Happy Birthday but 13 classical composers are fighting over the last slice of cake

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  • čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
  • This is my take on "Happy Birthday" Variations! I had the idea to have composers (represented by their pieces) fight against each other in a parody-quotation format, while also integrating the Happy Birthday motif in as many places as possible. I've listed all the quotations and instances of Happy Birthday in the timestamps below, but see if you can guess them all!
    I'll talk a bit about the background of these variations (if you can even call it a loose variation format and not an intertextual fantasy/rhapsody). I've seen quite a lot of versions of Happy Birthday (most memorable for me were Cateen's "Happy Birthday To Everyone 12 Variations", "How to sound like x composer series" by Nahre Sol, and Twoset Violin's "If Classical Composers Wrote Happy Birthday"). I also particularly liked Cyprien Katsaris' 3 Variations which featured pieces by 3 composers in counterpoint with Happy Birthday, so decided to do a mixture of both blending a pastiche format of Nahre Sol/Twoset and a quotation format of Katsaris, but instead of doing only a few composers, I decided to go all out and include 13 composers (though technically it's 15 composers if you include that little John Cage "quotation" at the end, as well as my little self quotation in the middle).
    0:00 - Happy Birthday Motif, though I added a little bit of left-hand embellishment.
    0:08 - Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1 by Chopin in the soprano/bass line, blended with HBD in the alto line.
    0:15 - Symphony No. 5 - Beethoven that "interrupts/foreshadows" something - sort of similar to what I did in my previous Fur Elise quotation video
    0:22 - Sonata 16 in C Major K545 - Mozart - but HBD is the head motif, and a little twinkle of an answer is heard at 0:24.
    0:29 - HBD in the top voice in counterpoint with Mozart K545
    0:36 - HBD in the bass, which then migrates to the middle line in the following bar - all while in the middle of the Mozart Sonata
    0:39 - Fate Motif again from Beethoven 5
    0:43 - Unusual direction of Fate Motif leads to a C# modulation into Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu
    0:47 - HBD against Fantasie Impromptu
    0:55 - I went for a sequential direction with the latter half of HBD+ fantasie impromptu in order to smoothly transition into the A# Diminished chord, signifying the beginning of Appassionata 3rd mov
    1:02 - Appassionata 3rd mov, Beethoven.
    1:10 - HBD in the bass
    1:13 - Another instance of bass HBD
    1:17 - The lick, before going back to appassionata
    1:23 - HBD in the left hand - alternates with hand crossings similar to appassionata
    1:31 - Note the accents in LH and RH which signify the 2nd part of HBD (C C C A(b) F E D), and once sequenced they are able to transition into the next piece.
    1:38 - Transition into Moonlight Sonata 3rd Movement
    1:50 - The Lick (again)
    1:53 - The Lick, (again, again)
    1:56 - Dürnitz Sonata No. 6 in D Major K 284 / 205b, Mozart
    2:03 - Dürnitz Sonata combined with HBD
    2:13 - I tried writing the beginning of a fugue using HBD as the subject, so not really a Bach quotation haha
    2:27 - Prelude in G Minor Op. 23 No. 5 Rachmaninoff - The annotation is just a reference to that time where Rachmaninoff greeted Stravinsky with a jar of honey
    2:32 - HBD in the middle register
    2:37 - HBD (faster diminution form) echoed the middle then lower register
    2:44 - Goldberg Variations Theme - Bach
    2:50 - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 - Liszt
    3:03 - Moonlight Sonata 1st Movement - Beethoven, superimposed against HBD
    3:29 - Claire de Lune - Debussy
    3:36 - HBD in thirds (reminiscent of Claire de Lune)
    3:45 - Second half of HBD in thirds, transformed with Debussy-esque rhythms
    3:55 - Back to Claire de Lune (middle section)
    4:01 - Fur Elise - Beethoven (Although this is also a self-quotation from my previous Fur Elise quotation piece, which quotes Claire de Lune)
    4:08 - Modulation into Sonata No. 2 in G minor Mov. 1, Schumann. HBD starts on the syncopated eighth note at m. 150, then echoed at m. 153
    4:20 - HBD shifted to the second measure of the phrase
    4:25 - HBD head motif (G G A G) on the syncopated quarter notes and transposed (see accents)
    4:36 - Full HBD is heard, but off-beat
    4:39 - Another syncopated version of HBD
    4:53 - Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream - Mendelssohn
    4:59 - Slavonic Dances Op 46 No 1 - Dvorak
    5:02 - Two to Tango - Nicholas Ma (Self quotation from one of my compositions!)
    5:06 - Gymnopédie No. 1 - Satie
    5:13 - HBD with Gymnopédie-style accompaniment
    5:31 - HBD against Alkan Op. 39 No. 8
    5:37 - HBD reiterated in LH twice, then swapped back to RH
    5:57 - Erlkonig - Schubert
    6:01 - Sonata No. 2 4th movement - Schumann
    6:10 - HBD in LH against Schumann, ending on a syncopated note leading into the next piece
    6:14 - HBD against Prokofiev Piano Concerto 2 Cadenza
    6:35 - Still Prok 2 Cadenza, but Middle Staff voices HBD
    6:59 - HBD repeated in sixths
    7:13 - Final Statement of HBD!
    7:25 - 4'33" by John Cage
    Social media: / nicholasma01
    #happybirthday #piano
  • Hudba

Komentáře • 3,7K

  • @NicholasMaMusic
    @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +6015

    Hi everyone, thank you for such positive feedback! Many people have been asking for the sheet music, so I have linked it below. Feel free to learn it and share videos of you playing this! I'd be very happy to see people try to play this haha.
    Sheet music pdf: drive.google.com/file/d/1yCDZ4DmwAZ4xIwNui6jyWdJSG2RCt85o/view?usp=sharing

    • @chxyike
      @chxyike Před rokem +56

      Thank you so much. Very helpful. Best regards from Germany.

