Off topic: Video: R. Schumann's 200th Birthday (June 8th, 2010)
Thread poster: Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Dutch to English
+ ...
Jun 9, 2010

Today June 8th, 2010 the world is celebrating the 200th birthday of classical composer Robert Schumann.

I made a little tribute video of me performing one of his Fantasy Pieces, one which has been one of his greatest legacies in the Clarinet & Piano community - literally - for centuries.

Have a listen; and if you can read music, you can follow along too! Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the music. Comments & ratings welcome... even if you hate it...
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Today June 8th, 2010 the world is celebrating the 200th birthday of classical composer Robert Schumann.

I made a little tribute video of me performing one of his Fantasy Pieces, one which has been one of his greatest legacies in the Clarinet & Piano community - literally - for centuries.

Have a listen; and if you can read music, you can follow along too! Otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the music. Comments & ratings welcome... even if you hate it


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBCjQZJk8yM
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Emma Goldsmith
Emma Goldsmith  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:23
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
Beautiful Jun 9, 2010

Thanks for sharing this Bryan. I loved reading the music while listening - great idea.
The Schumann itself needs no comment, no adjectives can do it justice.

So what are you doing translating when you play so beautifully?


 
opolt
opolt  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 19:23
English to German
+ ...
Well done Jun 9, 2010

And thanks for reminding us of Schumann's birthday in such a nice way! Good to see someone break the "all work and no play" routine here at Proz

The clarinet is certainly one of the most expressive classical instruments out there, and you play it so well. Keep it up!

Greetings from a classical guitar amateur.


 
Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Commoditization & Labour of Love Jun 10, 2010

Emma Goldsmith wrote:

Thanks for sharing this Bryan. I loved reading the music while listening - great idea.
The Schumann itself needs no comment, no adjectives can do it justice.

So what are you doing translating when you play so beautifully?


I could rant for decades about this.

The bottom line, however, is: classical(ly) (influenced) music, especially in the USA, is devalued and undervalued by the very fact that there are too many people in the industry willing to do it for free or for peanuts.

Furthermore, it is over-romanticized as an industry where people with some ability - but not quite THE ability - do it for the love of it (often termed as "for the experience"). So it has become an expectation for everyone else to do it for free or for peanuts or "for the experience".

This undermines the ability for any professional or someone with any significant talent in the industry to stay viable without being backed by someone already with a lot of $$$ and overpowering marketing influence. The supply of highly gifted musicians is far in excess of the demand for them, and the difference is only in who is more in the spotlight (or who can buy the most marketing and advertising materials).

I'm not in a position yet where someone is investing that kind of money in me.

So... as with most musicians, I have an alternative job. Mine happens to be translation as opposed to teaching music or waiting tables.


As for other reasons:

I would say, the biggest problem in the industry is that listeners are not very discriminating... so instrumentalists are often commoditized when it comes to gigging or teaching. It's hard to discuss quality aspects in music since taste is all too subjective...

On the other hand, professionals who evaluate others for jobs and job opportunities can sometimes be overly discriminating. They often have expectations of other musicians that they either would never expect of themselves or never be able to pull off themselves.

For example, if you fired the entire New York Philharmonic today and held open auditions to refill positions in the orchestra tomorrow, I'm quite certain that less than 5% of those same people would win their own jobs back if you dump them in the masses of audition candidates. Auditions are blind, and what people feel about a piece of music one day may be different the next ... and the way someone performs something one day will also be different the next. So there is variance and nuance that many don't understand enough about to bother valueing the difference.

As for orchestras, there is also this thing called a "Lifetime Contract". Once you get it, you've got that job for life until you quit or retire... So the job market never grows, yet the numbers of people coming into the talent pool are increasing exponentially. Even if there is talent out there that has far exceeded the person in the position, no opportunities will come available... and you would be stuck with masses of qualified persons who still can't get sustainable work in their field.

Starting to sound familiar?

So, those who do make it in music... well... they got lucky. Right place, right time. To think otherwise would be rather immature and foolish.

For most, it's just a matter of sticking around long enough for that jackpot opportunity to come. My "moments" like these seem to come and go, but I'm still hammering away in search of that "sustainability" in this profession.

So we'll see...


 
Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Jun 10, 2010

opolt wrote:

And thanks for reminding us of Schumann's birthday in such a nice way! Good to see someone break the "all work and no play" routine here at Proz

The clarinet is certainly one of the most expressive classical instruments out there, and you play it so well. Keep it up!

Greetings from a classical guitar amateur.


Glad you enjoyed it!


 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:23
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Absolutely beautiful! Jun 10, 2010

The video, however, is flawed by two major typos:

Phantasiestücke (with umlaut)

Ausdruck ("C" is missing)

An hommage to a German composer should also respect his language...



[Edited at 2010-06-10 02:00 GMT]


 
Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Hahaha... Jun 10, 2010

Nicole Schnell wrote:

The video, however, is flawed by two major typos:

Phantasiestücke (with umlaut)

Ausdruck ("C" is missing)

An hommage to a German composer should also respect his language...



[Edited at 2010-06-10 02:00 GMT]


But but but... his language is music!

The umlauts don't appear until the rash fury of the third movement, although only in the version for Cello (perhaps in the version for Viola as well... but certainly not in the version for Clarinet).

And, I'm quite certain there are no missing C's



All jokes aside, I'm aware of the umlaut problem. It doesn't exist in the preferred font types. We checked. It's not on "für" either. So, we left it off.




[Edited at 2010-06-10 03:02 GMT]


 
Nicole Schnell
Nicole Schnell  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 11:23
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
Sorry, there is a "c" missing Jun 10, 2010

Bryan Crumpler wrote:


And, I'm quite certain there are no missing C's





"Zart und mit Ausdruk" should read: "Zart und mit Ausdruck".



 
Susan Welsh
Susan Welsh  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Russian to English
+ ...
Thanks! Jun 10, 2010

A lovely birthday gift to Schumann.

 
Bryan Crumpler
Bryan Crumpler  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:23
Dutch to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
c and C Jun 11, 2010

Nicole Schnell wrote:

Bryan Crumpler wrote:


And, I'm quite certain there are no missing C's





"Zart und mit Ausdruk" should read: "Zart und mit Ausdruck".



Oh, yeah, I got that.

I was making a joke about "C" as in "Do" and umlauts as in double staccato, which is present in the 3rd movement of the Fantasy Pieces.

Anyway, it's too late now. I'll have to change it later for some other purpose.


 
juvera
juvera  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:23
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Thank you! Jun 13, 2010

Freelance translation goes well with music, I wish you success in both.

 


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Video: R. Schumann's 200th Birthday (June 8th, 2010)






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