What links Rothko and Mozart?

[@Prometeur]

These videos are absolutely amazing and so elegant. Thank you for putting so much time into this.

[@ListeningIn]

You are so welcome! Really glad you enjoyed it.

[@AndyChamberlainMusic]

I said to myself "why did he format the text like that?" at 4:05, and then you did that wonderful transition. Love it

[@ListeningIn]

I was quite pleased with that bit....!

[@johnmartlew5897]

At 7:43. I don’t agree with the observation that Impressionist painters separated art from reality. The Impressionists redefined the nature of human observation through their methods. Our sense of light and colour as it really is, if you truly see the objects you observe, was their objective. Their paintings were meant as an expression of the reality of the physical world and the limitations of our senses. Their ideas were also based on contemporary discoveries in physics and optics. I love Rothko’s work. Your presentation was was a treat. I had no idea of the Mozart connection.

[@SteffenThole]

I was too close minded regarding modern paintings like these. Now I understand I have to look way deeper into them and their artists to understand why somebody would take their time to basically paint two rectangles on a huge canvas. Without the comparisons to Mozart it wouldn't have 'struck a chord' with me like that, so I am very grateful for that decision.

[@BernardVictor]

This is very true. If you want to appreciate modern painting you must really concentrate on it,not just a quick glance.

[@nickn2794]

@Yongo Bazuk hi, as an art history student and music lover, I have to say you're wrong in judging Rothko so badly. I can understand your feelings because I've hated contemporary art for a lot of time until I have begun to understand it. Abstract art wants to express only feelings through the only use of shapes and colours and its not so easy. Many try that type of art, not many enter history though. They do not paint reality, therefore their art is not immediatly comprehensible, it's a different language. I suggest you the Art Assignment's video on Rothko (it's 4 min) to understand better what Rothko did and why people consider him a genius.

[@edenroc5572]

i shed tears while watching. power of rothko and mozart. thank u for this gem

[@Marianita9820]

This is so underrated !! Such a clean way of understanding both complex works of art.

[@ankitkumarpandey5205]

"To really hear a piece of Mozart, or to really see a Rothko painting, is to see yourself" And then at @9:44, I saw myself. My reflection on my phone screen lol

[@MRMADDNES1328]

I can't stop watching your videos since I've discovered the channel. You made me understand the connection between the two, although I've always linked Rothko's paintings with pieces like Cage's "In a Landscape". Thanks to the video, I've remember now a recording I've done of a piano improvisation while thinking of Rothko's paintings. Thanks a lot for these videos!

[@shine6667]

What a refreshing angle to link these two together! After your explanation, I do feel their work have a lot of similarity.

[@RegalState]

I've been watching your videos for quite a while now, and the breakdowns between theme and function are so wonderful. I usually cover hip hop and alternative rnb music, but I am absolutely an avid listener of contemporary composers such as (the late) Johan Johannson, Alexandre Desplat and also contemporary pianists such as Nils Frahm. The fact that you yourself are an accomplished composer (getting a piece with Tokyo Philarmonic is something I think most people wouldn't be able to comprehend) adds a degree of gravitas to your work too, so huge props. I (barely) played guitar for 10 years so I don't think I come close to have that pedigree haha. Thank you so much for being a wonderful fellow englishman who is continuing to strive for the message behind themes, it means a lot to (somewhat) be alongside you in breaking down musical constructs in our own ways.

[@ListeningIn]

Hi! I'm really pleased you've enjoyed watching your videos. I had a look at your videos - they're really good. I'm very surprised that you didn't have more subscribers! They're very professionally put together and the presentation, and writing of the scripts, is excellent. I have no idea why content doesn't get pushed - for me it was just one video that did very well that got me to this stage. Thanks for getting int touch - it's always really nice to hear from other creators. Keep well.

[@RegalState]

@@ListeningIn Haha i'm not really concerned about the numbers, I have an innate desire to archive a lot of lyrical / conceptual themes in certain genres, and that's what keeps driving me. It's just so happening that over time, people are gravitating towards it. Much love, would be happy to do a joint voiceover for one of your future projects.

