Cate Blanchett Plays Bach: A Breakdown

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  • čas přidán 3. 06. 2024
  • 0:00 Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár
    2:10 Setting the scene
    3:26 Bach's C major prelude
    5:05 Impression #1: First-Year Piano Student
    7:16 Impression #2: Schroeder playing for Lucy
    9:48 Impression #3: Glenn Gould
    12:15 Actors playing pianists
    14:26 Tár's interpretation of Bach
    17:54 Heinrich Schenker's Bach analysis
    19:18 Philip Ewell's Schenker analysis
    21:02 There's a twist
    23:41 "It's not a film about result"
    Learn Bach's C major Prelude (and Fugue!): app.tonebase.co/piano/home?tb...
    Reverse Engineer Bach's C major Prelude: app.tonebase.co/piano/home?tb...
    More on Schenker's analysis of Bach's C major Prelude: app.tonebase.co/piano/home?tb...
    Philip Ewell's article "Music Theory and the White Racial Frame": mtosmt.org/issues/mto.20.26.2...
    WATCH TÁR: www.amazon.com/T%C3%81R-Cate-...
    Producer, writer, editor: Ben Laude
    Pre-production assistant: Will Storie
    Post-production assistant: Robert Fleitz
    ---
    tonebase gives you instant access to knowledge from the world's greatest classical musicians, performers, and educators. Learn more by visiting tonebase.co/piano
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Komentáře • 834

  • @gigiborza1151
    @gigiborza1151 Před rokem +103

    At 12:28, Emese should be pronounced Em-esh-eh, not Emeez. Otherwise a very interesting analysis. 👍🏻

    • @cynarainman7117
      @cynarainman7117 Před rokem +1

      It's not em-ih-shay?

    • @kadaralex9787
      @kadaralex9787 Před rokem +2

      @@cynarainman7117 no

    • @cody7889
      @cody7889 Před rokem +8

      Always one of you...

    • @akebjornblad9478
      @akebjornblad9478 Před rokem

      @@cody7889 yeah right, as if it has anything to do with the content... "otherwise a very interesting analysis"

    • @chainveil
      @chainveil Před rokem +1

      You beat my Hungarian heart to it!

  • @johnchessant3012
    @johnchessant3012 Před rokem +225

    Max's nervousness creating a 9/8 polyrhythm is such an amazing detail

  • @lawsonung
    @lawsonung Před rokem +398

    Blanchett is a master actor, so I'm not surprised that these nuances punctuate her performance in 'Tar'. Incredible.

    • @CarmenReyes-em9np
      @CarmenReyes-em9np Před rokem

      Se quien es 🏆

    • @Muck006
      @Muck006 Před rokem +1

      *actress

    • @rics1883
      @rics1883 Před 22 dny +1

      @@Muck006 Cate Blanchett is kind of a actress who transcends the gender with her masterclass performances. She's called legend for a good reason

  • @qwertyytrewq9570
    @qwertyytrewq9570 Před rokem +105

    I feel like this isn't talked about enough, but the clarinet player/Berlin board member (Knut) and the veteran cellist Lydia passed over for Olga (Gosia) in the movie are in fact REAL MEMBERS OF THE DRESDEN PHILHARMONIC! Both of them had a substantial amount of lines in the movie, and one would think that they were actors by profession. Imagine my surprise when I saw them in the orchestra in a taped performance of Tchaikovsky's 6th on the DW yt channel. Bravo to the Dresden Phil not only for their playing but for their acting too.

  • @andymath89
    @andymath89 Před rokem +230

    I still cannot believe this masterpiece did not win any Oscar, specially for her performance. The Academy is a joke.

    • @dayanvaleriovazquez4263
      @dayanvaleriovazquez4263 Před rokem +11

      Exactly. 😩. It's a joke 😒

    • @Annayasha
      @Annayasha Před rokem +16

      She was robbed

    • @rics1883
      @rics1883 Před rokem

      Oscars not what it used to be, along with everything it has become political and hijacked by Twitter hive minds. No way Blanchett lost her deserved Oscar over narrative which Michelle Yeoh had

    • @Superphilipp
      @Superphilipp Před rokem +7

      You’re right, it is. Maybe if we all stop paying attention to them, they’ll go away?

    • @jackko90MI
      @jackko90MI Před rokem +3

      always has been

  • @joncheskin
    @joncheskin Před rokem +141

    You can tell that Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss are not high-powered musicians, but their approximations are so much better than most movies of this type--and what Blanchett manages to do in this scene is amazing. And so nice that they got Sophie Kauer to really play the Elgar Concerto, having an excellent real cellist as an actor only added to the realism of the movie.

    • @etherealtb6021
      @etherealtb6021 Před rokem +3

      That's kind of how I felt with Margot Robbie's ice skating in I, Tonya. Like, okay! Not bad at all!

    • @qwertyytrewq9570
      @qwertyytrewq9570 Před rokem +19

      I feel like this isn't talked about enough, but the clarinet player/Berlin board member (Knut) and the cellist Lydia passed over for Olga (Gosia) are in fact real members of the Dresden Philharmonic! Bravo to the Dresden Phil not only for their playing but for their acting too.

