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Thread: Tarkus arrangement being played by the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna

  1. #1
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    Tarkus arrangement being played by the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna

    Starting ca. every February, I go to the websites of every opera house and symphony orchestra in Europe and America that I can find to see if they're doing anything really interesting that might be worth the expense and hassle of traveling to hear.

    I was browsing the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna's 2015-16 brochure and amidst all the usual Haydn - Beethoven - Brahms, there was this:

    February 17 (in St. Pölten) & 18 (the awesome Musikverein in Vienna), 2016

    Yosuke Yamashita: Piano
    Yutaka Sado: Conductor

    Keith Emerson: Tarkus (Arrangement for Orchestra: Takashi Yoshimatu)
    Yosuke Yamashita: Piano Concerto #1 "Encounter"
    George Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue

    A quick Google search didn't turn up any performances of that arrangement before, it sounds interesting. Oh Keith, too bad you didn't use the orchestra in 1977 to do Tarkus and Karn Evil 9 orchestrated like you'd talked about for years. Still, we got to hear Knife Edge with orchestra!
    ...or you could love

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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    I'm guessing it's this arrangement. Apparently that's Yutaka Sado conducting:

    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

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    Member jefftiger's Avatar
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    Yes, that's definitely Yutaka Sado conducting in the above video. There was a 1080p version of this video on the Web some years back that I was able to download. It's quite an amazing performance.

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    Well, damn my lack of Googling skills!

    Thanks for the link! From 6:58 on to the end was especially a "hair up on back of neck" time. Excellent brass playing throughout, too.
    ...or you could love

  5. #5
    Progdog ThomasKDye's Avatar
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    It's funny, before I clicked on this, I thought "How will they keep up the 'Battlefield' section for an orchestral performance?"

    Oh… they didn't. One verse and it's over. Probably the right decision.
    "Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)

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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jefftiger View Post
    Yes, that's definitely Yutaka Sado conducting in the above video. There was a 1080p version of this video on the Web some years back that I was able to download. It's quite an amazing performance.
    I'm curious since you may know more about this: is the clip above the full arrangement, or is it an abbreviated/edited version? I sense there's more to this arrangement than what's in the video, but can't be sure.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Paulrus View Post
    I'm curious since you may know more about this: is the clip above the full arrangement, or is it an abbreviated/edited version? I sense there's more to this arrangement than what's in the video, but can't be sure.
    I have an audio recording of a performance of the full Tarkus suite by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded around 8 months after the performance shown in the youtube clip - unfortunately, I can't find any more details, so don't know if it's Sado conducting.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeremy Bender View Post

    Thanks for the link! From 6:58 on to the end was especially a "hair up on back of neck" time. Excellent brass playing throughout, too.
    I agree - they really belt out AquaTarkus, & the lower end of the brass section is magnificent. By contrast, some of the lead brass & wind players struggle to hold on during the more demanding sections...

  8. #8

    "Eruption"


  9. #9

    Tarkus, Orchestral Version (Live)

    Sachio Fujioka, conductor
    March 20, 2013
    Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall



  10. #10

    Duelling Tarkii


  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by A. Scherze View Post
    Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

    Holy moly!
    The music was hot, but my baby was not.

  12. #12
    Yamaha's Electone is their organ division and they hold competitions. In the mid to late '70s, they used the GX-1 (which was actually one of their organs). In '76, a finalist from Mexico played "Tarkus" and so have others over the years. Here's something else.


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    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by A. Scherze View Post
    Yamaha's Electone is their organ division and they hold competitions. In the mid to late '70s, they used the GX-1 (which was actually one of their organs). In '76, a finalist from Mexico played "Tarkus" and so have others over the years. Here's something else.
    Besides the business connections between Emerson and Yamaha, has anyone tried to explain what it is about his music -- "Tarkus" in particular -- that appeals so much to the Japanese psyche? It's like the French and Pink Floyd were in the late 60s. It seems like they just can't get enough of it.

    And another question: does KE make money every time "Tarkus" is performed? How does that all work out?
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  14. #14
    Member jefftiger's Avatar
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    Good question! There was a 2011 Subaru commercial aired in Japan that featured Tarkus as well:

    https://www.facebook.com/KEITH.EMERS...00516811001619

    There seems to be a real fascination with this music.

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    It's amazing that these orchestras and ensembles (not to mention Rachel Flowers) are even bothering to reproduce anything by ELP. After all, I've read on other posts how non-influential they are, and how they are laughed at by the classical community...

    Bob

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by A. Scherze View Post
    Yamaha's Electone is their organ division and they hold competitions. In the mid to late '70s, they used the GX-1 (which was actually one of their organs). In '76, a finalist from Mexico played "Tarkus" and so have others over the years. Here's something else.

    Thanks for posting that, it was awesome.
    a not more rock feel and it worked

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