    • @pepparan
      @pepparan Před rokem +30

      Thank you very much!! 😍

    • @kaishawna3753
      @kaishawna3753 Před rokem +37

      I would love to play this but my piano skills are really below this level of playing. Plus I'm deaf so I would probably make up stuff as I go if I attempted this. 😅

    • @DrpshpdCatShirt
      @DrpshpdCatShirt Před rokem +20

      Yeah, first I just need to learn how to play piano properly 😅

    • @kayesguineapigs
      @kayesguineapigs Před rokem +19

      Oh my I teach piano and I am saying to myself this is never going to happen for me

  • @coyotix
    @coyotix Před rokem +7743

    “beethoven ignores debussy because he’s deaf” is the greatest thing i’ve ever gotten out of an arrangement of happy birthday

    • @snowleopard064
      @snowleopard064 Před rokem +38

      4:00

    • @rattersworld1016
      @rattersworld1016 Před rokem +2

      Same

    • @xxEzraBxxx
      @xxEzraBxxx Před rokem +13

      John Cage passes by

    • @pasta-yy
      @pasta-yy Před 4 měsíci +16

      this makes the first part even funnier because he's telling everyone to shut up and he has no idea what they're saying. Cause he's deaf. He can't hear them.

    • @EbrothersUK
      @EbrothersUK Před 2 měsíci +1

      Emotional damage

  • @joebaker4116
    @joebaker4116 Před rokem +9969

    Thoroughly enjoyed the subtlety of Beethoven telling everyone to, "Shut up"

    • @MeIsLeeLee
      @MeIsLeeLee Před rokem +17

      "Could you shut-eth the fuck-eth up-eth" -Beethoven, probably

    • @alvvn3918
      @alvvn3918 Před rokem +74

      1.7k and no replies? let me change that

    • @bluep3rz
      @bluep3rz Před rokem +54

      @@alvvn3918 1.8k and one reply? let me change that

    • @alvvn3918
      @alvvn3918 Před rokem +29

      @@bluep3rz changing life decisions bro

    • @danghostman2814
      @danghostman2814 Před rokem +273

      You invite a famous composer/pianist to your party, and try to get them to play, thinking it'll be fun -
      Most other pianists : Delighted to be the center of attention.
      Beethoven : "Ooo, Beethoven. Play the piano for us, Beethoven. Bull!@$%. Go away."

  • @graceearly3340
    @graceearly3340 Před rokem +3500

    “Prokofiev becomes so angry that he needs 3 staves to express this anger at the cake thief” made me laugh wayyyy too hard 😅

    • @pamspray5254
      @pamspray5254 Před 10 měsíci +30

      The outer ledger lines on the staves just made it that much better for me. 3 staves and some change were needed.

    • @user-xq1yk1ov3t
      @user-xq1yk1ov3t Před 10 měsíci +19

      Prokofiev catching Satie is the most hilarious part ever HAHAHA they are 2 of my ultimate favorite musicians 😂

    • @Aleksandr_Skrjabin
      @Aleksandr_Skrjabin Před 6 měsíci +3

      @@user-xq1yk1ov3t And quite the opposite of each other

    • @Crow.Author
      @Crow.Author Před měsícem +2

      Same, my wife came in to ask why I was wheezing.

    • @thatrobloxguy
      @thatrobloxguy Před měsícem +1

      Me: Sees 3-stave music ||| Also me: WHAT IN THE ACTUAL-

  • @reina_harhar7815
    @reina_harhar7815 Před 7 měsíci +742

    Beethoven: * Screams at Liszt to shut up *
    Also Beethoven: * Ignores Debussy 'cause he's deaf *

  • @ChronicDoodles
    @ChronicDoodles Před rokem +24747

    "beethoven ignores debussy because he is deaf" made me actually snort

  • @ethanlee8307
    @ethanlee8307 Před rokem +11935

    As a washed up pianist who knows none of the historical context, I just appreciate the visual of these various men, most of them in wigs, and quite accomplished in their own rights, chasing each other around and bickering like schoolboys.

    • @daymuntaku6590
      @daymuntaku6590 Před rokem +958

      I like to imagine they're also fighting over the same piano

    • @wyattstevens8574
      @wyattstevens8574 Před rokem +117

      @@daymuntaku6590 Same

    • @Acidfrog475
      @Acidfrog475 Před rokem +146

      @@daymuntaku6590 Except Bach

    • @entitypolyhedron
      @entitypolyhedron Před rokem +95

      I literally only know about mozart and i know almost nothing about piano-

    • @nickd.s4029
      @nickd.s4029 Před rokem +317

      I'm a historian, and trust me, it's even funnier with the historical context. I lost it when Listz made his "bombastic entrance", that man would absolutely do that, he was SUCH a diva🤣

  • @egg_2705
    @egg_2705 Před rokem +2492

    I can't imagine having the intelligence to not only come up with this as a concept, but to actually execute it so well I'm in tears.

  • @flickcentergaming680
    @flickcentergaming680 Před 9 měsíci +310

    The fact that Bach showed up and proceeded to write a fugue and ignore everyone else pleases me immensely.

  • @gamerguy2259
    @gamerguy2259 Před rokem +2248

    I love how everyone else is fighting for the cake and has actual responses to one another, while Beethoven keeps telling everyone to Shut Up.

    • @Merrsharr
      @Merrsharr Před rokem +199

      It's because he's deaf. He feels excluded when people talk.