    • @NinoNiemanThe1st
      @NinoNiemanThe1st Před 11 měsíci

      Blanchett had a standard Melbourne private girls school education in piano, so not surprising she could pull this scene off, but it did make all the difference in these scenes. The interpretations were with the simple (in technique) Bach Well Tempered Clavier #1 in C major, anyone with any formal piano training could do it, no ultra talent about it and it is the first thing any kid learns from their teacher. But it was still of great benefit to have her training in making this scene, made it much more realistic than the standard Hollywood fare where they replace the actor with someone who can actually play the piano and hide the face and the hands!

  • @chrishoo2
    @chrishoo2 Před rokem +27

    As someone who has been a lifelong orchestral musician I loved how this managed to show how it didn’t matter how high, or far, you had gone in music & the profession it always found a way of beating you up, of wounding the ego, of showing the genuine concern & secret pleasure at someone else’s pain while ignoring the fact that your turn would come too. Lydia Tar having to make horrendous decisions about other peoples lives masked as genuine artistic decisions was spot on & the almost obligatory need for naked ambition to be able to succeed. Favorite part- when Lydia attacked the musical thief on stage in concert!

  • @rics1883
    @rics1883 Před rokem +88

    Nuances and layers she brought to this role was astounding. This Juliard lecture scene was all one shot

  • @joshxpanda
    @joshxpanda Před rokem +23

    a bit off topic, but your BWV shirt is impeccable

  • @dwdei8815
    @dwdei8815 Před rokem +225

    What I find really impressive is that Cate is able to not only play but talk at the same time! That's a high level of internalisation of the mechanics of piano playing (and something I have difficulty doing).
    Incidentally I'd heard that for the Geoffrey Rush "recital" in the café (wasn't it called the Moby Dick?) his hands pretty well approximated the positions and moves for the Bumblebee, but always in the near neighbourhood of the right notes, and the piano was not tampered or silenced. I'd love to hear a raw recording of what he actually played.

    • @tonebasePiano
      @tonebasePiano  Před rokem +74

      This is what I'm saying! Sure the piece is technically easy, but what's impressive/convincing is how casually she's playing it, transforming, it lecturing about it, etc, all without skipping a beat. I can't think of another piano scene like it in Hollywood (English language films at least). It's on par with some of the amazing piano scenes in Bergman and Haneke films.

    • @karenbenjey1
      @karenbenjey1 Před rokem +2

      @@tonebasePiano nobody can do that, or would want to...

    • @MrNurse2511
      @MrNurse2511 Před rokem +3

      Geoffrey Rush didn't actually play the piano in Shine, an Australian Concert Pianist Simon Tedeschi did.

    • @dwdei8815
      @dwdei8815 Před rokem +2

      @@MrNurse2511 I specified the scene in the café.

    • @DownhillAllTheWay
      @DownhillAllTheWay Před rokem +2

      It was a terrific movie - one of my all time favorites. If he wasn't a pianist, he was a damn good actor, because he had me completely fooled.

  • @Grimsg
    @Grimsg Před rokem +60

    Hahah it's nice to have a music 'nerd out' session about Lydia Tar's explanation / interpretation of Bach's C Major Prelude. And knowing music nerds like yourself would go to town breaking down frame by frame Cate's performance in that small segment, it's also very helpful to see where those references allude to. Like I didn't know the Peanuts reference and I wasn't familiar with Gould's interpretation of Bach, and also the 'academic nerd arguments' about music theory. Also really nice to point out why Max's leg keeps doing that anxious leg shake thing and what it means: that basically Max is not on the same tempo as Lydia and thus its a clash of ideologies and ego.
    I'm definitely for people to appreciate music by master artists as a whole. Even if the master artist wasn't a good person in real life/ their values don't jive with us, if they did amazing music, we all should study why that music is amazing. Vs the counter argument of 'if values of master artist don't jive with me, I'm not willing to listen or care to understand why that music is good.' it just comes off as a very close minded, insular, almost arrogant approach to learning about music. Like Lydia uses the Bach prelude to try to sell Max on why Bach is a genius and his music is good, despite what he thinks. That it honestly is a very simple piece of music, a beginner could play it and it is technically not hard to learn, an expert could play it in different interpretations, but either way, it is a genius piece of writing and it sounds amazing. It emotes so much with so little. But the disappointment comes when Max just goes 'nope, I'm not buying it.' Then of course Lydia didn't want to let it go and then turns into bully mode and berates him and the whole scene ends with Max storming out.
    But I suppose it is hard to separate art from artist because it is naturally intertwined. If an artist creates a piece of work, its a piece of their unique DNA and personality that is expressed in that art work. When an actor performs, their unique piece of their soul is expressed through the character. And same goes with writers, chefs, or anyone who creates art. Their thumbprints are what makes their work special. Thus why reputation is so important for these people/ public figures. Because the people who admire their work do naturally put these people on a pedestal and expect them to be mini-gods. 'If these people make amazing art, they surely must be amazing people in order to create such amazing art'. But yeah, people are people. People are not gods, they have their weaknesses too, but they also have pluses too.
    The amazing thing about Cate is Cate really gave herself to the character, she really went 200% with the authenticity of selling that Lydia Tar knows her stuff and she is a genius. Thus she enlisted the help of all the music consultants and wanted to get the conducting and the piano playing right and the coolest thing is the music professionals were very impressed and commended her on how great she did it! I mean sure if you want to reeeaallly nitpick, like maybe the conducting felt a bit too strong for that segment of Mahler 5, (I did watch a live performance recently by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra) but then again, it was for dramatic effect and also meant to show that Lydia was more about the theatrics of her performance as a conductor rather than channel music with the orchestra to express Mahler's intent. Like I love film and I love music and I know that somethings have to be heightened for film even if its not accurate in real life.

