Something Wonderful. I know, I know, flashmobs are so last week. By Switter’s World (11/30/24)
Switter’s World brings us two wonderful pieces by Beethoven:
Ode To Joy “flashmob” at Plaça de Sant Roc, Spain (original posted 05/19/12 as an ad for Banco Sabadell, video 05:48)
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto 5, 3rd Movement (Emperor) played by Stephanie Ng (03/29/15, video 11:40 ).
The Ode to Joy created in the audience reminded us of what life used to be like "BC".
Note: The “Ode To Joy” flashmob originally was performed on May 19, 2012 as a highly polished (though still something wonderful) advertisement for Banco Sabadel.
Article: Flashmob or Polished Ad on a Spanish Plaza, This Video Is a Feast: onbeing.org/blog/flashm…
Original video: youtube.com/watch?v=GBa…
Beethoven was one of our favorite composers growing up — still is — and we read several biographies about his life. One thing is that he heard the music in his head (much as Mozart did). So although he couldn't hear his music with his own ears, he knew exactly how it would sound.
Pianist Stephanie Ng’s performance was beyond description — brilliant musical maturity, technique, dynamics, nuance and so many other words that wouldn’t do it justice. Certainly, her rendition of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto 5, 3rd Movement, would have been EXACTLY as Beethoven had intended.
Bonus:
Here are two exquisite short choral works, sung by the incomparable VOCES8:
YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@VOCES8
VOCES8 & Ringmasters: Det är en ros utsprungen (Michael Praetorius - arr. Jan Sandström). (video 03:51): youtube.com/watch?v=ifN…
VOCES8, Eric Whitacre, Christopher Glynn - Whitacre: The Seal Lullaby (video 04:35):
