!

[@LeighAnnethe1st]

this is one of my favorites that you have done provost cause of ask the different shapes and the action going on. Also my daughter loves the videos lol. they make her nice and relaxed, and fall asleep. she send to enjoy watching the colors etc. she is just 12 months. thank you for another great video!

[@smalin]

@MrProfessorDonut The octet is pretty cool to watch; I played around with it years ago. So, yes, I might come back to it.

[@matekon2]

Recently, you post a lot of videos. Thank you so much for making my life more enjoyable!

[@Swaroque]

Mendelssohn an expert genius of highest order.

[@smalin]

The dot-and-line calligraphy animation looks best when the line changes direction a lot (so that it loops). This piece doesn't change direction a whole lot, so it wouldn't add as much as it does in the Bach examples I've done.

[@smalin]

@bluexrhapsody81 This one took about a week, I think; it would have been quicker except that I could stand to work on the synchronization for more than an hour or so at a time.

[@agnesgold5133]

Beautifully different version of Mendelssohn.s amazing 🎶 love it ❤..

[@mmike604]

Very nicely done! One of my favorite violin pieces both listening and playing!

[@smalin]

It varies, typically between a few hours and a few weeks. A few days is typical (and I think this one took about that).

[@jamydelpias]

Cela mérite les trois mouvements. Vite Smalin, je veux la suite. Très beau!!!!

[@davidanaya3913]

The beginning piece always has an epic feel to it.

[@nateetan1000]

UNBELIEVABLE HGOW YOUR GRAPHICAL SCORE FAQ GIVES A MUCH BETTER COMPREHENSION AND SENSE TO THE SOUND AND INSTRUMENTS. DIVINE.

[@Jaydoggy531]

I can't say I'm enjoying the performance itself, but I do like your notation you put together.

[@MrUzuhl]

Great violin concerto.

[@smalin]

I use Adobe Audition (but I didn't use it in the making of this video --- the recording already existed when I started).

[@smalin]

@C0urante Interesting suggestion. In the past, the results of my attempts to combine harmonic coloring with by-part coloring have been disappointing, but in a solo it might just work.

[@SkunkFearless]

Absolutely beautiful.

[@F.J.Robinson1stViscountGoderic]

I love this one.

[@Jaydoggy531]

Oh I hope to see the second movement as well.

[@lilianachertkoff3007]

Gracias!!! Extraordinario

[@sehnsto]

What an excellent visualization! Great job!

[@kevinji7594]

He is an artist.

[@Chaptertime22]

I really love your work. It makes classical music very accessible !

[@tcybutterfly]

Thank-you once again. Just beautiful! I am learning to hear that which I thought I knew well in such a different way. Much appreciated!

[@ze_rubenator]

I love how the soloist is slightly off key every now an again. The raw violin stands out from the orchestra and truly lives. By playing badly in some places it somehow becomes even better!

[@ryanhaynes1825]

erm...

[@ze_rubenator]

Ryan Haynes care to elaborate?

[@eminbayramov4562]

I don't agree. I think it's just out of tune.

[@ze_rubenator]

Emin Bayramov yeah well, you're technically right. It's just a matter of taste. Then again, I do llke the really raw recordings of Große Fuge as well. The grittier the better.

[@suhasvittal6585]

I don't think raw means out of key... maybe little use of vibrato. It's possible to use little vibrato and be in tune, just look at a recording of Janos Starker.

[@smalin]

@NathanHoweMusic The problem is not in showing it, but getting the data. I've experimented with this a bit recently with solo violin and solo violoncello music (where it's easy to get the dynamics, since there's only a single instrument playing), and I've "faked it" in some other recent experiments (like the Chopin opus 72 nocturne I did in December), but to do it with orchestral music is beyond my capabilities at the moment.

[@beautydogg]

Very entertaining. Nicely done. Reminds me of something we tried back in the 1960's in music school but on paper.

[@kjm07x]

Thank you for this! It really helped when when looking at the score and studying this piece.

[@agamr.8593]

This way I've learned "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor".

[@johannsebastianbach5656]

Spyper, same here

[@germanviola2315]

Such a divine interpretation!

[@grandexandi]

I like this one. This is the tune I think of every time I see musicians playing violin in the subway for change. They're usually playing a generic improvisation that doesn't sound put together at all, and very few people stop, listen and give money. I always think "man, if he played that Mendelssohn tune, even if not so well, he'd get so much more money..." because I think this melody speaks very directly, and can stand out in places like the subway. I wonder if it's too hard to play, though...

[@Jordi_Ventura]

Excellent music and splendid graphical score ;)

[@smalin]

See "Could you please ..." in the FAQ.

[@IVIentos]

Beautiful!

[@smalin]

That's one way of measuring it. Another way is: this video shows you what's going on in the 99% of music that you weren't grasping fully before.

[@JulHackChack]

Me encanta esta obra.

[@thehaircrow]

quite a nice composition

[@Mirata87]

Great one, it all fits well

[@agamr.8593]

I have started learning violin only because that piece

[@LaurenGuan]

I LOOVVEEE this song!!!!!!

[@Waltzeminor]

brillant...

[@smalin]

@HanStanwell I'm not likely to do videos of either of those (since I don't like their music enough to want to spend time listening to it while I make the videos) ... so I'm afraid it's me you'd have to take care of.

[@antispamroz2]

Ben fatto pure questo!

[@skullkid325]

Glad I found this channel.

[@vigokovacic3488]

Here in Zagreb I saw Stefan Milenkovich perform this. He is more than a wizard on that instrument. I have no one to compare him to but, say Paganini...

[@AnOGeTSS]

smalin you rock mate....excellent work