    • @Bexrt
      @Bexrt Před rokem +2

      Well said!

    • @colleenblake5681
      @colleenblake5681 Před rokem +5

      Having seen some Bernstein videos, I found the conducting of Cate's Lydia Tár pretty close to believable as a Bernstein student.

    • @iwilldi
      @iwilldi Před rokem +3

      quote: I'm definitely for people to appreciate music by master artists as a whole.
      Art is a kind of separation. And we can fight over our favourite clowns. The separation between music and performer started with sheet music and continued with recording. Of course the product can be separated from the performer. We are talking about someone playing Lydia Tar, ie a clown playing an imagined clown!
      Now go and do the same: play a clown playing an imagined clown while his product becomes seperated from you.
      Now a real circus clown can put off his mask after the performance. But the famous artist can't! And that is the tragedy.
      Why do people need clowns, or even great master clowns? And what is this about the moralization of the consumption of the clown?
      quote: I'm definitely for people to appreciate music by master artists as a whole.
      See when you play some sheetmusic (or venen better: Jazz), then you enter a musical state. That means you seperate your interllectual bullshit from the here and now to get synchronized into the here and now. And you do so alone or with fellow musicians, without there being any edge of a stage or art being present! That process is called integration and it is the opposite of art.
      I comment on your comment to a comment on a film, which wants to ellicit commentary, not intergration. That film contains commentary about the mechanics of disintegration. So we see the continued disintegration which claims the idea of art ie the replacement of something yearned for by the product of the clown-industry.
      The more people speak about art, the more they are removed from music. But music is simple: join us, shut up and play!

    • @andymath89
      @andymath89 Před rokem

      👏🏻
      Thank you for taking the time to express how I feel about that scene and Cate's effort

  • @honghansung
    @honghansung Před rokem +47

    As a Cate Blanchett fan and a classical music fan, this is so far the most satisfying review of this film that i love. Thank you!

  • @jesusangelespinosasalgado9430

    Cate is a master all the way and she delivered THE performance of 2022... But now I'm terrified of Todd Field. This is an absolute and meticulous masterpiece for contemporary filmmaking. I loved his 2 previous films In The Bedroom and Little Children, but this was an absolute consolidation... Hoping he doesn't wait another 14 years to make another film.

  • @alexz8226
    @alexz8226 Před rokem +53

    Your analysis is excellent and Ms. Blanchett’s performance was indeed superb. Thank you.

  • @petermcmurray2807
    @petermcmurray2807 Před rokem +37

    This is the best description of Bach's Prelude I have ever come across. Raises so many more questions and demonstrates how to play. This is why the great Pat Metheny says "beside Bach we all suck"

    • @allenapplewhite
      @allenapplewhite Před rokem +2

      It is all a matter of perspective. I am a better pianist than Bach was...because he never played piano. I am a better Composer than Beethoven was (at the age of 9) and I am a better musician than Mozart was (at the age of 2). There was a point in each of the great composers lives where they were total beginners and didnt know the first thing about music. There was a time when Mozart didnt know where middle C was. There was a point in time where Beethoven couldnt even play an A minor scale. But they learned how. And so can you or anybody else that dedicates every waking hour to mastering the fundamentals of their instrument. Beside 8-year-old-child-Bach, we are all musical savants. It's all a matter of perspective.

    • @HelgeMoulding
      @HelgeMoulding Před rokem +1

      Pat recognized Bach as an improvisational master. I think there is a majority of musicians, trying to faithfully execute the notes in their music, who don't even have a hint of this.

    • @hubbsllc
      @hubbsllc Před rokem

      @@allenapplewhite Very interesting comment. I enjoy playing music (as my channel's content suggests) and while I do not think I'm "really good" even on my best instrument (bass), I recognize that I am nevertheless able to do really good things at times on all of my instruments. I do what I do in order to try to have those times where other people can enjoy what I do as much as I enjoy doing it.

  • @jeffpianocomposer
    @jeffpianocomposer Před rokem +58

    Thank you for this excellent commentary and dissection of this most amazing scene. And for your insights into Ms. Blanchett's performance and Bach's music. Really enjoyed it!

  • @leslieackerman4189
    @leslieackerman4189 Před rokem +30

    She is a human miracle. And Bach is SUPREME.
    Looking forward to watching this movie.

    • @jotzu9055
      @jotzu9055 Před rokem +3

      you have to! I went to see it 3 times.