    • @reallouiethecat3132
      @reallouiethecat3132 Před rokem +97

      You know your being annoying when even the dead guy is telling you to shut up

    • @reallouiethecat3132
      @reallouiethecat3132 Před rokem

      Deaf*, though I guess he is dead now too

    • @Hiraeth_Nightshade
      @Hiraeth_Nightshade Před rokem +82

      @@reallouiethecat3132 I was going to correct you by saying "you mean deaf", but you are not wrong though.

    • @SSQMinky
      @SSQMinky Před rokem +16

      John Cage:

  • @MusicalSoul47
    @MusicalSoul47 Před rokem +6561

    This feels like the score for a silent comedy that gets progressively more ridiculous and it’s perfect.

    • @NikolayNikolaev-hn8zl
      @NikolayNikolaev-hn8zl Před rokem +209

      Exactly. It needs proper actors and a cheap black/white camera!

    • @meridellwriter
      @meridellwriter Před 11 měsíci +101

      Or some animators to do a Looney Tunes-style cartoon of it.

    • @irenejohansen1370
      @irenejohansen1370 Před 11 měsíci +32

      As a matter of fact, I think the Alkan bit IS a silent movie composer. And yes, it’s perfect. A perfect hoot.

    • @hunterthepartygoer
      @hunterthepartygoer Před 10 měsíci +4

      666 likes lmao

    • @Leorastorm
      @Leorastorm Před 10 měsíci +13

      I want this to be animated in some way or form

  • @dysntgr8
    @dysntgr8 Před 5 měsíci +317

    This actually captured the style of each composer so well. But I absolutely died at the end with "John Cage passes by" and "John cage leaves"

  • @Inkymarkergg
    @Inkymarkergg Před 6 měsíci +938

    Guys. I‘m going to play this piece for my moms birthday in September 2024.
    starting: 22.10.2023
    I will update y‘all every month
    October: 1hour 28 minutes I practiced the first 2 pages slowly. I can play the left hand
    November: I can play until bar 80 from memory. My progress is slow because I can only practice 3x a week for 3 hours each bc my mom is at work. She has a mini-job to pay for my piano lessons. I love you mom❤
    October: I did 3 pages. I was very unproductive
    December: 15.12.23 I can play half of it now by memory. It‘s so close to christmas. I think my mom has been getting suspicious bc she‘s asking me what I’m practicing when she‘s gone 😂
    Merry Christmas
    January: Happy new year! I now have 9months and 4 (actually 5 but last day doesn’t count) days left! May all your hopes and wishes come true I love you mom, you are very hardworking, you deserve it! ♥️
    February: What the actual f. It’s already february omg time passes so quickly. And I’m almost finished with the piece. There are some places where I can’t play it so I might need to modify some places to my human hands a little. Thank you guys for the support in the comments!
    Th weather is so cold rm :(… Happy Chinese New Year for me fellow chinese. 新年快乐,红包拿来
    March: It’s almost finished. Afterwards i’m going to add the musical elements like phrasing and dynamics. Thank you again for the support, it’s very tiring to learn this piece and modify some places without my mom finding out. I guess it’s right what they say: strict parents raise sneaky kids 🤭. I’M A GIRL SO PLEASE STOP CALLING ME A DUDE OR GUY 🎀💝👩🏻🐯yes, i’m a girl
    I thought the rachmaninoff part (around 111 i think) and then beethoven were really hard 😭 And then i see Prokofiev. Prokofiev, stop showing off and do something simpler and don’t make me spend 2 weeks on your part. Wtf is bar 292 i ain’t got 3 hands and 3 brains
    April: I’m quitting :(. Just kidding (was a very good april fools joke yesyes i know 😎) it’s april. I’m not gonna be here the whole summer break, i’m going back to china for the whole summer vacation. That means end of july, august and first 2 days of september, I can’t practice. Well i deserved a break for sure, so gonna practice even more. The ending is so hard! Thank you guys again so much for your support, I really needed it, some days i just didn’t have the motivation to practice, but I gotta keep going. As long as mom doesn’t give up, i can’t too. This means i can never give up
    Waa, my mom stayed ip until 4 am to help me finish my physics project. It was building a wooden box (it was huge) and threading in 12 violin strings. It was so time consuming, yet she finished it for me. When i was hammering, she just took it out of my hands and said i shouldn’t risk a hand injury 😭😭😭 i just love her so much. She might seem very strict and mean, but when you get to know her, she’s so sweet, nice and has such a big heart
    May: time is passing so fast! I finished the piece. I kind of lost a bit of motivation, 😬. I stopped practicing for 2 weeks bc I just didn’t really feel like it. BUT THE SHOW GOES ON!!! I’m going to memorize it until the end now
    June:
    July:
    August:
    September: :)

  • @BlueCometDude
    @BlueCometDude Před rokem +2371

    The “Mozart interjecting with a poop joke” line is pretty accurate, the real Mozart used a lot of lowbrow humour during his music career

    • @dnkakusei
      @dnkakusei Před rokem +2

      Wolfgang Amadeus "Lick Me In The Ass" Mozart

    • @saftigesgulasch4407
      @saftigesgulasch4407 Před rokem +4

      There's this whole song of Mozart called "leck mich im Arsch" which roughly translates to lick my ass

    • @isleohagger5455
      @isleohagger5455 Před rokem +9

      This vid wasn't a very good representation of Mozart however.

    • @BearBeatzu
      @BearBeatzu Před rokem +8

      The poop joke thing made me think of Levi Ackerman, who often makes a lot of jokes about fecal matter.

    • @cornedbread3669
      @cornedbread3669 Před rokem +16

      @@isleohagger5455
      Feels more like it was based on the Amadeus movie to be honest, and to be fair Mozart only got 3 lines of text and thsi is a shitpost. So it’s not like they could show the full 3 sides of his personality in that.