[@davidaustinveal9277]

Two of my favorite artists, and I love your description that helps me understand my love for them, and in doing so, I understand myself. Thank you.

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

My first reaction to seeing the video title was "Yes!" My second reaction was "Yes!"

[@Max-jf5vu]

Your videos are always so visually pleasing and well-presented! I really don't know how you're so consistent!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you so much Max!

[@niklashelm]

You have once again outdone yourself with both the visual design and the content of this Video. The continued quality you manage to achieve in every video is astonishing!

[@ListeningIn]

Thanks again!

[@gay_milhouse1160]

This was incredible! Before the stay at home, I was really jonesing to go to the Menil and commune when some Rothko and that feeling is only getting stronger and stronger as this goes on.

[@oting1]

Really wonderful videos! But having subtitles would would really increase accessibility for those of us who are hard of hearing. I'm missing out chunks and am so sad not to be able to figure out parts of the narrative.

[@ВладимирХарченко-з2т]

this is an extremely high quality video. love it.

[@vibes9937]

Beautiful audiovisual work and a brilliant musical analysis ... this channel is a real hidden gem on youtube ... obviously I'm already subscribed ... greetings and congratulations !!

[@ListeningIn]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@davids6898]

Some years ago I attended an art exhibit of Rothko’s works at a museum not far from the Rothko Chapel in Houston. They attempted to explain the connection to Mozart but it was fleeting and I really did not understand it until watching this video. I think it was best explained from a musician’s standpoint rather than an artist’s standpoint.

[@sveinungnygaard1505]

Could you make an analysis of the Rite of Spring?

[@markjohnorourke8264]

So good 👍. My Two favourite Artists. Excellent video.

[@penelopemontoya]

Well, this is now my favourite thing on the internet. Thank you so much.

[@saturn1b1]

Another excellent video. Your amazing work is always such a treat.

[@ListeningIn]

Thanks again!

[@kujjitafari8509]

Thank you! Your work is brilliant ! You have an intricate understanding of such a complex topic! Would love to see your essay of The cloud Atlas sextet from the Film Cloud Atlas. 🙏🏽💕

[@valeriolapiana6643]

You are just the best channel on KZbin!! I just enjoy the perfection of every content! Thank you SO MUCH for the inspiration you give me!

[@ListeningIn]

Wow, thank you! You are very welcome!

[@rabbitfishtv]

What a beautiful and inspiring essay.

[@joliebarb]

So grateful for your video thoughts

[@lindsaycole4077]

A simply fascinating comparison - so wonderful to watch and listen.

[@ListeningIn]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@slgoycreates.6277]

Thank you!! your channel is fantastic and beautifully presented.

[@edonave]

I particularly love Rothko and this video is so so so interesting. Thank you!

[@BenjaminKallestein]

Wow! Glad I stumbled upon this little gem of channel. Subbed and waiting for more! :)

[@vitorribeiro2647]

This was so great. Thank you!!

[@nl1913]

I can hear and see The Spirit of Creation through your work 🙏

[@madhossein]

"Smiling through tears" well said.

[@aallpprr8998]

I often got chills while watching your videos hahah

[@marcocresci]

Thank you so much. Very interesting and excellent class.

[@theflipside2709]

Great explanation!

[@nicholaslatina4464]

I would love to hear your thoughts on Feldman's 'Rothkos chapel'! Great stuff as always

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you! I thought about including a bit about 'Rothko's chapel', but couldn't make it fit. I might have to make a separate video about it...

[@sgwinenoob2115]

I couldn't disagree more with your analysis. But your presentation is a thing of utter beauty! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[@ListeningIn]

Ha! Glad you enjoyed the video, though! Out of interest, what part did you disagree with?