    • @heartheart5543
      @heartheart5543 Před rokem +3

      ​@@jotzu9055 me too watched it 3x in cinema in other country because my country did not screen this film

    • @jotzu9055
      @jotzu9055 Před rokem +3

      @@heartheart5543 I saw it in Vienna and there was a special screening/talk with the Austrian editor who mentioned things I didn't see so I might have to go see a 4th time (they joked the movie is basically a horror movie) It's amazing how you see new details every time

    • @heartheart5543
      @heartheart5543 Před rokem +2

      @@jotzu9055 yes in 2nd watch i saw detail that i did not see on 1st watch, in 3rd watch i saw detail that i did not see on 1st and 2nd watch

  • @janmitchell641
    @janmitchell641 Před rokem +17

    This analysis of Bach’s music by way of Tar, was utterly absorbing, thank you, and makes me wish I’d seen the movie. It is incredible that she really played it all herself. Loved the Schroder and Lucy bits and Glen Gould❤️🇨🇦

  • @sandragoodman2059
    @sandragoodman2059 Před rokem +15

    The Prelude in C is the first piece I learned because I HAD TO. It's simple and so complex; transparent and so full. I still play it now when I need comfort, or to calm and focus my mind.
    Excellent music and film analysis!

    • @allenapplewhite
      @allenapplewhite Před rokem +1

      That was your FIRST PIECE? That is not exactly written for beginners. Sure it is easy to an experienced player, but for someone just being introduced to the piano...it is near impossible. I have never heard of a piano teacher assigning an early intermediate piece as a "first piece" to a beginner. You are either a liar or had an absolutely terrible teacher who had zero understanding of piano pedagogy. Either way...THAT SUCKS.

    • @HelgeMoulding
      @HelgeMoulding Před rokem

      I love it because it is something I can play at my skill level. When I first learned it I tried playing just the chords formed by the arpeggios. I'm not surprised there's a well known analysis of the piece that does just that.

  • @tomlangemo656
    @tomlangemo656 Před rokem +28

    Absolutely brilliant movie. Blanchett provides a master class in acting, and is given a genius script that has so many layers to explore. This video helped me connect some dots on the music and the use of it to elevate Tar's own storyline in it - and the storyline of everyone around her.

  • @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094

    You have just given me yet another reason to Love Cate Blanchett ~ !!! Gotta go look up that movie now 😀😍

    • @Marc-13
      @Marc-13 Před rokem +1

      Great movie, but I don't understand why love a fake person

    • @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094
      @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094 Před rokem +7

      @@Marc-13 she is a great actress. When I say I love Cate Blanchett I mean I love her as a performer. Actors are also real people

    • @Marc-13
      @Marc-13 Před rokem

      @@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094 Yeah of course she is a great actor, but not a great person.

    • @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094
      @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094 Před rokem

      @@Marc-13 I don't know her personally obviously, but to state that she is a "fake person" seems a bit much? are you trying to cancel her?

    • @Marc-13
      @Marc-13 Před rokem +1

      @@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094 Why should I cancel her. This cancel thing is bs.

  • @davidbangtson3109
    @davidbangtson3109 Před rokem +12

    That was one of the most fascinating and probative analyses I have every seen or heard about movies and composers and actors and the interrelationships of all of them. It makes me want to go see Tar this second. Thank you so much for this.

  • @garymichaelraucher4180
    @garymichaelraucher4180 Před rokem +12

    Thank you for enriching my prior appreciation for "Tar," Blanchett, Bach, and Field! And for your use of levity to tease out some of the layering in this film. I am still reverberating with some of the questions it poses, so I echo what Linus might ask: "Who cares about the Occars?!"

  • @kstoeb
    @kstoeb Před rokem +11

    Wow, what an analysis!!! I have just watched the movie. Cate is great. The movie is great. And after this video I just want to watch it again.

  • @albiepalbie5040
    @albiepalbie5040 Před rokem +25

    Thankyou- I am not a trained musician so loved your insight and wit
    One of the best films I have seen on Music - art - and performance
    Great Art / monster artist
    A phenomenal script
    Great direction
    And a phenomenal performance from Cate Blanchet
    Pivotal to the Film

  • @raymondbercovitz5132
    @raymondbercovitz5132 Před rokem +1

    Thank you for your in-depth breakdown and also the professional editing of your presentation. Appreciated!

  • @user-je1ly1th2w
    @user-je1ly1th2w Před 2 měsíci

    Today is March 21 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAESTRO BACH, and thank you for your immeasurable contribution to music that has civilized and inspired humankind for over three centuries!

  • @davidfplace
    @davidfplace Před rokem

    Thanks, Ben! That was awesome. I have been struggling with that film since I saw it. You have helped me to process it.

  • @drabauer
    @drabauer Před rokem +6

    Ben, you're so good at this! Bravo!

  • @DanielKurganov
    @DanielKurganov Před rokem +8

    Awesome video! Loved the 8 vs 9 and Eric Wen’s cameo!!

  • @juanpoyola
    @juanpoyola Před rokem +1

    Thank you, thank you, thank you. This video is pure gold. It has so much work and love in it. I like how you make easy for everyone to understand complex music subjects.

