Hello! I thought I would share one of my favourite pieces, performed on as many instruments as I could find.
Strings
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Violin | Jascha Heifetz | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ysOqkHflY |
Viola | Adrien Boisseau | F | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYV1Le21kss |
Cello | Miklós Perényi | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFQ7G_ij8jE |
Bass | Nicholas Bayley | B♭ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rEL1jIwajY |
Guitar | Nikolay Sokolov | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuI0Pvr59C4 |
Electric Guitar | Isaque Soares | G | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV1F59GYf40 |
Ukulele | Brian Hefferan | G | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdvrsD6Dkwg |
Erhu | Ma Xianghua | D | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Yhd2bF44E |
My reviews:
- Violin: Very difficult to criticize Heifetz. Terrific tempo, perfect intonation and articulation, excellent phrasing. 5/5 stars.
- Viola: A little slower than Heifetz, but intonation, articulation, and phrasing are excellent. Tone crunches occasionally, but still very good overall. 5/5 stars.
- Cello: Tone, intonation, articulation, and phrasing are all very good. Bonus points for playing it in the original key, limiting himself to using only the top three strings of the instrument! 5/5 stars.
- Bass: Articulation is impressive for such a low instrument. Tone and intonation suffer in some spots. Phrasing is good. 4/5 stars.
- Guitar: Terrific tempo, but I think tone and articulation suffer in some spots as a result. 4/5 stars.
- Electric Guitar: One of my favorites! Brisk and steady tempo with perfect articulation. A couple notes deviate from Paganini’s original, but that is my only complaint. 5/5 stars.
- Ukulele: Heavily abridged, and the remaining bits deviate significantly from Paganini’s original. 1/5 stars.
- Erhu: Terrific tempo, smooth articulation and tone, good intonation and phrasing. A few notes deviate from Paganini’s original here and there, but overall very good. 5/5 stars.
Woodwinds
(How is your circular breathing?)
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Flute | Claudio Barile | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLQc7FZkQec |
Oboe | Giovanni Di Mauro | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzS1spiXs6U |
Clarinet | Alexey Gorokholinsky | B♭ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_FMBTSUjvU |
Bassoon | No one yet! | You could be first! | |
Sopranino Recorder | Miguel Lawrence | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq6vnXVeVcE |
Saxophone | Daniel Loudenback | E♭ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWwuccQfQik |
Harmonica | Aloysio Becker | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpK6BLAczVg |
My reviews:
- Flute: Good tempo and nice phrasing, decent articulation and tone. Breaks in circular breathing are occasionally evident. 4/5 stars.
- Oboe: A little slow, but good tone and clean articulation, with nice phrasing and excellent circular breathing. 5/5 stars.
- Clarinet: Swift tempo, clean tone, and some of the best phrasing. Also a couple of nice short staccato sections on last page! 5/5 stars.
- Recorder: Interesting mix of legato and staccato to complement circular breathing. Brisk tempo and clear tone, but articulation is a bit sloppy in some places and the constant eye-contact is slightly unsettling. 4/5 stars.
- Saxophone: Terrific tempo and good articulation. 5/5 stars.
- Harmonica: Brisk tempo and decent tone, but rather sloppy in many sections. 3/5 stars.
Brass
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Trumpet | Sergei Nakariakov | B♭ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhfP_AXL_GM |
French Horn | Jo Withers | B♭ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAWGJ96e1p8 |
Trombone | No one yet! | You could be first! | |
Tuba | Albert Wieder | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oLINvft5Eo |
My reviews:
- Trumpet: Seriously impressive circular breathing and staccato double tonguing! Tone and articulation are excellent. Only downside is no video, so we can’t be certain that it was done in one take. 5/5 stars.
- French Horn: Ah, the magic of cloning and editing obviates the need for circular breathing! Decent tempo and phrasing, tone and articulation suffer in some spots. 3/5 stars.
- Tuba: Vocal backup is fun, but can be a bit distracting at times. Tempo and articulation are impressive for such a low instrument. Tone is good, but tempo waivers a bit at times. 4/5 stars.
Voice
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Voice | Caterina Valente | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWnCKqf8X3k |
My review:
- Human voice has the problem of no circular breathing, so there are significant breaks and deviations from Paganini’s original. It is still a very impressive thing for a human to do, but as a rendition of Moto Perpetuo it is abridged with several sections entirely skipped. 2/5 stars.
Keyboard
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Piano | Kong-Ju Lee | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuIiS-kzjiU |
Harpsichord | No one yet! | You could be first! | |
Pipe Organ | Szilárd Kovács | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAc5AHXHEsU |
Anglo Concertina | Cillian King | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN9EBpZcfBY |
Accordion | Victor Wang | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e83P9MDOI4 |
My reviews:
- Piano: Brisk tempo, smooth articulation and phrasing, and creative accompaniment without being too distracting. 5/5 stars.
- Pipe Organ: Brisk tempo, clean articulation, nice phrasing. 5/5 stars.
- Anglo Concertina: A little sloppy in some places, with several missed sharps/flats. The added ornaments were a fun touch. 3/5 stars.
- Accordion: Terrific tempo, clean articulation, excellent phrasing. I also love how happy he looks! 5/5 stars.
Percussion
Instrument | Artist | Key | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Steelpan | Liam Teague | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ZgwtaBD_4 |
Marimba | Greg Tsalikis | C | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi-OTNAWhv4 |
My reviews:
- Steelpan: Brisk tempo, but a little sloppy in some places. 4/5 stars.
- Marimba: Again, brisk tempo, but a bit sloppy in some sections. Nice tone and phrasing. 4/5 stars.
Hope you enjoy these as much as I have!
Is there an instrument I’ve missed, or a recording you think is superior? Please let me know!
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