[@sgwinenoob2115]

@@ListeningIn The sugesstion that Mozart is in any way formulaic is, i think, wrong headed. Mozart did indeed perfect classical style harmony and form. But that is not the thing for which he is remembered. He is remembered for knowing what is expected, and innovating out of the expectations. You mention an example of this in the 21 piano concerto, where he makes a quick turnaround to G major, a completely unexpected and definitely not formulaic procedure. Just some more examples off the top of my head. The double developement form of symphony 40. The fugue finale of 41 (certainly neither formulaic nor elegant, nor simple). The ambiguously major/minor nature of the piano concerto 25. The little gigue, which explores never-before-seen harmonic terrain... etc. Mozart is the furthest thing from formulaic. Even the operas that you cite are formally and technically ground breaking in a multityde of ways. The other issue is your characterization of Rothko, which i respectfully disagree with too!

[@sgwinenoob2115]

@@ListeningIn Im just wondering if you have a response. Id love to hear what you think, and what elements you disagree with

[@ListeningIn]

Hi - sorry I have notifications turned off. I completely agree that Mozart often does completely unexpected things, the same for Rothko, but my point was the expression in the work comes from subversion of the form. Yes, the structure is often predictable (and sometimes not), but it's the micro-variations in harmony and form in Mozart's music that generates the interest. I think we basically agree, but I can understand if you think my characterisation was too strong! Thanks for watching, and for commenting.

[@Iegacyfilm]

I adore your videos. Always a pleasure, thank you

[@ListeningIn]

You are so welcome!

[@user-bf6gz8ej4o]

What a great video! But one question of mine hasn't been answered before, as far as I know. And it annoys me that I can't get behind Rothko's paintings without having the answer to the question. What emotion did he want us to feel? I get that he wanted the people to feel something when standing infront of a painting of his. But what should we feel? He definitely had a precise intention. So "everyone feels something different" cannot be the answer.

[@katies2199]

I recommend watching this art historian talk about Rothko's works; it also mentions his love of Mozart. The short answer is that, at least in his later works, he was trying to illicit the solemnity of a temple kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKTdZ5WhoK57sLM

[@user-bf6gz8ej4o]

@@katies2199 sounds interesting, thank you!

[@AngelasMixedMediaArtist]

Beautiful and interesting.

[@ferminleon]

Great video Barnaby! I've really been enyouing the high quality of all the videos you put up. I was wondering what happened to your score video of Home Is, the expression markings were very valuable insight into the music!

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you! Unfortunately I had to take it down, but I think Jacob's going to publish the piece at some point, so look out for that.

[@ferminleon]

@@ListeningIn Thanks for the response, it's a shame. I'll keep on the lookout. Cheers!

[@bertrandchavarria-aldrete8021]

...This is simply brilliant

[@matthewwhall9356]

Slight mistake at 1:49. Mozart wrote 27 piano concertos, not 23.

[@jakegearhart]

I think Rothko's paintings are more akin to a four chord pop song. Simple expression of _simple_ thought. 5:05 "Benign and universal." The universality of pop music is the reason it's so popular. I enjoyed the video though. ;-]

[@ListeningIn]

I think that's probably because it's very difficult to give an impression of the size and impact of the paintings when viewed in person. Some people liken them to religious experiences - they have to be viewed in person to really understand their effect. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@SamTahbou]

It's definitely interesting; Rothko was inspired by Mozart when creating some of his works, but I can't hear Mozart when looking at the paintings. Quite the transformation. I wonder what music was I spired by art and if I could visualize the art listening to the music.

[@kimgapjin-art]

감사합니다 좋은 영상 잘보았습니다

[@techable3425]

Very very elegant and very very beautiful

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you so much 😊

[@shekhawat5917]

amazing just amazing keep up the good work

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you! Will do!

[@joshuakrienke9001]

Really love your videos, man. I’ve been recommending them to all of my fellow musicians. I don’t know if you’re taking suggestions, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the music in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It’s a really beautiful film in its own right, but the music (or more specifically, the lack thereof) struck me. There’s no non-diegetic score for the movie so the scenes are often silent and intimate. However, there are three instances of diegetic music in the film, and music plays a really specific role in the movie thematically. If nothing else, it’s worth a watch :)

[@ListeningIn]

Thank you so much Joshua! I definitely do take suggestions. I've never seen Portrait of a Lady on Fire, but I will watch it. It sounds really interesting.

