Angels We Have Heard On High, ThePianoGuys with Peter Hollens and David Archuleta.
Archive for the ‘ThePianoGuys’ Category
Angels We Have Heard on High
December 11, 2015Begin Again
September 19, 2015
Megan Nicole, Alex Goot and ThePianoGuys, with their take on Begin Again from Taylor Swift from her album Red.
Note the hint of J S Bach Sheep May Safely Graze (Cantata No. 208).
And better than the Taylor Swift original (though it is good too).
O Come, Emmanuel
December 25, 2014Christmas Greetings.
A beautiful and haunting Christmas version of O Come, Emmanuel by ThePianoGuys.
Let It Go (Disney’s “Frozen”) Vivaldi’s Winter
April 6, 2014This is real snowy wasteland, not digital editing in a studio.
I would have preferred straight Vivaldi Winter from The Four Seasons.
Angels We Have Heard on High
December 25, 2013Christmas greetings from ThePianoGuys.
Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascends
December 22, 2013A destiny is not realized until we let go of the illusion of control. — Master Oogway
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. – Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
It had always been the dream of ThePianoGuys to play on the Great Wall of China.
Since ThePianoGuys began, it has been our impossible dream to put a grand piano on the Great Wall. People laughed at us when we said we were determined to do it. It is done. All of us at ThePianoGuys would like to dedicate this music video to the visionary behind it all and the man whose dream this has always been: Paul Anderson.
An invisible hand guided us, for which we are eternally grateful. This was a life-changing experience for us.
When we found out we had been granted a permit to film on The Wall we were intimidated by the prospect of choosing what song to write. A pop song arrangement seemed irreverent! We talked about writing an original tune, but we wanted something more relevant. We’re big fans of the Kung Fu Panda movie series (and we’ve all got kids that love it too.) We had what we call a “chills up” moment as we listened to “Oogway Ascends” from the soundtrack. Steve was inspired to figure out how to create a sound on his custom electric cello (named Bruce Lee) that mimicked the Chinese fiddle (Erhu) and the plucked instrument, Guqin. As we often love to do we wanted to include a classical influence. There are over 30 million piano students in China. That’s more people than the entire population of Australia! It’s probably safe to say the great Polish pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin has more groupies in China than anywhere else. We had been working on an arrangement of his Prelude No. 20 (nicknamed “Chord” or “Funeral” Prelude). It fit the theme and the vibe of Oogway’s “Ascension” AWESOMELY (as Po would say). Between it all we wanted a bridge that sounded like a Kung Fu battle. Once the concept had solidified the song seemed to write itself.
We only had a day to film. Wow. Capture the epicness of the Great Wall in 12 hours or less? Add in the challenges of weather (lighting), limited equipment and crew, and, of course, the people climbing the wall – many were very nice and stayed back as we filmed, but we couldn’t keep everyone off which eliminated a lot of shots. We wished we could have done so much more, but we’re grateful for what we were able to do.
The portion of the Great Wall where we filmed is called “Huangyaguan.” It was originally built in 570 AD and rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). The Great Wall is over 8,000 Kilometers (5,000 miles) long. It can be seen from space. It is arguably the most iconic Wonder of the World. Our new dream is to put a piano and cello on ALL SEVEN WONDERS. Which one should we do next?
If you’ve read to the end of this description then you are unofficially inducted into ThePianoGuys Secret Kung Fu Inner Circle. Skadoosh!
The amphitheatre at the base of the Acropolis in Athens, is a must for ThePianoGuys to film and perform a concert.
ThePianoGuys Live From Red Butte Gardens
August 22, 2013Live concert by ThePianoGuys from Red Butte Gardens, broadcast by PBS last March.
Let’s hope PBS put the entire concert on-line.
Peponi
August 19, 2013Amazing live performance ThePianoGuys featuring Alex Boye.
If you wonder what Alex Boye is talking about, check out the video Alex Boye made with ThePianoGuys.
A pity the entire concert has not been posted.
Concert at Kingsbury Hall.
Don’t You Worry Child
August 18, 2013Don’t You Worry Child, vastly superior performance by ThePianoGuys featuring Shweta Subram to the original by Swedish House Mafia.
Filmed on location in Utah.
Berlin
April 11, 2013ThePianoGuys in Berlin, 12 cellos and a kick drum.
Keithpp's Blog 