manalishi:
Amen to ol JSB, especially the Goldberg Variations.Sublime.I’m tapping into medieval music increasingly these days,nothing like a little crumhorn to start the day i find.Ditto Vivaldis concerto for two flutes.Hits the spot.
I have always loved that arrangement especially in C#, try this with headphones on, youtube.com/watch?v=59VVZw0iH18 One of the first classical pieces I played and still perfecting it now after 20 years of playing it. My father loved me to play this for him and I sort of became obsessed with trying top perfect it. Medieval music is indeed very satisfying to listen to when in the mood.
UKtramp:
manalishi:
Amen to ol JSB, especially the Goldberg Variations.Sublime.I’m tapping into medieval music increasingly these days,nothing like a little crumhorn to start the day i find.Ditto Vivaldis concerto for two flutes.Hits the spot.
I have always loved that arrangement especially in C#, try this with headphones on, youtube.com/watch?v=59VVZw0iH18 One of the first classical pieces I played and still perfecting it now after 20 years of playing it. My father loved me to play this for him and I sort of became obsessed with trying top perfect it. Medieval music is indeed very satisfying to listen to when in the mood.[/quote
Interesting piano take,vigorous cadences to the fore and no mistake,although with Viv,it’s a string thing 
I think the four seasons-suite has been overly ubiquitised over the years.call-centres,ads etc,but there’s no denying it’s utter brilliance despite these cultural crimes.Good audio certainly gives new life to these masterpieces,in my case Cambridge-Audio-Melomania buds,they dig deep on the low ranges,not in the Naim or Krell league of course (i wish),but a notch maybe above Arcam or Bose imho.
manalishi:
Interesting piano take,vigorous cadences to the fore and no mistake,although with Viv,it’s a string thing I think the four seasons-suite has been overly ubiquitised over the years.call-centres,ads etc,but there’s no denying it’s utter brilliance despite these cultural crimes.Good audio certainly gives new life to these masterpieces,in my case Cambridge-Audio-Melomania buds,they dig deep on the low ranges,not in the Naim or Krell league of course (i wish),but a notch maybe above Arcam or Bose imho.
I use Bose 700 headphones, not the very best but more than adequate for my ears nowadays. I agree that the winter four seasons has been overly used in a lot of circumstances but it is my favorite piece as I have played it for years to try to replicate it as near as original as possible, it is an absolute master piece and very difficult to get the softness and volume correct. I love to hear it it on the violin too but the piano is my forte so that is my passion for it. My father loved it and had me practicing it from a very young age, my mother thought I was insane when playing it, as your movements and facial expressions when engrossing lends to that of a psychopath. My father reassured her to the fact that I was not insane but actually talented. I don’t think she ever accepted his words and did indeed class me as clinically insane. She wasn’t actually musical herself so she didn’t understand. I would have loved her to have had more interest in my playing but she just couldn’t watch me play without a look on her face that made me feel embarrassed. Even now to this day when I play the four seasons, my wife gives me a very similar look, but I carry on as I have such passion.
UKtramp:
manalishi:
Interesting piano take,vigorous cadences to the fore and no mistake,although with Viv,it’s a string thing I think the four seasons-suite has been overly ubiquitised over the years.call-centres,ads etc,but there’s no denying it’s utter brilliance despite these cultural crimes.Good audio certainly gives new life to these masterpieces,in my case Cambridge-Audio-Melomania buds,they dig deep on the low ranges,not in the Naim or Krell league of course (i wish),but a notch maybe above Arcam or Bose imho.
