Have you seen the movie? It took me half the show to get into it, but I ended up liking it.

I did like the piano soundtrack; I found myself trying to predict what the next phrase would be. Turns out it’s by Ludovico Einaudi; I think SK plays his music, so I wanted to give a headds up.

AdagioM, yep, Einaudi is someone I play regularly!

I have heard of the film, but it sounds heart wrenching and I’m not up for that kind of entertainment these days!

I actually heard of the film in a podcast I was listening to about Einaudi, they interviewed various filmmakers who talked about how they found Einaudi’s music as the key element in their film, it was quite interesting.

A side note: the soundtrack for Nomadland is not eligible for the various awards because most of it is not new/original to the film. The filmmaker apparently wanted to use some specific pieces that she had heard.

I think I already play two of the pieces that are used in the film (maybe more, I’m not clear on what all is included in the film score).

Oltremare is one of the main tracks, which I’ve wanted to play for a long time, but it’s over 10 minutes long (12 pages of. Music!) and have a huge section of 3 against 2. :/

Here’s something I recorded last April, after COVID started and I wanted to start recording more (so it’s far from perfect). I think it might be used in the movie?

Ascent, by Ludovico Einaudi

Excellent
Well played.
Thank you

Einaudi on a large, bright, folk harp

Chas, thank you!!

I love the harp recording!! It’s interesting to listen to because I have played that piece myself and that harp version is literally a note-for-note transcription, and yet it sounds like it was written for the harp!

SK, your playing is beautiful! Chas, I enjoyed the harp, too.

I don’t watch a lot of movies or TV, but I watched Nomadland for a Zoom discussion with friends. The first half of the movie didn’t connect with me, but Frances McDormand has the bleak gaze down pat. In the second half (I watched it in 2 sittings), there is more connection with people, and landscapes that were more appealing. I’m glad I watched it, but it would not be my first choice of viewing material on my own.

I’m sorry that Einaudi isn’t eligible for awards on this one; the music really added a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by AdagioM:
SK, your playing is beautiful!

Thank you!!!

quote:

I’m glad I watched it, but it would not be my first choice of viewing material on my own.

yeah, that's the impression I was getting.

quote:

I’m sorry that Einaudi isn’t eligible for awards on this one; the music really added a lot.

I agree (even though I haven't seen the movie yet!) I mean, I wish he was eligible for an American award. But I do think this is getting him a lot more press in the US (he's already incredibly well-known in Europe and the UK).

Here's the score for Oltremare. I started practicing it in 2015 (hence the way it's all strung together) but decided it was too hard. Today I got it out and gave it a try, maybe I'll try to actually work on it this time. I love the tonal color of the music!!!

It's just a wee big long....

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Here's the score for Oltremare. I started practicing it in 2015 (hence the way it's all strung together) but decided it was too hard. Today I got it out and gave it a try, maybe I'll try to actually work on it this time. I love the tonal color of the music!!!

It's just a wee big long....

From the looks of the score stretched out, it may take awhile to get through it.

I would relate it to the piano transcription of Rhapsody in Blue that I hack my way through occasionally. I know that it's way beyond my level of competence, but I still enjoy trying and there are some portions that I can actually feel like I'm playing something recognizable. I don't mean to imply that you are in over your head with that score, because you are obviously a much better pianist than I am, but only to say that a long and sometimes challenging score is not a reason to deny yourself a reason from playing it in whole or in part.

I'm pleased to see a piano score appear in a movie. By coincidence, I was listening to a CD with Valentina Lisitsa playing themes from movies. It seems like the 1940s might have been the golden era of piano themes for movies. I try to work my way through Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto and Bath's Cornish Rhapsody along with a couple of Charles William's movie composition, but it's been a half century at least since I recall a piano composition that I can remember as the focal theme of a movie.

I do think I want to see Nomadland. The story seems like one I want to know better.

Big Al

AdagioM, Big Al,

Al, I bet the piano transcription of Rhapsody in Blue is really fun! Do you play piano regularly these days? What else are you playing?

I think with Oltremare, I'm going to poke around in the score (starting with the 3 against 2!) for a few days and then, if it seems do-able, I'll break it up into sections and tackle it in a more systematic way.

Time will tell!

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
Al, I bet the piano transcription of Rhapsody in Blue is really fun! Do you play piano regularly these days? What else are you playing?

Yes, Rhapsody in Blue is fun, even though I know I'll never play it well. It takes me closer to an hour to hack my way through the entire transcription because I simply can't play some of it at the intended tempos. It makes me appreciate a really good performance even more because I'm better acquainted with the score and listen for how the artist phrases certain passages.

I am actually playing more during this time of social isolation than I had been. Most of what I play is popular songs from the great American songbook. I have a stack of sheet music to pick from and a number of anthologies that I turn to frequently including Hits of the 20s, 30s and 40s; compilations of songs by Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin; the album of romantic songs that I brought with me to the piano party in the Chicago area; and a few others. If I feel like something more classical, the 9-volume Scribner Music Library that I got from my father is the primary resource.

I've never devoted enough practice time to become more than just a source of amusement to myself, although I did make a habit of playing for my mother when I'd visit the home where she was living in her last years. Sometimes I'd attract one or more of the other residents. I'm old enough to not embarrass easily and they seemed to enjoy hearing music they knew, even with some glitches.

Big Al

I saw the movie “Nomadland” and liked it. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen it and I’ve forgotten how the music soundtrack goes. The movie is a fictional narrative based on a novel but it seems like a documentary. Some movie theaters are reopening in my city with partial capacity and that’s where I saw Nomadland.

I’ve often thought that it would be nice to own an RV for a second home but I wouldn’t want it to be my one and only home like the modern day nomadic RV owners in the movie. Like one of the characters remarked that they’re houseless but not homeless.

quote:

Originally posted by Qaanaaq-Liaaq:
I saw the movie “Nomadland” and liked it. It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve seen it and I’ve forgotten how the music soundtrack goes. The movie is a fictional narrative based on a novel but it seems like a documentary. Some movie theaters are reopening in my city with partial capacity and that’s where I saw Nomadland.

I’ve often thought that it would be nice to own an RV for a second home but I wouldn’t want it to be my one and only home like the modern day nomadic RV owners in the movie. Like one of the characters remarked that they’re houseless but not homeless.

Yes, having a choice to go off in an RV is one thing, but being put in a position of no choice but to have the RV as a home is a very different proposition.