  • @possiblypoet
    @possiblypoet Před rokem +7

    This is so ridiculously specific and I love it

  • @liliancalo3518
    @liliancalo3518 Před rokem +3

    Fascinating analysis! It brings a whole new level of complexity to an already elaborate scene of the movie. Thanks a lot! Btw, loved your BWV tee.

  • @ericksonlm
    @ericksonlm Před rokem +12

    Excellent analysis. Thank you for that. It just added a lot more spice to the movie itself.

  • @gailbauser
    @gailbauser Před rokem +6

    Thoughtful and thoroughly intriguing analysis and commentary on Cate Blanchett’s Tar playing Bach. Thank you for this video.

  • @user-vh6fo3xi2s
    @user-vh6fo3xi2s Před rokem +6

    As further evidence of CB playing the piano, her DG album also lists:
    Bach, J S: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846-869
    Cate Blanchett (piano), Zethphan Smith-Gneist (speaker), Cate Blanchett (speaker)
    Recorded: 2021-10
    Recording Venue: James-Simon-Galerie, Berlin
    Prelude in C Major, BWV 846
    Track length 1:27

  • @SillyWillyFan47
    @SillyWillyFan47 Před rokem +4

    Bach, Mahler 5, talking about music, Blanchett's performance ... can't wait for the TAR movie release finally in Japan May 12th 2023.

  • @user-xg9ow1sl7b
    @user-xg9ow1sl7b Před rokem +1

    This channel is quite enlightening! Enjoyed it! 💙

  • @troll707
    @troll707 Před rokem

    I loved that scene. Her technique and even the message about the artist. Its great

  • @user-wluo
    @user-wluo Před rokem +5

    Really like the Glenn Gould silver album on the background!

  • @simondevans4323
    @simondevans4323 Před rokem +2

    I haven't seen Tar yet, but I enjoyed this analysis. Informed, thoughtful and perceptive. Thank you.

  • @charlesbuck-vl3ch
    @charlesbuck-vl3ch Před rokem +3

    I've been waiting for this video, since it came out.

  • @okbex7652
    @okbex7652 Před rokem

    Fantastic video. This is my favourite channel on CZcams

  • @blackneedle1
    @blackneedle1 Před rokem +12

    yes she is the BEST. she doesn't need the Oscar. Oscar needs her.

  • @rubbertoe86
    @rubbertoe86 Před rokem +4

    Lol so grateful you did this. This movie ate my insides.

  • @allenapplewhite
    @allenapplewhite Před rokem +13

    I genuinely appreciate that you said the phrase "You're not listening to a piece by Bach, you are listening to a piece by Bach arranged by Glenn Gould." I really enjoyed your video, great detailed analysis of Cate Blanchett's playing. And I absolutely LOVED "Shine!" I drove three hours to a theater in another state to see it because it was released in very limited theaters. Though my two David Helfgott CDs I bought right after seeing the movie I hardly listen to due to the singing. But what an amazing story!

    • @Orson2u
      @Orson2u Před rokem +1

      True about Gould. But Bach wrote in an age lacking the piano as we know it, and also conveying much less how to grasp his intentions.

  • @matttondr9282
    @matttondr9282 Před rokem +3

    Great analysis, really enjoyed your insights!

  • @BigChungusthe3rd
    @BigChungusthe3rd Před rokem

    Thank you for these quality videos, appreciate you

  • @duncanappleby5531
    @duncanappleby5531 Před rokem +2

    Very interesting exploration: I want to go and watch the film now.
    FYI 'Glen' was how Gould wrote his own name: he said if he wrote two 'n's, he wouldn't be able to stop until he got to three!

  • @hobblee1061
    @hobblee1061 Před rokem

    Music and film are two of the most precious forms of art to me as well as interpretations, psychological commentary, and anything that questions my own interpretations, beliefs, philosophy, and even personhood.
    Tár delivered all those. And so did this video. It was, to me, a much needed awakening for the neglected passions of my soul. It was nice to see a professional geek-out of a film about music and the psyche -- some of the things in this universe I feel passionate about. I thank you for that.

  • @aimilios439
    @aimilios439 Před rokem +1

    Great video. I love this prelude. It's a way to find your inner, composer self. Trying to articulate differently like Gould, or even drop this arpeggiaton and invent a new one, change octaves, tonality, instrument, dynamics, anything. It's so versatile in its harmonic composition that it will work anyway you distort it and put yourself in. I love Bach.

  • @mike-williams
    @mike-williams Před rokem +7

    I saw Cate's performance of Hedda Gabler, with Nicole Kidman sitting in the audience right behind me!

  • @cioccolateriaveneziana
    @cioccolateriaveneziana Před 10 měsíci

    Great analysis and interesting insights, but above all, a great film review where I hadn't expected it.

  • @kellylogan4650
    @kellylogan4650 Před rokem +2

    Thanks for this background. I found the movie frustrating yet intriguing. Your explanations only add to this intrigue.

  • @ratitekeeper
    @ratitekeeper Před rokem +6

    Very helpful both to understand that performing music is somehow not just hitting the notes on a piano in a prescribed way, but also to realize how good an actress Blanchett is with the insight you have provided. Thanks!!