I use Bose 700 headphones, not the very best but more than adequate for my ears nowadays. I agree that the winter four seasons has been overly used in a lot of circumstances but it is my favorite piece as I have played it for years to try to replicate it as near as original as possible, it is an absolute master piece and very difficult to get the softness and volume correct. I love to hear it it on the violin too but the piano is my forte so that is my passion for it. My father loved it and had me practicing it from a very young age, my mother thought I was insane when playing it, as your movements and facial expressions when engrossing lends to that of a psychopath. My father reassured her to the fact that I was not insane but actually talented. I don’t think she ever accepted his words and did indeed class me as clinically insane. She wasn’t actually musical herself so she didn’t understand. I would have loved her to have had more interest in my playing but she just couldn’t watch me play without a look on her face that made me feel embarrassed. Even now to this day when I play the four seasons, my wife gives me a very similar look, but I carry on as I have such passion.
Amen squire,where would we be without the superior powers of music.Strings all the way for me.I can see how the technical disciplines of piano would appeal to yourself,but it’s not an instrument,i would guess that could be ‘winged’ as such,ie i suspect an early childhood infrastructure and grounding is a prerequisite for it’s mastery.
Guitars on the other hand are accessible to many,■■■■ sight cheaper too 
.My golden moment was nailing Mason Williams -Classical -Gas epic during the lockdown painful process tbh.It’s absolutely incredible what messrs Lennon,Mcartney and Harrison created with just rudimentary chord structures, and then perfected by the likes of Jimmy Page,Jansch,Clapton,Steven Stills etc,etc.I suspect Vivaldi and JSB were in cahoots with angelic realms to channel those unfathomably accomplished works tbh.
Bron-y-Aur by Led-Zeps -Jimmy Page is my current hobby horse,very tricky alternate tunings as only he can pull off,but it will be in this campfire minstrels repetoire before too long,it’s an awesome piece.
manalishi:
Amen squire,where would we be without the superior powers of music.Strings all the way for me.I can see how the technical disciplines of piano would appeal to yourself,but it’s not an instrument,i would guess that could be ‘winged’ as such,ie i suspect an early childhood infrastructure and grounding is a prerequisite for it’s mastery.
The piano is a wonderful instrument to play, to play classical music on it does take a lot of dedication and usually involves taking music lessons from an early age. However an average person can learn to play the piano from any age for enjoyment. If the goal is to play pop tunes and the such, it takes aprox 1 year to learn. To truly master the piano takes around 4 to 5 hrs practice per day for life.
UKtramp:
manalishi:
Amen squire,where would we be without the superior powers of music.Strings all the way for me.I can see how the technical disciplines of piano would appeal to yourself,but it’s not an instrument,i would guess that could be ‘winged’ as such,ie i suspect an early childhood infrastructure and grounding is a prerequisite for it’s mastery.
The piano is a wonderful instrument to play, to play classical music on it does take a lot of dedication and usually involves taking music lessons from an early age. However an average person can learn to play the piano from any age for enjoyment. If the goal is to play pop tunes and the such, it takes aprox 1 year to learn. To truly master the piano takes around 4 to 5 hrs practice per day for life.
You’re absolutely right,mastering an instrument,especially guitar,isn’t just the preserve of the ‘gifted’, just music lovers in general,who want to take the next logical step.Considering the plethora of online tutors,Justin from oz and some exceptional Americans on yt,the craft has never been more accessible these days.Gone are the days of tortuously protracted face-to-face and pricey tutorials of yore and all hail the new paradigm of virtually any song you want,with multiple tutors,many ploughing the same furrow for a more nuanced approach.Re-pianos i love JSB,s ‘well tempered clavier’ and i’m betting it’s relative,hypnotic,seemingly, simple execution,probably has a foundation of complexity beneath the surface,but who knows,but i find it unfailingly calming and inspiring especially on torturous long hauls.
I guess a lot of folks find those,(particularly on radio3),piano- pounding,work-outs you occasionally stumble on when changing stations ,a tad alienating,all that polite,coughing,applause as a Rachmaninov ‘(the prime offender)- tour-de-force of,questionable,tunefullness is violently inflicted on the senses,never ceases to amaze me,it’s more like a mathematician at work than a musical Shaman like Bach or Beethoven to a lesser degree.To quote Frank Zappa-’‘All the good musics been written by people with wigs and stuff’’