  • @sophiatalksmusic3588
    @sophiatalksmusic3588 Před rokem +7609

    “Prokofiev catches Satie, chooses violence” was exactly the sentence I needed to hear today as a music history nerd with an incredibly niche sense of humour; thank you

    • @legendgames128
      @legendgames128 Před rokem +243

      With every low note in that section, you can practically hear the beating going on.

    • @erickborling1302
      @erickborling1302 Před rokem +213

      I can imagine Prokofiev, in disgust at Satie's stunted style, would tell Satie to use a black key every now and then.

    • @liszt4692
      @liszt4692 Před rokem +50

      Can someone explain me the reference?

    • @sophiatalksmusic3588
      @sophiatalksmusic3588 Před rokem +93

      @@liszt4692 There's not exactly a reference I'm aware of; the mental image is just funny.

    • @chessematics
      @chessematics Před rokem +116

      @@liszt4692 should i make a Liszt of references? There are many

  • @napoleonibonaparte7198
    @napoleonibonaparte7198 Před 7 měsíci +221

    This reads like a classic Tom and Jerry sketch, and I'm here for it.

  • @conner7875
    @conner7875 Před rokem +1780

    2:34 anyone wondering why did he give Bach a jar of honey, context is that there is a story where in a conversation Stravinsky told Rachmaninov that he likes honey, then at midnight Rachmaninov just goes to Stravinsky house and offers him a jar of honey😂 (correct me if wrong)

    • @slwrabbits
      @slwrabbits Před 9 měsíci +322

      this needs to be a thing that people do: knock on doors at midnight, offer a jar of honey, and leave with no explanation

    • @galactic_butter162
      @galactic_butter162 Před 9 měsíci +103

      @@slwrabbitsIt’s the initiation to the honey cult

    • @sirpixel7945
      @sirpixel7945 Před 8 měsíci +219

      Imagine being awoken in the middle of the night and then see Rachmaninov standing outside your window holding a jar of honey

    • @ShinnoEli
      @ShinnoEli Před 8 měsíci +70

      @@sirpixel7945 I would probably just close the curtain real quietly, go back to bed, and hope I'd imagined it. (And that he'd somehow also left the honey.)

    • @okyeahbutwhythoe1804
      @okyeahbutwhythoe1804 Před 7 měsíci +139

      reminder that Stravinsky‘s wife opened the door to find a 2m (6‘6) tall russian man holding honey in the middle of the night

  • @switz_m3dic317
    @switz_m3dic317 Před rokem +2476

    "Beethoven ignores Debussy because he is deaf"
    Fucking gold

  • @tiredstudebt4446
    @tiredstudebt4446 Před rokem +7445

    This video taught me more about differentiating composers than over 10 years worth of piano classes ever did

    • @NicholasMaMusic
      @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +510

      Haha great to hear, glad you found this educational!

    • @TheGuyCalledX
      @TheGuyCalledX Před rokem +38

      I mean he just took themes from some of the composer's most popular pieces. I'm surprised after 10 years of lessons you couldn't recognize most of these pieces by name, let alone by composer.

    • @signe6169
      @signe6169 Před rokem +86

      @@TheGuyCalledX I've taken lessons for ten years and I definitely can not recognize most of these pieces. And I mostly play classical and neo-classical, but I've always just played for fun you know:) And I'm sure the comment wasn't that serious

    • @muyodosel1658
      @muyodosel1658 Před rokem +6

      Chill yall my man is kidding.

    • @johnduffy2777
      @johnduffy2777 Před rokem +8

      ok now integrate them

  • @jonahbutterfield5792
    @jonahbutterfield5792 Před 6 měsíci +107

    Jokes aside this is a good demonstration of how the same melody can sound completely different in so many different ways and how voicing can really carry the tone of a piece

  • @katrinareads
    @katrinareads Před 11 měsíci +154

    I officially majored in elementary education in college. I was not musical. Nonetheless, I found myself regularly kidnapped (although they used the term "friended") by music majors who escaped the confines of the practice rooms and then dared to discuss their devious plans (although they used the terms "studying" and "recital material") in my presence. As a result, I accidentally gained enough of a music education through these hours of captivity (or as they called it "mealtime") to understand about 90% of the humor in this.

    • @leecha3444
      @leecha3444 Před 3 měsíci +7

      Similar to me, a food technology major that is surrounded by design majors 😂 i got to know (hear from the sidelines) most of their lecturers and their respective habits (on top of their grind every day & night)

  • @oddguys178
    @oddguys178 Před rokem +880

    If only I had a dollar for each time beethoven told someone to shut up, I could finally afford classes

  • @variedreasoning6416
    @variedreasoning6416 Před rokem +4567

    It was actually Tchaikovksy's birthday. Everybody forgot about it in the pursuit of cake, but fortunately Beethoven complimented his work on 1812 Overture before slamming the door on his way out during the chase sequence.

  • @cesium1336
    @cesium1336 Před 9 měsíci +173

    It is incredible that we can not only get all these composers of different eras into one theoretical room, but we can make them fight like action figures through notes on sheet music and very creative rearrangement and editing of their pieces. I love this video, it's hysterical, great job on it!

  • @elizabethhearts189
    @elizabethhearts189 Před 10 měsíci +126

    Why don't they show this stuff in music history? This. Is. Gold.

  • @keilafleischbein59
    @keilafleischbein59 Před rokem +781

    I honestly love that it's the deaf man who keeps telling them to shut up

    • @Aerodumb
      @Aerodumb Před rokem +70

      Beethoven, probably: "The loathsome movement of your lips infuririates me"

  • @PrincessSketch13
    @PrincessSketch13 Před rokem +2295

    Beethoven telling everyone to shut up despite being deaf is a mood ♡♡ excellent work

  • @emmari901
    @emmari901 Před rokem +316

    Schubert unleashing the Erlkönig had me cackling 😂 such beautifully chaotic joy! Well done!

