I have always been pretty much a fan of Keith Olbermann. He has good views and applies logic to his subject matter. But he outdid himself tonight, and I am NOT being sarcastic.
If you look at the Wingnut Channel, everything is just a very narrow slant on politics and some country music, now and then. Olbermann just transcended all of that, and the rerun is playing right now. I hope to finish this short post fast enough so that you can tune into it.
Olbermann just risked being called an elite for running, in his last segment tonight, the brilliant violinist Anne Akiko Meyers playing her 1697 Stradivarius violin, using the equally brilliant Gershwin piece, Summertime. What would Hannity have come and play? Maybe Leonard Skinnerd? Or maybe the idiot gun nut? (By the way, I own legal guns, and shoot from time to time, so do not get the NRA on me).
This piece was just wonderful, and the Strad DOES have a unique ability to sound like four instruments at once. I shall post on Pique the Geek some theories about why they sound like they do, but this is the best example of HOW, if not WHY they have their unique sound.
I urge everyone to tune in to MSNBC and listen to this marvelous performance. The opening joke was sort of funny, but do not let that get in your way. The woman just paid over $3 million for that instrument, but if you can listen as well as I can, you will know why.
Olbermann had the same thought that I did after her performance. As I was watching and listening, it sounded like there were more than a single instrument, and actually sounded like three of four. Of course, the artistic ability of the player has a lot to do with it, but she credited most of it to the instrument itself. EVERYONE needs to see and hear this.
Sorry for such a thrown together post, but you need to see it. It is astonishing, and only would it be aired on MSNBC.
Warmest regards,
Doc
Crossposted at Dailykos.com and at Docudharma.com
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intellectual pundits?
Warmest regards,
Doc
Watching it now and I am in time to hear her play.
I know a little bit about violins from a college string workshop I took. I’m a brass player. When I first picked up the violin, my professor took one look at my hands and laughed. It turns out the ‘rocker’ of your hand (the diference in length between your four fingers and thumb) has a big impact on how well you’ll ever be able to play.
I did learn how to play happy birthday along with some great violin trivia though.
fantastic! Loved how she bent the notes sliding the strings like a trombone. Besides the unique sound that can only come from a well broken-in instrument and wood from a certain time and place, part of how it can sound like several instruments at once is when the musician draws the bow across more than one string at a time. Think of it like playing the piano with two hands only you can work more than two strings at once.
That was a great performance. She picked a piece that showed a lot of the flexibility of the violins sound, not just thousands of notes flying by faster than a speeding bullet. (although that’s another stand out feature of violins)
Bravo!