People always say that the musicians of the Vienna Philharmonic can play Johann Strauss in their sleep. Well, they can’t play it this way, not without our favorite conductor urging them on.
Strange to say, I’ve never heard this overture performed live by any orchestra. Not that I recall, at least. Sometimes, orchestral programming is so lame.
Also, strange (or something)… fewer than 18,000 people have watched this video on YouTube.
More than 10 million have watched this one. (I learned about this video in my other job as a celebrity journalist. The girl who made it is 13, lives in Orange County, and has suddenly become the butt of jokes the world over. Her Opus 1 has already spawned several parodies on YouTube, including one performed as if by Bob Dylan.)
Update: Due to some technical issues, I’ve switched the video above so that you can watch it on site. This is Kleiber conducting the Bavarian State Orchestra.
classical life 
Hey, Tim, what a charmed life you lead; you get to listen to Rebecca’s song during your work hours! I personally found the tune rather catchy (and I am NOT being facetious). Mind you, I’m just recovering from my third teenager, so I no longer set the bar as high as I used to. As long as someone can (more or less) sing in tune, I can sit through it, no matter what the style or lyrics.
Please be sure to listen to the Dylan parody. Rather brilliant, IMO.
“Auto-tune” pretty much ensures that anybody (or anything that makes noise, for that matter) can “sing” in tune.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-Tune
When used sparingly one can argue it is done for artistic affect, but most just use it because they can’t actually sing. Or perhaps to put it more poetically, they are — to quote Randy Jackson — “Really, really pitchy, Dog . . . Really, pitchy . . . it was just awight for me, Dog”
Are you saying that the Vienna Philharmonic uses auto-tune?
Hey, for the record — YOU said it, not me — but if the shoe fits . . .
OK, kidding of course, but now you’ve got me wondering how bizarre an auto-tuned orchestral performance would sound like. Most of everything would lose their character, and things like “Clocks & Clouds” would just be unrecognizable. Maybe Turnage or Ades or Unsuk Chin could right something for “Auto-tuned” orchestra the way 60’s composers wrote for prepared piano.
Write something, not “right something” . . . it’s been a long day
It was interesting to compare this Bavarian clip with the Wiener Philharmoniker video that i found on youtube. This performance here is only about 5 seconds shorter than the one from Vienna but when i was listening it seemed that the difference was greater than that, maybe because in fast passages this orchestra was working hard and therefore sounded slightly rushed while the Viennese were playing everything easily and more playfully. It seemed to me also that with the Vienna band the conductor was luxuriating in their sound a little more, understandably. The acoustics may have played a role too, because the Musikverein has such long and gorgeous reverberation that one naturally wants to play everything a bit slower. Anyway, this is of course a wonderful interpretation. Thank you, Tim!
Rebecca Black’s video?! Oh, my goodness. LOL.
I agree with Lorraine that the melody of Rebecca’s song is passable, but it’s the lyrics that are unintentionally hilarious. That’s because they’re so, well, inane. They’re almost straight out of a 2nd-grade textbook of “see Dick run, see Jane run.”
Incidentally, since Tim posted a video from Youtube, and MarK mentioned the acoustics of the Musikverein, I have to shake my head in disappointment about the way Youtube broadcast its 2011 Youtube Orchestra, led by Michael Tilson Thomas, a few days ago. The concert hall of Sydney’s Opera House was where the group performed, and the acoustics there undermined the appeal of the music. I’m always baffled when something as basic — as fundamental — to the quality of music as the environment where it’s performed is not factored in to a greater degree by anyone who is judging what he or she listening to, be it classical or otherwise.
As far as I’m concerned, the paradigm shift in understanding sound quality occurred back in 2003.
“Auto-tune” pretty much ensures that anybody (or anything that makes noise, for that matter) can “sing” in tune.
This explains that gizmo about as well as any other, or gives it all the respect it deserves….