    • @sofiabosco7892
      @sofiabosco7892 Před 10 měsíci +6

      wouldn't the erlkonig kill satie though?

    • @Evonne_Lee
      @Evonne_Lee Před 8 měsíci +6

      @@sofiabosco7892don't worry, it's just his Stand :P

    • @ShinnoEli
      @ShinnoEli Před 8 měsíci +5

      @@sofiabosco7892 Not if he surrenders the cake, I assume. ...Or runs faster than at least one other partygoer.

    • @gitasong
      @gitasong Před 2 měsíci

      Same. 😁🐎🧝‍♀️👑

  • @AlyWayMusic
    @AlyWayMusic Před rokem +66

    The John Cage ending is pure gold. 😂

  • @miasoloproductions
    @miasoloproductions Před rokem +669

    Very true to their personalities. Beethoven would tell everyone to shut up despite the fact that he can't hear anything.

  • @helioabc
    @helioabc Před rokem +2906

    this feels like a video a music theory teacher would show in class

    • @LongDeadArtist
      @LongDeadArtist Před rokem +18

      I swear this should've been it because I have a Happy Birthday variations analysis to do and this would be soooo much funner!

    • @crysania
      @crysania Před rokem +15

      100% yes. Music theory or music history for that matter. I no longer teach but I used to use things like PDQ Bach in my class. This totally would have been on my class playlist!

    • @benthurtle4670
      @benthurtle4670 Před rokem +14

      But they constantly stop the video and discuss every shift in the music

    • @julie-18
      @julie-18 Před rokem

      @♡evie0oO♡ yes if they were actually all classical era composers 🤓 the only classical composers here are Mozart and Beethoven 💀I hate to be that person but yes

    • @13Kr4zYAzN13
      @13Kr4zYAzN13 Před měsícem

      This feels like a video a music theory teacher _SHOULD_ show in class!

  • @PrimadonnaSouLa
    @PrimadonnaSouLa Před rokem +241

    This single piece of art has differentiated all those 13 composers to me so vividly and infinitely better than anything ive ever consumed

  • @preludelight
    @preludelight Před 9 měsíci +72

    This was one hell of a dissertation. Congratulations, Doctor.

  • @204lemon
    @204lemon Před rokem +2710

    This is pure genius!! I haven't laughed so much!
    The jokes are hilarious: Rachmaninoff offering honey, Liszt kicking the door and scaring everyone, Bach ignoring people to compose his fugue, Satie stealing the cake, Mendelssohn arriving confused from a wedding, best of all Schbert unleashing the Elkoing! Wow even John Cage passed by and said nothing about a bunch of composers fighting over cake! This deserves a million likes.
    Edit: oh my 1.3 K likes!! Thanks so much!!

    • @NicholasMaMusic
      @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +97

      Thank you!

    • @riv3r_mango705
      @riv3r_mango705 Před rokem +143

      Especially the one about Prokofiev being so angry that he needed 3 staves

    • @SnowRose-wn6gj
      @SnowRose-wn6gj Před rokem +135

      And Beethoven, who was deaf, was the one to tell people to shut up.

    • @tumblingartist
      @tumblingartist Před rokem +15

      It adds so much extra enjoyment to the video

    • @motutalaputa
      @motutalaputa Před rokem +34

      And Mozart telling a poop joke, because of the love letters full of poop jokes that he would send to his cousin

  • @StevenPJames-fl1un
    @StevenPJames-fl1un Před rokem +2335

    I like how this transitioned from your average party to Satie getting completely murdered

  • @thetachiban57
    @thetachiban57 Před 10 měsíci +55

    This needs to be arranged for an orchestra and then animated. It's excellent.

  • @hedgeearthridge6807
    @hedgeearthridge6807 Před rokem +19

    The Moonlight Sonata combined with Happy Birthday was PAINFUL 😂. I half expected Bach's part to be either only playable on pipe organ or require at least 4.5 hands to play on piano 😂

  • @thetoadmeister6664
    @thetoadmeister6664 Před rokem +1164

    “John Case passes by” and “John Cage leaves” was absolutely hilarious

  • @wotamelondo8591
    @wotamelondo8591 Před rokem +2837

    Ok but imagine an Opera with this

    • @NicholasMaMusic
      @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +455

      That would be hilarious! The visuals of composers having an all out brawl certainly would be a sight to behold

    • @Marewig
      @Marewig Před rokem +132

      I will definitely buy a ticket if it ever plays nearby, even if it meant saving up for months.

    • @DA-Dali
      @DA-Dali Před rokem +10

      I wanna do it

    • @rue6914
      @rue6914 Před rokem +24

      I'm an opera singer, and I love this idea lol

    • @keepyourshoesathedoor
      @keepyourshoesathedoor Před rokem +5

      Who’s gonna do it???

  • @ssently7512
    @ssently7512 Před 11 měsíci +143

    I wish I could share this with someone, but unfortunately I have no one who appreciates classical music in a way like this 😭 This is a masterpiece, thank you.

    • @sweetparriz
      @sweetparriz Před 6 měsíci +2

      I wish I understood this, I sort of play the piano and know almost all the pianists in the video but I wish I knew the context, it would’ve been so funny 😢

    • @saltedglen
      @saltedglen Před 6 měsíci

      @@sweetparriz i didnt know anything BUT googled the things inside and ITS ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS TRUST ME GOOGLE ALL OF EM ITS SO WORTH IT

    • @anapetrovic2260
      @anapetrovic2260 Před 4 měsíci +1

      You are so right! Masterpiece with humor!