  • @yerikyerik
    @yerikyerik Před rokem

    thanks you for this musical analysis, this movie has so much details to analyze, I'll have to watch it a couple of times

  • @ronlouie830
    @ronlouie830 Před rokem +3

    Encore! Fun to see your analysis, had no idea of the nuance and sophistication in this film. Also enjoyed your videos on Glenn Gould and what various professionals are willing to say about his interpretations, including the passionate S. Bernstein. Would love to see how you feel that conductors influence soloists, and vice versa. Abbado, L. Bernstein, Szell, etc...

  • @frankdavid1312
    @frankdavid1312 Před rokem

    Ben

  • @ltb1919
    @ltb1919 Před rokem +2

    Delightful video. Thanks.

  • @Snuggelbubs1
    @Snuggelbubs1 Před rokem +11

    Very engaging! Funny and interesting. Makes me DEFINITELY want to see Tar. I play this prelude on the organ sometimes as, yes, prelude music in funerals. And on an organ, it really matters that you hold down the two left hand notes while articulating the right hand notes in some way or other. (I usually play them detached, but not staccato).

  • @Jarnagua
    @Jarnagua Před rokem +17

    I thought it was out of place that Tar would play Bach's C major Prelude in a masterclass. It would be like singing the ABC's at a college level creative writing class. The "clown face" in the script was put there for music nerds like me. lol. Coincidentally this piece is what taught me interpretation and remains a huge turning point in my growth as a student. I play it everyday as a warmup for years, as I'm sure thousands of others do too. Great writing.

    • @tonebasePiano
      @tonebasePiano  Před rokem +18

      Thanks for the comment! If the master class was for pianists, I think the Bach Prelude would have been out of place. But what made sense to me about the choice here was that Tar was making a point about the real meanings of music beneath the surface of the score - so I found was actually effective to choose something everyone knows and everyone has played (from beginners tot Schroeder to Gould) in order to reveal something about it that the students may have missed. It's her way of saying: you dismiss Bach, but have you even grasped the meaning of his simplest composition?

    • @Jarnagua
      @Jarnagua Před rokem +9

      @@tonebasePiano Can any serious musician dismiss Bach, though? I mean, really? Great video. Thank you very much!

    • @freakytea2815
      @freakytea2815 Před rokem +1

      @@Jarnagua The piece made sense to me, given the context, but I agree with you that it seems very unlikely that a Julliard student would dismiss Bach and every other cis white male composer out of hand. That particular scene seemed a little forced to me in that regard, but I understand its purpose, and I do like the points she made to counter the student's opinion. It could also be that I'm completely out of touch and that it's a plausible scenario (hopefully not). It's a minor criticism though. I really enjoyed the movie overall.

    • @marti_flute
      @marti_flute Před rokem +1

      It was probably the only piece she could play (play, talk and teach). She can act, but this movie was so bad that I don't know why she wasted time and effort on it. The first half hour was all pretension. Makes a musician cringe.

    • @Jarnagua
      @Jarnagua Před rokem +1

      @@marti_flute Haha. I feel the same way about 'Whiplash.' True, this film is all about pretension, but you must admit, the classical music scene is rife with pretension among conductors. Maybe that's why it alludes to Lenny during her breaking moment - he was her role model and "relatively" unpretentious despite his success, talent and fame?

  • @brutusalwaysminded
    @brutusalwaysminded Před rokem

    Another alum here. Nice breakdown (great t-shirt!) and spot on about the complexity of Lydia Tár. Thanks.

  • @meilstone
    @meilstone Před rokem

    Very interesting video, Ben - thank you!

  • @desoconnor7445
    @desoconnor7445 Před rokem +9

    Thank you for perspective on the genius of Bach ..and the artistic genius of Kate Blanche …wonderfull 🙏🙏🏿🎩✨🎵

  • @KatiaFdez
    @KatiaFdez Před rokem +4

    This was super interesting! Thank you!! ☺️

  • @alontrigger
    @alontrigger Před rokem +3

    Very insightful, thank you!

  • @niceguitar6144
    @niceguitar6144 Před rokem +1

    Excellent indeed. Thank you.

  • @alinak9412
    @alinak9412 Před rokem +8

    cate has played the piano before! there’s a clip of her somewhere from a theater production like idk ten years ago and she’s playing the piano and i was sooo impressed

  • @jfarinacci0329
    @jfarinacci0329 Před 11 měsíci

    Really good summary. Thank you.

  • @CALVINBYKELVIN
    @CALVINBYKELVIN Před 11 měsíci

    Thank you very much for this analysis. I enjoyed it. Your explaination of "Bach arranged by Gould" allowed me to have some empathy for his "rapid" interpretation of the BWV 869 fugue.

  • @1389Chopin
    @1389Chopin Před rokem +4

    This is an excellent vid - great analysis

  • @tekraynak
    @tekraynak Před rokem +11

    Thank you for this wonderful video and analysis. More proof that Todd Field is a mad genius, TAR is one of the best films ever set in the classical music world, and Cate Blanchett gave (in my opinion) the performance of the decade.