[@joe-e-geo]

"Red," anyone? With Alfred Molina. Look it up on PBS' Great Performances.

[@BenjaminElwes]

Brilliant!!!!!!!!!

[@artvsmachine]

And, apparently through your video, we learn that appreciating Rothko might be easier and more profound when accompanied by a Mozart soundtrack.

[@bookmouse2719]

Design, color vibrancy, movement within a space, reduction of elements = Rothko

[@yogi2436]

I think there is great profundity in Rothko but the task of describing it requires further explanation and clarification.

[@mercedessanmartin4732]

Amazing and so very “human” ... thank you

[@ricoravioli2306]

Breathtaking

[@GiaMeziridis]

Mark Rothko is associated by Max Richter's "Unity fields I-II-III" from 2023 and forever.

[@kirtanuum]

"To really hear a piece of Mozart, (or) to really see a Rothko painting, is: to see: yourself." Now, this... is illusion.

[@yat_ii]

to me, Rothko's paintings reminds me of Feldman's music

[@alexlitill2315]

👏👏👏

[@michaelnewbury2856]

Mozart = Sublime genius. Rothko = King's New Clothes

[@savo1599]

❤️‍🔥

[@ck7642]

whoah

[@marilynengle]

The text is a little naive with regard to the musical discussion.

[@nickn2794]

Wasn't Rothko trying to express mainly negative feelings though?

[@T.H.W.O.T.H]

"All art aspires to the condition of music." -- Walter Pater. "...and all music aspires to the condition of Jazz." --- Me. :D

[@ListeningIn]

I like the last bit + the reveal is excellent

[@advocate1563]

I agree with the quotation. If not the addition.

[@mozznyc]

Well done, thank you!

[@chrishorner7679]

Mozart constantly subverts expectations: he is a complex composer. Not a simple one - like Rothko, once you get past apparent simplicity.

[@estel5335]

Rothko or the most uninteresting Artist, I have ever seen. Mozart though, I enjoy greatly.

[@RyanGreenBlue]

ah yes, Mozart.

[@PetaWilliams-d3g]

They manifest Australia landscape eventho he wasn't here

[@benjaminenders8762]

what a mess, I quite like these video assays usually, but without really defining some things or getting into some aesthetic theory makes this alle really mirky.

[@MuseLaBet]

Rothko art goes perfectly with jazz.

[@gardikagigih5704]

"simple expression of complex thought" --------

[@cedarraine7829]

Cy

[@MarMariBinyamin]

Mozart (modern) > Rothko (postmodern)

[@1258-Eckhart]

An interesting theory, maybe a little cerebral? I was in the Guggenheim in Bilbao and was deeply moved by the Rothkos - they are silent, meditative, expressive, challenging. But I find Mozart to be accessible, cheerful, optimistic, elaborate, encouraging, but not infrequently a bit poppy. The relationship of the two artists I see more as one of complementarity than equivalence.

[@michaelm5926]

Ridiculous: Compare a genius (Mozart) with a impostor (Rothko) 🤦‍♂️

[@BernardVictor]

You obviously have no soul, and have not really looked at a Rothko painting. If you were in London and saw the Seagram paintings at the Tate, you might understand how deep they are.

[@escitalopram15mg61]

@@BernardVictor You obviously have no brain, and have not really looked at a Rothko painting. If you were in London and saw the Seagram paintings at the Tate, you might understand how stupid they are.

[@reka_sz0]

Rothko is kinda sus

[@aspiknf]

I agree with Michael M, Escitalopram 15milligrammes, and Mr. Szalay.

[@MuseLaBet]

But Rothko liked jazz. And to be honest i dont see his art with Mozart. As much i love both.

[@benjamin9901]

I love Rothko but I do not love Mozart. This video makes me want to revisit Mozart.

[@paulmitchell5349]

Interesting but weak.

[@aspiknf]

Rothko's crap ruined Mozart's beautiful music.