  • @rheiagreenland4714
    @rheiagreenland4714 Před 6 měsíci +7

    "13 classical composers fighting over the last slice of cake"
    Bach: "You could make a fugue out of this "

  • @thetherrannative
    @thetherrannative Před rokem +2786

    That chase scene was so ridiculously vivid. As soon as it started going _off_ I felt like I was watching a whole movie.

  • @dragonswirl3579
    @dragonswirl3579 Před rokem +1048

    Prokofiev needing three staves to express his anger is the most accurate thing I've ever read

  • @PazWasHere
    @PazWasHere Před 5 měsíci +24

    When I saw "sneakin' that jazz in", I KNEW I was going to hear the fucking lick and once it happened, I still snorted and choked on my own laughter.
    This is amazing, my man. Well done!

  • @bear2325
    @bear2325 Před rokem +70

    The moonlight sonata mixed with Happy Birthday was SO PRETTY. Also the Clair De Lune … two of my favorites!!!!

  • @brianawong312
    @brianawong312 Před rokem +675

    I enjoy how aggressive Beethoven is. He's over here telling everybody to shut up.

    • @melissalawson7803
      @melissalawson7803 Před rokem +70

      He was kinda known for being hard to get along with. Genius musician, though.

    • @brianawong312
      @brianawong312 Před rokem +50

      @@melissalawson7803 Judging by his depiction in the movie Beethoven Lives Upstairs, he was the weird kid next door your mom forced you to play with. In a good way.

    • @chengguowei5591
      @chengguowei5591 Před rokem +15

      Even tho he couldn’t hear!!! 😅

    • @GunSpyEnthusiast
      @GunSpyEnthusiast Před 10 měsíci +9

      he's had enough shit, and regardless of who's shit, he's had enough of their shit, which I can relate to.

    • @Whalefire2
      @Whalefire2 Před 10 měsíci +17

      "I'm deaf and im already tired of your noise"

  • @Animaticx
    @Animaticx Před rokem +2670

    As someone who had a pretty long classical composer obsession, this is so accurate. Not just the composition, the personalities too 😂. Almost expected Paganini to come in and claim he needed to sacrifice the cake to the devil as a lie to keep the whole thing but I remembered my boy was a violinist.

    • @jackrobmusic
      @jackrobmusic Před rokem +77

      Would that be a Devils Food Cake?

    • @adelinaarmstrong9423
      @adelinaarmstrong9423 Před rokem +51

      i was more thinking he'd smash something simply to cause more chaos LHDJFALJDKFA

    • @hermi1-kenobi455
      @hermi1-kenobi455 Před 11 měsíci +37

      Paganini with this 140+ guitar compositions huddled in the corner..

    • @META_mahn
      @META_mahn Před 10 měsíci +45

      Paganini shouts "I can do it better!" and then proceeds to somehow turn the cake into a four-dimensional cake

    • @HieuPham-gc4jd
      @HieuPham-gc4jd Před 7 měsíci +1

      Great

  • @ComXDude
    @ComXDude Před 2 měsíci +6

    "Bach joins the party but ignores everyone, goes to a corner to write a fugue"
    He just like me fr fr

  • @harp7803
    @harp7803 Před měsícem +5

    Beethoven telling everyone to shut up when he's deaf is just amazing

  • @essixthefalcon8657
    @essixthefalcon8657 Před rokem +3697

    PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SOMEONE MAKE AN ANIMATIC OUT OF THIS! Just imagine all those classical people choosing violence cus of cake
    Edit: Holy shit this exploded. We all unite in wanting to see classical composers fight for cake!

  • @Meca-Mat
    @Meca-Mat Před rokem +756

    [2:51] I love the "Beethoven tells Liszt to shut up" one because it's so long that it feels like he says something like: "Liszt, please, instead of scaring us like that, I politely and cordially ask you to shut the fuck up."

  • @SpamtonsFunnyJMomentahhhhellna
    @SpamtonsFunnyJMomentahhhhellna Před 5 měsíci +4

    "john cage passes by"
    "john cage leaves"
    perfect resolution to a piece

  • @chamberlamps6855
    @chamberlamps6855 Před 6 měsíci +11

    You not only flawlessly incorporated my favorite Satie piece but also made him the cake thief?! Instant classic masterpiece right here, bravo

  • @MinecraftProLord
    @MinecraftProLord Před rokem +1551

    Imagine its your bday and these guys are one upping each other in playing a suitable song to celebrate your birthday.

    • @sand__witch
      @sand__witch Před rokem +117

      Each hopes you'll like his song best and give him the last slice of cake.

    • @FireballFlareblitz734
      @FireballFlareblitz734 Před rokem +60

      I would be both very honored and highly amused

    • @heysupbehappy7153
      @heysupbehappy7153 Před rokem +7

      Well I found this video Nov 21st... on my bday

    • @alinelopes484
      @alinelopes484 Před rokem +4

      @@heysupbehappy7153 And me Nov 22nd,also today on my birthday hahaha.

    • @donnaquixote7538
      @donnaquixote7538 Před rokem +4

      Just imagine if they all actually were still around ❤

  • @nonsense618
    @nonsense618 Před rokem +661

    Liszt kicking the door open and scaring everyone *killed* me. This whole thing is absolute gold.

  • @corah3544
    @corah3544 Před rokem +15

    5:51 Alkan into Erlkonig went bombastically hard

  • @shakirnuray9029
    @shakirnuray9029 Před 4 dny +1

    Tchaikovsky missed the party because he was busy feeding his swans in the lake.

  • @erikvaros3283
    @erikvaros3283 Před rokem +2478

    This was the greatest crossover in human history!

    • @NicholasMaMusic
      @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +107

      Thank you! It was fun trying to jump from one composer to another while using the happy birthday melody as a unifying link

    • @phantomlover1467
      @phantomlover1467 Před rokem +1

      Eat your heart out Endgame!