    • @Marc-13
      @Marc-13 Před rokem +1

      Great movie, but I think there are minimum 5 performances from her that are better.

    • @tekraynak
      @tekraynak Před rokem +1

      Also, nice point about her talking to her own younger self. I believe the entire story and character actually centers around Tar's time smoking ayahuasca with the Shipibo-Conibo tribe, which is referenced throughout the film but not given a strong narrative stance (I believe the second trailer centers this idea more effectively with some footage that never made it into the movie). That experience awoke some sort of power in Tar that set her on a journey of musical and sexual conquest, and the film documents the disastrous end of this journey.

  • @Dazbog373
    @Dazbog373 Před rokem +5

    In an age where everyone is just interpreting old masters, I appreciate Gould's daring

    • @teresal5174
      @teresal5174 Před rokem +1

      When Gould plays, I sit up - and my attention never flags till the last note. He might be the only pianist who does that for me. Especially with Bach.

  • @andrearodigari4840
    @andrearodigari4840 Před rokem +1

    Love your T-shirt!
    And Kate.....of course!

  • @nicojar
    @nicojar Před rokem +3

    That was an amazingly interesting video, and quite funny too :) thank you!

  • @CarlosASainzCaccia
    @CarlosASainzCaccia Před rokem +10

    This is a GENIUS analysis! Thank you!

  • @ruochenlin7994
    @ruochenlin7994 Před 4 měsíci

    This video is so insightful, your explanations are accessible to non-musicians but didn’t not try to water anything down.

  • @chicoaria
    @chicoaria Před rokem +11

    Happy we have Tonbase on earth! great Video Ben. Actually a great idea to produce more Videos of piano playing in feature movies! there are a lot of legendary performances!

    • @JoePalau
      @JoePalau Před rokem

      I'm caught between being Well-Tempered and Ecstacy. :) My attraction toward Bach feels primordial, far from the cerebral engagement Bach invites, perhaps, demands. I love your comments, Ben. I am a Bach lover but not among the cognoscenti, for sure. I listen to Andras Schiff's play and lecture on Bach. I am amused by Gould but not enchanted. When I listen to Schiff, I am enchanted - gone into a universe far more beautiful than anything in my earthly existence. Tonebase is new to me. I plan to learn more. Thank you, Ben, for this clip and my introduction to Tonebase.

    • @jaygatz4335
      @jaygatz4335 Před rokem

      How about Bette Davis in "Deception"? Marilyn in "The Seven Year Itch"?

  • @softwarephil1709
    @softwarephil1709 Před 9 měsíci

    Magnificent performance. Outstanding movie.

  • @KidsWithGuns1992
    @KidsWithGuns1992 Před rokem

    This was a fantastic analysis - I really enjoyed the depth of the film and the level of detail within.
    But I know practically nothing about music formally, which I felt deprived me of a degree of understanding. So hearing this really helps me understand it much better.
    Thank you very much! :)

  • @animalsarebeautifulpeople3094

    A real life Schroeder (Yunchan Lim) ended up leading me to your channel and it has enriched my life SO much!! Vielen Danke!! 💚💯🎼🎹🎵🎶🎼🎹🎹🎹🎹

  • @corn2cobb
    @corn2cobb Před 3 měsíci

    This is such a great reading of the film.

  • @lisettefonder1566
    @lisettefonder1566 Před rokem +2

    Thanks for the insights.

  • @h.astley2113
    @h.astley2113 Před rokem +1

    great analysis

  • @justinludeman8424
    @justinludeman8424 Před rokem +1

    I love playing Bach on classical guitar, so much of it is readily transposable/practicable (Lute, Cello, Violin, Keyboard...).
    This was a great insight into a movie I enjoyed immensely.

  • @photogphred792
    @photogphred792 Před rokem +3

    Wow, what a remarkable breakdown! The nuances you picked up are incredible. The movie was just OK to me, but you added much more interest and respect for what Todd did with this. The level of detail you so brilliantly pointed out really took me by surprise. This was extremely well done.

  • @setonix850
    @setonix850 Před rokem +2

    Great insights here. There is obviously more to this film than meets the eye on first viewing. With Cate Blanchett acting and playing the piano so brilliantly, it a shame the Concert Master wasn't given as detailed coaching/training on playing & holding the violin !

  • @FT0rres090
    @FT0rres090 Před rokem

    Amazing interpretation

  • @MrInterestingthings
    @MrInterestingthings Před rokem +5

    Wow ! Thankyou. I know you don't have time to read these comments .Mr. Laude you are a hero for taking this film seriously and really seeing and CITING the reasons for taking the film seriously on its OWN TERMS. You are one of the few musicians who can "read" a Film ! How much time did you spend to find the cartoon snippet . Ben Laude has a doctorate in piano performance .! I've been listening to him for years but I didn't know he had done the work ! He is so good once you see his posts you know he is worth listening to him ! Thankyou for taking on this important film which many supposedly intelligent female musicians have spoken out against the film not mining its larger depths only looking at it as a diatribe against women in power ;I think the larger idea is about power's effects on people in general . Wow- shereally did the Glenn Gould staccatto thing . Todd Feid makes life in his movies great directors do this ! And you found the Ibsen snippet . You are something !!! I have always been fascinated by Curtis because both JosefHofmann and Godowsky taught there . I was sohappy to hear Eric Wren talk about what endures in what we produce . The true tragedy of life I believe is people do not take creativity seriously - the viewer will not realize how important what the film is telling us as the young student shakes his leg. Teachers have a great labor to do in changing this . people think exposing people to art is important but the fear is of really educating people . Well most people dont know. I'm 50 and I jut found out that ends of phrases esp. in classical period decrescendos. The problem is education. I really believe there would be less violence if we had the best education possible ;obviously we would also perhaps have fewer dishonest entrepreneurs and republicans . Just a joke : our world's problems aren't that simple .

