Percy Grainger: Rosenkavalier Ramble (Performance/analysis video)

[@MrMayAllDay]

In the whirlwind of controversy surrounding Grainger's relationship with his mother, I am thrilled to hear an honest retelling of events. Especially that Grainger was not wholeheartedly opposed to his mother's influence. I also love that this is a present to your mother as it was to Grainger's! ♥ This is not to even mention your world class piano playing.

[@WaltzTime]

Thank you Cole! What a wonderful birthday surprise! You are right, this is my favorite from among Percy Grainger’s works! I’m touched that you remembered! It is very thoughtful of you to make me the dedicatee of this beautiful performance! ❤️❤️❤️

[@nsk5282]

Happy belated birthday to Cole's mom! Thank you for helping and, I'm sure, influencing him to become who he is now - a brilliant musician, pianist, educator, and simply a wonderful person! What a beautiful piece of music to choose to perform as a present to mom, especially that Grainger dedicated this piece to HIS mom! I'm not familiar with this opera, but Grainger's arrangement is beautiful. Your performance is flawless as always, and I love the notations! I listened to your conversation with Aurelie Ky and enjoyed it a lot! By the way, I just read Amy Chua's book, so your reference to a "tiger mom" was very relatable:-). I hope, you come back to Aurelie and have more discussions about music and other things related to it.

[@orgue3461]

Thanks! Fascinating. Beautiful playing 👏👏

[@rubbertoe86]

Bravo buddy. what a show. my lord.

[@shelleybinkley4266]

Wonderful! What beautiful birthday gift to your mother! Loved the back story composer / opera vignette. I definitely would not complain if you were my neighbor playing piano all day. That was one of the delights of having two musical children: the constant stream of beautiful music floating about the house!

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you! You are very kind. And I wish more people thought like you-I can't tell you how many times I have had to deal with neighbors complaining about my practicing!

[@shelleybinkley4266]

@@TheIndependentPianist In your conversation with Aurelie you mentioned the different cultures surrounding classical music in European and Chinese culture versus American. One of the joys of traveling in Europe is the breadth and immediacy of opportunities for music and art appreciation. (They love their opera there!!!) I can't help but think if American children grew up with classical music as an integrated (along with the 3 R's) rather then elective part of their education from pre-school on up, how much it would elevate not just the intellect of American culture, but the breadth of people's empathy and imagination. The stories you relate about the composers and the music is quite engaging. Perhaps there's an opportunity for you to take your talents displayed on this channel and develop a music appreciation curriculum for students from young children on up, especially as more and more education is delivered on-line... local music educators at the public and private schools could subscribe to your content to that end...

[@TheIndependentPianist]

@@shelleybinkley4266 That is certainly a very interesting idea! Thank you for the thought. I have been considering various ideas along these lines, although not exactly that one before-I will give it some thought!

[@TheJoe13088]

Bravo, and thank you for sharing this-I knew Grainger was a R. Strauss fan, especially given his wonderfully insightful writings on Strauss such as in his forward in Henry T. Finck's 1917 "Richard Strauss: The Man and His Works," but was unaware of this beautiful arrangement/ramble.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you Joseph! Nice to hear from you. I think I ran across the Finck book before, but I never noticed that Grainger wrote the forward. I'll have to go and look it up. I was enjoying listening to some of your spellbinding Chopin Scherzo no. 4 the other day-one of my favorites!

[@TheJoe13088]

@@TheIndependentPianist Thanks a lot, that was a fun "test drive" of a performance-perhaps it would have been better had you done a video on that piece!

[@grahamtwist]

First of all, a (belated) very Happy Birthday to your mother! She must be so proud to have such an accomplished son as you, Cole - musician and pianist extraordinaire! And I'm not surprised this is one of her favourite piano pieces - it's really stunning and what a 'tour de force' for any pianist to perform as wondrously as you do in this special birthday recording. 'Ramble' may be the term Grainger used in the title . . . like rambling up the vertical North Face of the Eiger Mountain for lesser mortals is the best analogy I could suggest for the fearsome technical performing demands presented by this music. But, Cole, your exquisite playing does indeed make it appear to be no more than a gentle ramble for you. Watching your fingers fly over the keyboard was mesmerizing; no gentle ramble for them, that's for certain! As a composition that was mulling in Grainger's mind for a few years, it is a really beautiful 'homage' to the Richard Strauss comic opera, and as you remark in your fascinating commentary, so much more than just toying with the last love-duet as Grainger so creatively hops down and then out of those rabbit holes you mention. Once again, you have made my Friday perfect: thank you! (And I shall enjoy listening to your conversation with Aurélie Ky on the Education Monsters podcast: what a blight Covid has been for musicians . . . but there looks to be a bit of light at the end of this long tunnel. I wonder how Grainger would have explored the pandemic in music? Perhaps you should compose a suitable piece yourself . . . though, hopefully, not too discordant or atonal like the subject matter!)

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thanks Graham! Well perhaps I will write something over the summer. I've been meaning to do more composition-I don't go in much for strict atonality, although my only piece that I have performed for anyone was actually a bitonal arrangement of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home." Not sure if that would be much to your liking!

[@grahamtwist]

@@TheIndependentPianist If you were playing your own bitonal composition . . . I'd be very polite and say I loved it. And if my ears needed 'therapy' after the performance . . . at least there's plenty of 'my sort of beautiful piano music' on this channel to restore equilibrium!

[@nsk5282]

Graham, you received an honorary mention from Cole in the podcast! That was so nice to hear!

[@grahamtwist]

@@nsk5282 I really enjoyed listening to the podcast, and yes, I felt very honoured to hear that Cole has enjoyed our exchanges and welcomed having some music written for him . . . even by a 'pretend' amateur! Not only is Cole an exceptional pianist and musician and teacher, he is also the very essence of graciousness and compassion and affability. I have yet to discover any flaws to tarnish his reputation!

[@nsk5282]

@@grahamtwist Graham, you are NOT "pretend" anything! Your music is wonderful, you definitely have a talent for it - I'm being honest, I have nothing to gain from complimenting you. Also, from your videos and comments I get a picture of a some one who you want to be friends with. I agree about Cole! And lets not forget how handsome he is:-)!

[@markngrant9510]

A smart, knowing presentation and beautiful performance, with an intelligent appreciation of the opera original. It should perhaps be pointed out that Rose Grainger's increasing mental instability toward the end of her life was physiological in origin: the syphilis that her philandering husband John had infected her with in the 1880s had by 1920 reached the tertiary stage where the brain itself is infected and disordered behavior is the result. If it's not irreverent to ask, what piano are you playing, and is it acoustic or digital? I ask because the sostenuto pedaled notes here are unusually sonorous and prolonged in ring duration.

[@dawlims1334]

Sheet??