    • @Samantha-vlly
      @Samantha-vlly Před rokem

      THE greatest indeed

  • @crazycookie9000
    @crazycookie9000 Před rokem +982

    This is like a Looney tunes sketch conveyed entirely through music and text. Well done 😂

  • @koldphuzhun
    @koldphuzhun Před měsícem +3

    I would love to see a live playing of that whole piece. Just to see someone putting the expressions on their face as they played would be priceless.

  • @kouysl
    @kouysl Před 6 měsíci +4

    this is the most silly yet genius thing at the same time

  • @katesmothermon7146
    @katesmothermon7146 Před rokem +795

    Not only did you manage to beautifully tell a story that was easy to understand from a non-music-nerd point of view but it was also extremely captivating to listen to the whole time. It was a perfect balance of happy birthday with each composer’s style where you could make each distinction clear.

  • @jaykim3774
    @jaykim3774 Před rokem +1195

    When Schubert unleashes Erlkonig, you know shit's getting serious

    • @204lemon
      @204lemon Před rokem +38

      Honestly I'm feeling incredibly worried for Satie!

    • @naohitotakatori3729
      @naohitotakatori3729 Před rokem +41

      not to worry! satie’s dad is giving him a ride.

    • @angeliquecheung574
      @angeliquecheung574 Před rokem +2

      Yup

    • @moraien3278
      @moraien3278 Před rokem +5

      @@naohitotakatori3729 hope his soul didn't get snatched away during the ride.

    • @Ringinthetrue17
      @Ringinthetrue17 Před rokem +4

      I just love that Schubert just has the Erlking on standby, ready at a moments notice

  • @royallygray
    @royallygray Před rokem +16

    The character progression in this story is amazing, 10/10. Made me cry.
    (I’m mostly talking about the annotations, as a joke, but the music part is also really good /gen)

  • @WeiRd0_M3L0N
    @WeiRd0_M3L0N Před 2 měsíci +4

    This is the best piece of music in existence

  • @haihappen7485
    @haihappen7485 Před rokem +752

    Never thought „Happy Birthday“ can be such an emotional rollercoaster

  • @1classikai
    @1classikai Před rokem +566

    "Schumann unleashes the Erlkonig on Satie" got me *good* but "John Cage passes by... John Cage leaves" had me *CACKLING LIKE A GREMLIN*

    • @robnolan4150
      @robnolan4150 Před rokem +1

      Agreed!!!! That was awesome!

    • @philipmcniel4908
      @philipmcniel4908 Před rokem +12

      I actually played along on my piano when it got to that part.
      I was sitting on the couch across the room from my piano.

    • @alexanderfo3886
      @alexanderfo3886 Před rokem +2

      So true, this is the most hilarious classical music joke I've seen so far.

  • @Alex_in_Wonderland111
    @Alex_in_Wonderland111 Před 2 měsíci +2

    This is a fight I would pay real money to see

  • @emily5968
    @emily5968 Před rokem +4

    When I clicked on this, I just thought it was going to be Happy Birthday with the audio of random men yelling in the back. This is better than anything I could have anticipated. Phenomenal job!

  • @someoneelse4183
    @someoneelse4183 Před rokem +1833

    Never before has the world heard such a piece, full of life, expression, and storytelling, and the best part of all, it all revolves around a single slice of cake. Bravo, sir, bravo!

  • @3MB3Rx134
    @3MB3Rx134 Před rokem +393

    This started as happy birthday and then ended as RPG final boss music with an essence of Happy birthday

  • @lemeoriy1185
    @lemeoriy1185 Před 6 měsíci +6

    As a pianist. And classical music lover. Being able to recognize most of these songs was...entertaining.

  • @panzfaust9812
    @panzfaust9812 Před 2 měsíci +2

    Have not enough intellect to understand, thanks for the captions. Absurdly hilarious

  • @sarahporter9892
    @sarahporter9892 Před rokem +872

    Okay but Moonlight Sonata and Claire de Lune work surprisingly well superimposed with Happy Birthday

    • @thsoup2353
      @thsoup2353 Před rokem +22

      They're both works of the moon.

    • @1224chrisng
      @1224chrisng Před rokem +14

      ​@@thsoup2353 well that's just lunacy, a pie in the sky kind of talk

    • @juditveres_hearts
      @juditveres_hearts Před rokem

      ​@@1224chrisng 😅😂👍

  • @kikicogger2284
    @kikicogger2284 Před rokem +531

    “Prokofiev becomes so angry that he needs 3 staves to express this anger at the cake thief”
    I died.

  • @rahuqraf
    @rahuqraf Před 4 měsíci +2

    The John Cage joke is severely underrated. That had me ROFL

  • @dwaterson21
    @dwaterson21 Před 2 měsíci +2

    Bro turned Happy Birthday into a multi-stage boss fight.

  • @Nswizzle
    @Nswizzle Před rokem +969

    "He needs 3 staves to express this anger at the cake theif" is a very reasonable reaction to the monstrosity of the cake theif

  • @sampaguita_dew
    @sampaguita_dew Před rokem +208

    the ‘Beethoven tells (insert composer) to shut up’ got me every time

  • @hee-hoo5672
    @hee-hoo5672 Před měsícem +3

    I got this recommend to me on my birthday and it absolutely fits my brains vibe for today. A 10/10 confusion

  • @Ciborium
    @Ciborium Před měsícem +1

    Man, Prokofiev must have been absolutely furious to resort to *three staves* to show his anger.

  • @MereMeerkat
    @MereMeerkat Před rokem +431

    Honestly, stuff like this is why I can never seriously consider my undergrad music degree "useless." Debussy telling everyone to chill almost made me do a spit take. Perfect.