  • @violinhunter2
    @violinhunter2 Před rokem +20

    It is quite common to "shake" your leg when confronted by something challenging. My students do it ALL the time. I have never mentioned it. It is a harmless nervous reaction.

    • @tonebasePiano
      @tonebasePiano  Před rokem +18

      Oh, totally. I'm a former leg bouncer myself. But in this scene it's deliberately used as a motif to dramatize the power difference between Tar and Max.

    • @violinhunter2
      @violinhunter2 Před rokem +3

      @@tonebasePiano Of course, you are quite right.

    • @melissamanning7004
      @melissamanning7004 Před rokem +2

      Yes, but there is a rhythm to the leg shaking that interferes with the rhythm of the piece they're practicing (Juilliard trained piano teacher here - 43 years teaching). I find that gum chewing creates the same problem. It has it's own rhythm. I ask my students to remove the gum. Your whole body "feels" the music. Thats why "Dalcroze Eurythmics" (the original music and movement) is so important.

    • @kpunkt.klaviermusik
      @kpunkt.klaviermusik Před rokem +1

      I always had the feeling the student is just bored to the max - or it's simply ADHS ^^

    • @marti_flute
      @marti_flute Před rokem

      The leg jiggling drove me nuts. I wanted to say "STOP!" I see it in real life, even on the subway. Anyone who does this should train themselves to not do it. They look ridiculous. One of my brothers did it a few times during dinner (years ago), but it was under the table, so we didn't have to SEE it. It shook the floor, so we would point it out to him and he'd stop. He apparently didn't know he was doing it. It is a nervous habit.

  • @vidtrax662
    @vidtrax662 Před rokem +1

    Oh wow, can’t miss this movie! 😎

  • @timhamilton9857
    @timhamilton9857 Před rokem +3

    Your use of "the architect of your soul" clip at the end made me burst out laughing. Irony is not dead!!

  • @daliaTC
    @daliaTC Před 9 měsíci

    Es grato ver esta review tan bien explicada siendo una persona que no sabe mucho sobre técnica musical, porque me hace disfrutar más de esos detalles musicales de los cuales no me había dado cuenta e inclusive enriquece el valor de la actuación de Blanchett (obvio jamás tuve dudas de su excelente actuación) y valorar cada pequeño gesto que aporta al personaje y a la escena, como siempre es una actriz que se prepara para darlo todo.
    Gracias por la review. ❤

  • @helmutschmitt4504
    @helmutschmitt4504 Před 11 měsíci +1

    This movie was so well made that as soon as it ended I started it over and watched again. It’s the best film I’ve seen in years.

    • @bonusbull
      @bonusbull Před 11 měsíci

      except that peruvian chant at the beginning.

  • @heyheytaytay
    @heyheytaytay Před 11 měsíci +1

    The accordion "apartment for sale" scene kills me every time. I feel like using some slight humor to portray a character clearly unwinding from herself and her reality was really clever and memorable.

  • @yushen7492
    @yushen7492 Před rokem

    thank you for the explanation of 'inner content' of Bach's music. i never touched his music yet, but the interpritatoin part 14:26 gave an amazing insight into the idea of the whole 'track'.
    i wish more content discussed the 'messages' of music through its musical details.
    it's actually really simple, but most of the 'content' is about technical terms as if the gist is actually there. while technique is only a means to be able to convey something
    music is really much more accessible, we just need to see it through the "language of art"

  • @ZKLofiTone
    @ZKLofiTone Před rokem +10

    This episode is really gold! And I am always impressed that actors learn actually many so called "jobs" to be as authentic as possible! What a blessing!!

    • @heartheart5543
      @heartheart5543 Před rokem

      For role in tar, Cate Blanchett learn how to conduct a real orchestra, relearn piano (she stop played piano at age 10), relearn speak german, and learn accordion for 15 or 30 minutes

  • @fizahfizzy1845
    @fizahfizzy1845 Před rokem

    You are a genius like Lydia Tar. 🎉👏🏻👏🏻

  • @bb1111116
    @bb1111116 Před 11 měsíci

    This video exposes another layer in how to view this film.
    (The identity/politics of the composer/artist/writer vs the content of the art. As well as the sincerity of the conductor vs a power trip.)
    The more I think about “Tar” the movie, I find additional aspects are revealed.

  • @constipatedlecher
    @constipatedlecher Před rokem +6

    This was so awesome! Thank you so much for putting this together. Very rare to see an actor actually play an instrument convincingly like this.