Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner A modern day romantic composer? Color me impressed!

Steve Villa-Massone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ZuxtigE0M&feature=c4-overview&list=UUzHOfVPDDZj1tnN_HlaGWPw

I have to say, It's nice to hear someone composing in the old style and displaying their work publicly. This man rolls his own piano around Paris and performs for the crowds. It's interesting to hear something resembling a cross between Chopin and Liszt. He's also quite the showman which for non-piano folk seems to spark curiosity and interest.

Here's another video of him playing 3 other compositions, he has a bunch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CFFooKjQII

I would encourage everyone to listen to the entire thing, he has some good stuff.

All I can say is, if this impresses you, you're pretty easy to impress.

YAY... Some more negativity on board!

Come on guys... This is one more composer/pianist that is not Chopin, or Rachmaninov, or Hamelin, or Horowitz... Ok...

But what does it matter? Does the community need our negative opinion on anything? Especially if there's nothing to lose, but a couple of minutes of youtube watching? Even more so, if someone is impressed by someone then so be it! Very well and very fine and dandy!

Hamelin is not a great composer. Horowitz would have been.

OK, let's hear your compositions.

I feel his movements are over-exaggerated and just for the sake of showing off, but I like some of the music he played

1) How does that even follow?

2) Polyphonist is a competent composer.

I learned about Villa-Massone about a year ago I think.It's pretty amazing what he's been able to do. I'd like to see some of his works in print, but as far as I can tell, he writes exclusively for his own (interesting!) performances.

1) He's judging another composer.

2) He's judging the OP's taste.

3) I'd like to hear his own compositions.

You don't have to be chef to say a meal sucked.

Joel: Hamelin has composed a set of etudes, if I'm not mistaken which are commercially available (unlike Villa-Massone, if not mistaken, or if so not from Schott (which I think is the publisher of Hamelin).

More over, yes, you don't have to be a chef to say that a meal sucked, but I think the Internet and the, what I personally call, myspace democracy, has given value to every opinion in the world, like it means something. No you don't have to be a chef to say that a meal sucked, but in order to critic publicly you should, perhaps be a critic, especially if you're all too strong about your opinions!

You said
2) Polyphonist is a competent composer.

So, he's a chef dissing another chef and that chef's fans. He'd better be ready for a cook-off.

I liked it. Some of it sounded stylistically familiar, ideas borrowed from other composers, but they all do that. I think he's got promise. (He rocks around too much.)

Something that most people don't get is that the "let's see you do better" fallacy goes both ways. This fallacy is based on the notion that one must possess equal credentials or skill in order to judge something. Well guess what -- judgements aren't just negative. You can judge something negatively or positively. By that fallacy's logic you would need to be a chef to even claim that a meal is good. Of course, nobody ever says "let's see how well you cook" with regards to a positive judgement. No, only defensive people whip this fallacy out when they feel threatened.

/rant

And here comes a little more.

Sure, I applaud the idea of stuff like this, and I applaud him (although I have no idea what K finds "interesting" about his playing) ....but I have a hard time getting very far with him because of how awful the playing is on the fast/loud stuff. To me it's basically unlistenable (although I did listen, to give him a chance). It's brusque, bangy, without any significant dynamic variation or any rhythmic flair or interest, no phrasing to speak of -- he plays basically like some people who get into the amateur competitions, get big applause from some of the audience, and don't advance past the 1st round -- and really compositionally I don't find it much at all either. Although maybe if he played it more listenably I'd hear more in it. And maybe he can play better than that but is just doing a caricatured thing because of the setting where he's playing.

But sure, I applaud the idea of stuff like this. Beyond that, I don't know.

I don't feel threatened AT ALL, let me assure you!

If you think about it, isn't there enough bad in the world, to keep pointing out the wrongs about anything, especially something that's not proclaimed "the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE OF MUSIC" or something?

BTW, I know that I fell into my own trap, by judging a members' post (if you think about it... ;)), but am I a chef? If so can I post what I think is wrong with all the music in the world and your taste in music? Quite not I think!

More over polyphonist's post was about the taste of someone else. Not just negative to a random youtube guy and his music, but about the taste of another member.

Mark: Yes his playing is exactly that: Bangy, loud, almost too careless and fast to impress. Exactly that! He's on the street, he's not on Carnegie Hall. And your post isn't exactly on the too negative side... just slightly...

But Nikolas, you DO have the right judge whatever you want. It's a wonderful thing.

I know it seems like Polyphonist's remark was rude but I don't think it's a big deal. His opinion of OP's taste is simply the expression of his own taste.

I only listened at first, but this time I went back and watched the video. I wonder how that guy doesn't get wrist/hand pain. His octave technique is so horribly tense, and he's using excessive amounts of vertical movement.

He's pretty young. Give him time.

Prediction: Someone like that either arrives at a better way of playing within some years (not that many), or he quits. I'd guess the first.

I'm only 18 and let me tell you, if I played that way for 5 minutes my hand would hurt like heck.