  • @roxiep2010
    @roxiep2010 Před rokem +273

    I'm imagining a Looney Tunes-esque animated short accompanying all of this and it's great fun. In my head, all of the composers are drawn in different styles to match the chaotic energy of the composition.

    • @Lasanga95
      @Lasanga95 Před rokem +7

      I could do it if I had enough motivation.

    • @thehappyfemme
      @thehappyfemme Před rokem +3

      ​@@Lasanga95 here's your motivation: Do it! 😎

  • @astrobhais
    @astrobhais Před měsícem +4

    I played this at a friend's bday, everyone was so confused lol

  • @DrEnzyme
    @DrEnzyme Před 10 měsíci +1

    Sounds like someone got tired of being asked to play Happy Birthday at every family occasion.

  • @paulgering7703
    @paulgering7703 Před rokem +76

    Satie: *cake is mine*
    Prokofiev: So you have chosen death.

  • @ekomieran7150
    @ekomieran7150 Před rokem +164

    beethoven telling liszt to shut up with moonlight sonata just felt so incredibly petty that i audibly laughed

  • @Cec9e13
    @Cec9e13 Před měsícem +1

    I must now save this and send it to every person on their birthday. This is amazing. It's like the score for a silent movie of all of the composers fighting over the cake.

  • @amy21yang92
    @amy21yang92 Před měsícem

    It is so amusing that the composers’ pieces work together perfectly when they are fighting

  • @stack-of-all-trades6689
    @stack-of-all-trades6689 Před rokem +528

    I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now but all I wanna do is draw a bunch of classical composers choosing violence

  • @sarahshydale4051
    @sarahshydale4051 Před rokem +403

    The visual of Mozart laughing far too hard at his own poop joke is just amazing

  • @michellegiacalone1079
    @michellegiacalone1079 Před 10 měsíci +7

    7:34 Piano collapses.

  • @baileyshep1644
    @baileyshep1644 Před měsícem +3

    thanks yt for recommending this to me the day before my bday

  • @wyattstevens8574
    @wyattstevens8574 Před rokem +1140

    I think one of the most hilarious lines is "Mendelssohn arrives late from a wedding, but is incredibly confused."
    I imagine it happening this way:
    Everyone's scrambling for the cake.
    Mendelssohn: "Hey, guys, sorry I'm late, I was at a wedding- what am I looking at?"
    Dvorak: "Ok- here's what you saw: somebody's got most of the birthday cake, and the rest of us were going to get what was left."

  • @user-wu9cz9du9k
    @user-wu9cz9du9k Před rokem +1315

    I’m a piano student who absolutely hates doing history :’) BUT THIS WAS ACTUALLY REALLY FUNNY AND YOU CAN PICK OUT EXACTLY WHO IS WHO BY THE STYLE

    • @maxleibert5289
      @maxleibert5289 Před rokem +11

      its not the "style" its literally mainstream compositions with the HBD theme somehow mixed into them - thats my problem with it

    • @irenejohansen1370
      @irenejohansen1370 Před 11 měsíci +15

      @@maxleibert5289you still have to understand the style to successfully weave it all together.

    • @allenapplewhite
      @allenapplewhite Před 10 měsíci +21

      @@maxleibert5289 While you are correct about the semantics of the word "style" and how it is applied to this arrangement, it is still impressive to mold HBD to fit into all these other pieces.
      It is really a ballad of composers greatest hits mashed-up with HBD.
      But you could also argue that each of these pieces ARE in the style of their respective composers--quite literally and obviously so. I can see how that could be disappointing if you were hoping for a brand new composition written in the "style" of each composer.
      But technically, Moonlight sonata IS in the style of Beethoven...even though we dont usually think in those terms and honestly, I made the same assumption at first too. But I still enjoyed the arrangement and weaving HBD into pieces I never would have imagined, and the storytelling was awesome and on point!

  • @editoranimatoralexcod
    @editoranimatoralexcod Před 2 měsíci +3

    This really encapsulates the drama of fighting over the last slice of cake! Good job!

  • @tomasemiliogutierrezgonzal1278
    @tomasemiliogutierrezgonzal1278 Před 9 měsíci +2

    The best ending in all of CZcams history

  • @mop7316
    @mop7316 Před rokem +165

    me before clicking on the video: 7 minutes? don't think i'll watch the whole thing
    me 7 minutes later, more invested into this storyline than i've been in anything in a long time: WHERE'S THE SEQUEL

    • @nfullenwider
      @nfullenwider Před rokem +2

      Friend, I went from washing dishes and making coffee to sitting down entranced. You're not the only one who was transfixed!

  • @kuromigruzen489
    @kuromigruzen489 Před rokem +1556

    I am an opera student who has been revising the different composers and their distinct styles. This video unironically helped me a little better, not to mention made me laugh so hard 😭🤣 good job and thanks for this!!

    • @NicholasMaMusic
      @NicholasMaMusic  Před rokem +67

      Thank you, glad this was able to help you revise!

    • @rue6914
      @rue6914 Před rokem +8

      I'm also an opera student let's go!

    • @snubby49
      @snubby49 Před rokem +4

      @@rue6914 aww i hope you two meet at an opera 5 years later, magically get into a wild scenario, be partners in crime and go through an enemies to lovers trope in a span of a couple hours!!💞

    • @birchy_paw
      @birchy_paw Před rokem +1

      @@snubby49 bro how’d you know what I thought of 😭 IMAGINE THEY’RE ALREADY IN THE SAME CLASS OR SMTH AND THEY JUST DON’T KNOW IT

    • @snubby49
      @snubby49 Před rokem

      @@birchy_paw FRRR omg someone write a book about this-😩💞

  • @RahulMishra-pl5dq
    @RahulMishra-pl5dq Před 4 měsíci +1

    Bethoven is the main character here. Tells others to shut up but ignores Debussy because he's deaf.